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Paul Mainieri
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamSouth Carolina
ConferenceSEC
Record0–0 (–)
Biographical details
Born (1957-08-29) August 29, 1957 (age 67)
Morgantown, West Virginia, U.S.
Playing career
1976LSU
1977Miami-Dade North CC
1978–1979New Orleans
1979Niagara Falls Pirates
Position(s)Second base
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1983–1988St. Thomas (FL)
1989–1994Air Force
1995–2006Notre Dame
2007–2021LSU
2024–presentSouth Carolina
Head coaching record
Overall1,501–775–8
Tournaments71–43
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
NCAA (2009)
4 SEC (2009, 2012, 2015, 2017)
6 SEC tournament (2008–2010, 2013, 2014, 2017)
4 Big East (1999, 2001, 2002, 2006)
5 Big East tournament (2002–2006)
Awards
NCBWA National Coach of the Year (2015)
Skip Bertman Award (2015)
Baseball America Coach of the Year (2009)
Collegiate Baseball Coach of the Year (2009)
2× SEC Coach of the Year (2009, 2015)
Big East Coach of the Year (2001)

Paul Mainieri (born August 29, 1957) is an American baseball coach and second baseman. He is currently the head coach at the South Carolina Gamecocks baseball.[1] He played college baseball at LSU, Miami-Dade CC and New Orleans before pursuing a professional baseball career. He then served as the head coach of the St. Thomas Bobcats (1983–1988), the Air Force Falcons (1989–1994), the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1995–2006) and the LSU Tigers (2007–2021). Mainieri coached LSU to the 2009 College World Series Championship.

Playing career

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Mainieri graduated from Christopher Columbus High School in Miami. He started his college baseball playing career in 1976 at LSU. He played for one season, earning a letter, before transferring to Miami-Dade North Community College to play for his father, Demie Mainieri. After one year he transferred to the University of New Orleans where he played for two years and helped the team win two Sun Belt Conference titles and earn an appearance in the 1979 NCAA Division I baseball tournament. In 1978, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and was named a league all-star.[2]

Mainieri completed his undergraduate degree requirement at Florida International University in 1980, earning a B.S. in physical education. He played two years of minor league baseball and earned a M.S. in sports administration from St. Thomas University in 1982.

Coaching career

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St. Thomas

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Mainieri began his coaching career in Florida as the head coach of St. Thomas University in 1983. In six seasons, his team went 179–121–2, and Mainieri became the winningest coach in St. Thomas History. His No. 1 jersey was retired by the university in February 2012. In 2013, the new field at St. Thomas University was named in his honor. The Bobcats' new field is called Paul Demie Mainieri Field at Frank R. Esposito Stadium. Paul Mainieri asked the university to include his middle name, Demie, in the naming of the field because it is the same name as his father's first name. Both Mainieris have deep roots with St. Thomas, and recently became the first father-son duo to be elected to the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Mainieri was inducted into the St. Thomas Hall of Fame on November 1, 2009. Mainieri became the sixth person to be inducted into the St. Thomas Hall of Fame, joining Ken Stibler, Marinka Bisceglia, Manny Mantrana, Laura Courtley-Todd and John Batule.[3]

Air Force

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He moved on to the United States Air Force Academy in 1989, where he would also remain for six seasons. He became the second-winningest coach in Air Force history posting a mark of 152–158.

Notre Dame

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Moving to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 1995, Mainieri turned the Fighting Irish into a perennial postseason contender winning the Big East tournament a record 5 straight seasons, making the NCAA tournament 9 out of 12 seasons, and leading the Irish to one College World Series appearance in 2002. He won the 2001 Big East Coach of the Year award. In total, Mainieri posted a .714 winning percentage going 533–213–3 in twelve seasons.

LSU

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Mainieri replaced Smoke Laval at the end of the LSU Tigers' 2006 season. In the 2007 season, LSU finished 29–26–1 and did not reach the NCAA tournament.

40 games into the 2008 season, the Tigers were again struggling with a 23–16–1 record. However, the team then went on a Southeastern Conference record 23-game win streak and moved on to claim the 2008 SEC Tournament championship. Under Mainieri's leadership, the team swept the Baton Rouge Regional bracket of the NCAA baseball post-season and won their first Super-Regional since 2004. UC Irvine ended the streak in the first game of the Super Regional, defeating LSU 11–5, but LSU won the next two games and reached the 2008 College World Series. It was LSU's first College World Series appearance since 2004 and they recorded their first win since their CWS championship in 2000.

Mainieri's Tigers entered the 2009 season as the favorites to win the SEC, and were the preseason No. 1 team in some national polls.[4] During the season, the Tigers won the SEC regular season title, the 2009 SEC Tournament championship, and reached the 2009 College World Series as the No. 3 national seed. Mainieri then led LSU to the CWS Finals against Texas. The Tigers won the first game 7–6 in 11 innings, lost the second 5–1, but won the national championship defeating the Longhorns 11–4 in the final game. The Tigers finished the season with a 56–17 record. Mainieri received the 2009 Coach of the Year award from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and the 2009 Coach of the Year award by Baseball America. Rivals.com also named Mainieri the 2009 National Coach of the Year.[5][6][7]

The 2009 title was the sixth in LSU baseball history, tying Texas for the second most national championships in college baseball history, and Mainieri joined Skip Bertman as the only LSU baseball coaches to win a national championship.

In 2015, Mainieri received the National Coach of the Year award from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and the Skip Bertman Award presented by the College Baseball Foundation.[8] During the 2017 season, LSU played Florida in a best-of-three series to determine the winner of the 2017 College World Series. Florida swept LSU and the Tigers finished as College World Series runner-up.[9] Mainieri announced his retirement from coaching after the conclusion of the 2021 season.[citation needed]

South Carolina

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Paul Mainieri was named the 31st head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks baseball program on June 11, 2024. His contract is for five seasons and he will be paid 1.3 million dollars per season. He is set to take over for Mark Kingston, who was fired on June 3, 2024 after 7 seasons at the helm.

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
St. Thomas Bobcats (Sunshine State Conference) (1983–1988)
1983 St. Thomas 19–25–1
1984 St. Thomas 37–14
1985 St. Thomas 32–21
1986 St. Thomas 23–24
1987 St. Thomas 35–21
1988 St. Thomas 33–16–1
St. Thomas: 179–121–2 (.596)
Air Force Falcons (Western Athletic Conference) (1989–1994)
1989 Air Force 27–27 13–13 5th
1990 Air Force 26–34 7–21 7th
1991 Air Force 22–27 1–20 8th
1992 Air Force 23–24 5–20 7th
1993 Air Force 28–22 5–16 10th
1994 Air Force 26–24 7–15 10th
Air Force: 152–158 (.490) 38–105 (.266)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Big East Conference) (1995–2006)
1995 Notre Dame 40–21 11–4 2nd
1996 Notre Dame 44–18 13–7 6th NCAA Regional
1997 Notre Dame 41–19 15–6 3rd
1998 Notre Dame 41–17 15–4 2nd
1999 Notre Dame 43–18 20–5 1st NCAA Regional
2000 Notre Dame 46–18 18–7 2nd NCAA Regional
2001 Notre Dame 49–13–1 22–4 1st NCAA Regional
2002 Notre Dame 50–18 18–8 1st College World Series
2003 Notre Dame 45–18 16–7 3rd NCAA Regional
2004 Notre Dame 51–12 20–6 1st NCAA Regional
2005 Notre Dame 38–24–1 14–9–1 3rd NCAA Regional
2006 Notre Dame 45–17–1 14–9–1 3rd NCAA Regional
Notre Dame: 533–213–3 (.714) 196–76–2 (.719)
LSU Tigers (Southeastern Conference) (2007–2021)
2007 LSU 29–26–1 12–17–1 5th (West)
2008 LSU 49–19–1 18–11–1 1st (West) College World Series
2009 LSU 56–17 20–10 1st (West) College World Series champions
2010 LSU 41–22 14–16 5th (West) NCAA Regional
2011 LSU 36–20 13–17 T–5th (West)
2012 LSU 47–18 19–11 1st (West) NCAA Super Regional
2013 LSU 57–11 23–7 1st (West) College World Series
2014 LSU 46–16–1 17–11–1 2nd (West) NCAA Regional
2015 LSU 54–12 21–8 1st (West) College World Series
2016 LSU 45–21 19–11 3rd (West) NCAA Super Regional
2017 LSU 52–20 21–9 1st (West) College World Series Runner-Up
2018 LSU 39–27 15–15 4th (West) NCAA Regional
2019 LSU 40–26 17-13 3rd (West) NCAA Super Regional
2020 LSU 12–5 0–0 6th (West) Season canceled due to COVID-19
2021 LSU 38–23 13–17 4th (West) NCAA Super Regionals
LSU: 641–283–3 (.693) 242–175–3 (.580)
South Carolina Gamecocks (Southeastern Conference) (2025–present)
2025 South Carolina 0–0 0–0
South Carolina: 0–0 0–0
Total: 1,501–775–8 (.659)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

NCAA tournament

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Year School Record Winning % Notes
1996 Notre Dame 1–2 .333 Eliminated by Virginia in South I Regional
1999 Notre Dame 1–2 .333 Eliminated by Michigan in South Bend Regional
2000 Notre Dame 3–2 .600 Eliminated by Mississippi St. in Starkville Regional Finals
2001 Notre Dame 3–2 .600 Eliminated by Florida International in South Bend Regional Finals
2002 Notre Dame 5–3 .625 Won South Bend Regional & Tallahassee Super Regional
College World Series (5th Place)
2003 Notre Dame 2–2 .500 Eliminated by Cal St. Fullerton in Fullerton Regional Finals
2004 Notre Dame 2–2 .500 Eliminated by Arizona in South Bend Regional Finals
2005 Notre Dame 2–2 .500 Eliminated by Florida in Gainesville Regional Finals
2006 Notre Dame 0–2 .000 Eliminated by Kentucky in Lexington Regional
2008 LSU 6–3 .667 Won Baton Rouge Regional & Super Regional
College World Series (5th Place)
2009 LSU 10–1 .909 Won Baton Rouge Regional & Super Regional
College World Series champions
2010 LSU 1–2 .333 Eliminated by UC Irvine in Los Angeles Regional
2012 LSU 4–2 .667 Won Baton Rouge Regional. Eliminated by Stony Brook in Baton Rouge Super Regional
2013 LSU 5–2 .714 Won Baton Rouge Regional & Super Regional
College World Series (7th Place)
2014 LSU 2–2 .500 Eliminated by University of Houston in Baton Rouge Regional
2015 LSU 6–2 .750 Won Baton Rouge Regional & Super Regional
College World Series (5th Place)
2016 LSU 3–3 .500 Won Baton Rouge Regional. Eliminated by Coastal Carolina in Baton Rouge Super Regional
2017 LSU 9–3 .750 Won Baton Rouge Regional & Super Regional
College World Series Runner-Up
2018 LSU 2–2 .500 Eliminated by Oregon State in Corvallis Regional
2019 LSU 3–2 .600 Won Baton Rouge Regional. Eliminated by Florida State in Baton Rouge Super Regional
2021 LSU 4–1 .800 Won Eugene Regional. Eliminated by Tennessee in Knoxville Super Regional
Totals 75–44 .630 21 Regionals (Won 10)
10 Super Regionals (Won 6)
6 College World Series (1 Championship)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/million-dollar-man-paul-mainieri-hired-as-highest-paid-baseball-coach-in-usc-history/ar-BB1o2zb7 [bare URL]
  2. ^ "All-star selections headed by Met slugger". Yarmouth Register. Yarmouth, MA. July 27, 1978. pp. S13.
  3. ^ Mainieri Elected to St. Thomas Hall of Fame
  4. ^ "SEC Coaches Pick Baseball to Win League". June 26, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
  5. ^ "Collegiate Baseball names Mainieri 2009 Coach of the Year". June 26, 2009. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
  6. ^ "Mainieri named 'Baseball America' Coach of the Year". June 30, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
  7. ^ "Mainieri Named National Coach of the Year by Rivals". July 6, 2009. Retrieved July 6, 2009.
  8. ^ "LSU's Paul Mainieri honored as the NCBWA National Coach of the Year". June 13, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  9. ^ "Florida sweeps LSU for first CWS title". ncaa.com. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
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