Paul Mainieri to be Named South Carolina Head Baseball Coach

Former LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri is expected to return to the dugout next season as reports are that he will be named the new head coach at South Carolina.

Kendall Rogers of D1 Baseball reported the news on Monday afternoon.

This news comes as a bit of a surprise as Mainieri, now 66 years old, "retired" as LSU's head coach three years ago.

Mainieri will replace Mark Kingston, who was fired after South Carolina's season ended in the NCAA Regionals.

Mainieri coached at LSU from 2007 to 2021. It was a return to Baton Rouge for the Morgantown, West Virginia native, as he played there his freshman year back in 1976.

During his tenure with the Tigers, Mainieri went 641-283-3 with five trips to the College World Series, winning one national championship in 2009.

Mainieri has the third-highest winning percentage in SEC history, with 1505 wins. He trails former LSU coach Skip Bertman and former South Carolina coach Ray Tanner.

Elsa, Getty Images

Other head coaching tenures for Mainieri included the following:

St. Thomas (FL): 1983 - 1988
Air Force: 1989 - 1994
Notre Dame: 1995-2006

Mainieri is No. 7 in all-time NCAA Division I Baseball wins. He is among only five Division I coaches in NCAA history to have won over 1,500 games and a national championship.

Mainieri spent 2024 as the Special Advisor to the Head Baseball Coach at Baton Rouge Community College.