COLUMBIA, S.C. — Paul Mainieri is out as South Carolina’s baseball coach halfway by his second season after he could not method the extent of success he had produced at LSU.
Mainieri, 68, who received a College World Series with LSU in 2009, had been away from the sport for 3 years earlier than South Carolina lured him out of retirement. The Gamecocks went 40-40 beneath Mainieri.
His departure got here a day after South Carolina misplaced 22-6 to Arkansas on Friday for its sixth consecutive defeat. South Carolina (12-12, 0-5 Southeastern Conference) misplaced once more 3-2 in 10 innings to Arkansas on Saturday with Monte Lee serving as interim head coach.
“(Athletic director) Jeremiah Donati and I have agreed that the baseball program will be better served with new leadership,” Mainieri mentioned Saturday in an announcement launched by the college. “I take full responsibility for the win/loss record of the baseball program over the 80 games I have served as head coach.
“When (former athletic director) Ray Tanner invited me to come back out of three years of retirement to coach once more, my aim was to work with younger folks once more and restore the South Carolina program to greatness with a return to Omaha. My employees and I’ve labored diligently in an try to perform that aim. Unfortunately, that aim has not materialized as rapidly as I’d have appreciated and can take extra time than I had anticipated and that’s time that I simply do not have at my age.”
Donati said he and Mainieri had a conversation Saturday and agreed this move would be in the best interest of the program. Mainieri said: “I didn’t get the job completed at a stage that I anticipated, or the college deserves.”
South Carolina went 28-29 under Mainieri last season. This year, the Gamecocks were 12-5 after a three-game sweep of Princeton two weeks ago, but they haven’t won since.
Mainieri has a 1,545-817-8 record in a 39-year head coaching career. He went 179-121-2 at St. Thomas from 1983-88, 152-158 at Air Force from 1989-94, 533-213-3 at Notre Dame from 1995-2006 and 641-285-3 at LSU from 2007-21 before posting a 40-40 record in his 1 1/2 seasons at South Carolina.
He ranks sixth in NCAA history in career wins. He made College World Series appearances with Notre Dame in 2002 and LSU in 2008, 2009, 2013, 2015 and 2017. His 2009 LSU team won it all and his 2017 squad was the CWS runner-up.
“I admire all the pieces Paul has poured into our student-athletes and our program, not simply at South Carolina, however all through his profession,” Donati said in a statement. “He is a Hall of Fame coach and a world-class particular person, and we want him and his household all one of the best.”
Lee had been a hitting coach on Mainieri’s employees. He posted a 276-145 document as College of Charleston’s head coach from 2009-15 and went 242-136 at Clemson from 2016-22.
