Paul Mainieri

{{Infobox college coach

| name = Paul Mainieri

| image = Paul Maineiri, LSU Head Baseball Coach.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Mainieri in 2019

| current_title = Head coach

| current_team = South Carolina

| current_conference = SEC

| current_record = {{Winning percentage|28|29|record=y}}

| contract =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1957|8|29}}

| birth_place = Morgantown, West Virginia, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| alma_mater =

| player_years1 = 1976

| player_team1 = LSU

| player_positions = Second base

| player_years2 = 1977

| player_team2 = Miami-Dade North CC

| player_years3 = 1978–1979

| player_team3 = New Orleans

| player_years4 = 1979

| player_team4 = Niagara Falls Pirates

| coach_years1 = 1983–1988

| coach_team1 = St. Thomas (FL)

| coach_years2 = 1989–1994

| coach_team2 = Air Force

| coach_years3 = 1995–2006

| coach_team3 = Notre Dame

| coach_years4 = 2007–2021

| coach_team4 = LSU

| coach_years5 = 2024–present

| coach_team5 = South Carolina

| overall_record = 1,533–802–8

| tournament_record = 71–43

| championships = College World Series (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)

| coaching_records =

}}

Paul Mainieri (born August 29, 1957) is an American college baseball coach and former second baseman. He is currently the head baseball coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks.{{Cite web |last=Titus |first=Payton |date=2024-06-12 |title=Million-dollar man: Paul Mainieri hired as highest-paid baseball coach in USC history |url=https://www.thestate.com/sports/college/university-of-south-carolina/usc-baseball/article289160544.html |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=The State}} 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

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.{{cite news |date=July 27, 1978 |title=All-star selections headed by Met slugger |url=https://tyr.stparchive.com/Archive/TYR/TYR07271978P045.php |url-access=registration |newspaper=Yarmouth Register |page=II-13 |via=SmallTownPapers}}

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

=St. Thomas=

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.{{Cite web |last=Franques |first=Bill |date=2009-10-21 |title=Mainieri Elected to St. Thomas Hall of Fame |url=https://lsusports.net/news/2009/10/21/204818461/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616183822/http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=204818461 |archive-date=2011-06-16 |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=LSU}}

=Air Force=

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=

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=

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.{{cite web |date=2009-02-16 |title=SEC Coaches Pick Baseball to Win League |url=https://lsusports.net/news/2009/02/16/3671698/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020063948/http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=27865&SPID=2173&DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=3671698 |archive-date=2012-10-20 |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=LSU}} 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.{{cite web |date=June 26, 2009 |title=Collegiate Baseball names Mainieri 2009 Coach of the Year |url=https://lsureveille.com/193847/sports/baseball-collegiate-baseball-names-mainieri-2009-coach-of-the-year-137-p-m/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927185709/http://www.lsureveille.com/baseball-collegiate-baseball-names-mainieri-2009-coach-of-the-year-1-37-p-m-1.1770015 |archive-date=September 27, 2011 |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=LSU Reveille}}{{cite web |last=Franques |first=Bill |date=June 30, 2009 |title=Mainieri named 'Baseball America' Coach of the Year |url=https://lsusports.net/news/2009/06/29/3757775/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020064857/http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?&ATCLID=3757775&DB_OEM_ID=5200 |archive-date=2012-10-20 |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=LSU}}{{cite web |last=Franques |first=Bill |date=July 6, 2009 |title=Mainieri Named National Coach of the Year by Rivals |url=https://lsusports.net/news/2009/07/06/3760912/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020065140/http://www.lsusports.net//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=3760912 |archive-date=October 20, 2012 |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=LSU}}

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.{{cite web |last=Rosetta |first=Randy |date=June 13, 2015 |title=LSU's Paul Mainieri honored as the NCBWA National Coach of the Year |url=https://www.nola.com/sports/lsus-paul-mainieri-honored-as-the-ncbwa-national-coach-of-the-year/article_f7ac178b-de4f-5b2b-b2e5-bcfd16e603f3.html |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=Nola.com}} 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.{{cite web |last=Chiusano |first=Anthony |date=2017-06-28 |title=Florida sweeps LSU for first CWS title |url=https://www.ncaa.com/news/baseball/article/2017-06-28/florida-defeats-lsu-two-games-win-first-college-world-series |access-date=June 9, 2019 |website=NCAA.com}} Mainieri announced his retirement from coaching after the conclusion of the 2021 season.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}

=South Carolina=

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

{{CBB Yearly Record Start | type = | conference = | postseason = | poll = }}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = St. Thomas Bobcats

| conference = Sunshine State Conference

| startyear = 1983

| endyear = 1988

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 1983

| name = St. Thomas

| overall = 19–25–1

| conference =

| confstanding =

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 1984

| name = St. Thomas

| overall = 37–14

| conference =

| confstanding =

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 1985

| name = St. Thomas

| overall = 32–21

| conference =

| confstanding =

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 1986

| name = St. Thomas

| overall = 23–24

| conference =

| confstanding =

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 1987

| name = St. Thomas

| overall = 35–21

| conference =

| confstanding =

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 1988

| name = St. Thomas

| overall = 33–16–1

| conference =

| confstanding =

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = St. Thomas

| overall = 179–121–2 ({{Winning percentage|179|121|2}})

| confrecord =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = Air Force Falcons

| conference = Western Athletic Conference

| startyear = 1989

| endyear = 1994

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 1989

| name = Air Force

| overall = 27–27

| conference = 13–13

| confstanding = 5th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 1990

| name = Air Force

| overall = 26–34

| conference = 7–21

| confstanding = 7th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 1991

| name = Air Force

| overall = 22–27

| conference = 1–20

| confstanding = 8th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 1992

| name = Air Force

| overall = 23–24

| conference = 5–20

| confstanding = 7th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 1993

| name = Air Force

| overall = 28–22

| conference = 5–16

| confstanding = 10th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 1994

| name = Air Force

| overall = 26–24

| conference = 7–15

| confstanding = 10th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = Air Force

| overall = 152–158 ({{Winning percentage|152|158|0}})

| confrecord = 38–105 ({{Winning percentage|38|105|0}})

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = Notre Dame Fighting Irish

| conference = Big East Conference

| startyear = 1995

| endyear = 2006

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 1995

| name = Notre Dame

| overall = 40–21

| conference = 11–4

| confstanding = 2nd

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 1996

| name = Notre Dame

| overall = 44–18

| conference = 13–7

| confstanding = 6th

| postseason = NCAA Regional

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 1997

| name = Notre Dame

| overall = 41–19

| conference = 15–6

| confstanding = 3rd

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 1998

| name = Notre Dame

| overall = 41–17

| conference = 15–4

| confstanding = 2nd

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = conference

| season = 1999

| name = Notre Dame

| overall = 43–18

| conference = 20–5

| confstanding = 1st

| postseason = NCAA Regional

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 2000

| name = Notre Dame

| overall = 46–18

| conference = 18–7

| confstanding = 2nd

| postseason = NCAA Regional

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = conference

| season = 2001

| name = Notre Dame

| overall = 49–13–1

| conference = 22–4

| confstanding = 1st

| postseason = NCAA Regional

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = confboth

| season = 2002

| name = Notre Dame

| overall = 50–18

| conference = 18–8

| confstanding = 1st

| postseason = College World Series

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = conference tournament

| season = 2003

| name = Notre Dame

| overall = 45–18

| conference = 16–7

| confstanding = 3rd

| postseason = NCAA Regional

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = confboth

| season = 2004

| name = Notre Dame

| overall = 51–12

| conference = 20–6

| confstanding = 1st

| postseason = NCAA Regional

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = conference tournament

| season = 2005

| name = Notre Dame

| overall = 38–24–1

| conference = 14–9–1

| confstanding = 3rd

| postseason = NCAA Regional

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = conference tournament

| season = 2006

| name = Notre Dame

| overall = 45–17–1

| conference = 14–9–1

| confstanding = 3rd

| postseason = NCAA Regional

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = Notre Dame

| overall = 533–213–3 ({{Winning percentage|533|213|3}})

| confrecord = 196–76–2 ({{Winning percentage|196|76|2}})

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = LSU Tigers

| conference = Southeastern Conference

| startyear = 2007

| endyear = 2021

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 2007

| name = LSU

| overall = 29–26–1

| conference = 12–17–1

| confstanding = 5th (West)

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = divboth

| season = 2008

| name = LSU

| overall = 49–19–1

| conference = 18–11–1

| confstanding = 1st (West)

| postseason = College World Series

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = national

| season = 2009

| name = LSU

| overall = 56–17

| conference = 20–10

| confstanding = 1st (West)

| postseason = College World Series champions

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = conference tournament

| season = 2010

| name = LSU

| overall = 41–22

| conference = 14–16

| confstanding = 5th (West)

| postseason = NCAA Regional

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 2011

| name = LSU

| overall = 36–20

| conference = 13–17

| confstanding = T–5th (West)

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = conference

| season = 2012

| name = LSU

| overall = 47–18

| conference = 19–11

| confstanding = 1st (West)

| postseason = NCAA Super Regional

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = divboth

| season = 2013

| name = LSU

| overall = 57–11

| conference = 23–7

| confstanding = 1st (West)

| postseason = College World Series

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = conference tournament

| season = 2014

| name = LSU

| overall = 46–16–1

| conference = 17–11–1

| confstanding = 2nd (West)

| postseason = NCAA Regional

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = conference

| season = 2015

| name = LSU

| overall = 54–12

| conference = 21–8

| confstanding = 1st (West)

| postseason = College World Series

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 2016

| name = LSU

| overall = 45–21

| conference = 19–11

| confstanding = 3rd (West)

| postseason = NCAA Super Regional

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship = confboth

| season = 2017

| name = LSU

| overall = 52–20

| conference = 21–9

| confstanding = 1st (West)

| postseason = College World Series Runner-Up

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 2018

| name = LSU

| overall = 39–27

| conference = 15–15

| confstanding = 4th (West)

| postseason = NCAA Regional

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 2019

| name = LSU

| overall = 40–26

| conference = 17–13

| confstanding = 3rd (West)

| postseason = NCAA Super Regional

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 2020

| name = LSU

| overall = 12–5

| conference = 0–0

| confstanding = 6th {{small|(West)}}

| postseason = Season canceled due to COVID-19

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 2021

| name = LSU

| overall = 38–23

| conference = 13–17

| confstanding = 4th {{small|(West)}}

| postseason = NCAA Super Regional

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = LSU

| overall = 641–283–3 ({{Winning percentage|641|283|3}})

| confrecord = 242–175–3 ({{Winning percentage|242|175|3}})

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead

| name = South Carolina Gamecocks

| conference = Southeastern Conference

| startyear = 2025

| endyear =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry

| championship =

| season = 2025

| name = South Carolina

| overall = 28–29

| conference = 6–24

| confstanding = 15th

| postseason =

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal

| name = South Carolina

| overall = 28–29 ({{Winning percentage|28|29}})

| confrecord = 6–24 ({{Winning percentage|6|24}})

}}

{{CBB Yearly Record End

| overall = 1,533–802–8 ({{Winning percentage|1,533|802|8}})

}}

=NCAA tournament=

Year ! School ! Record ! Winning % ! Notes
cellpadding="1" border="1" cellspacing="0" width="70%" class="wikitable"
align="center" \| 1996	Notre Dame	1–2	.333	Eliminated by Virginia in South I Regional
align="center" \| 1999	Notre Dame	1–2	.333	Eliminated by Michigan in South Bend Regional
align="center" \| 2000	Notre Dame	3–2	.600	Eliminated by Mississippi St. in Starkville Regional Finals
align="center" \| 2001	Notre Dame	3–2	.600	Eliminated by Florida International in South Bend Regional Finals
align="center" \| 2002	Notre Dame	5–3	.625	Won South Bend Regional & Tallahassee Super Regional College World Series (5th Place)
align="center" \| 2003	Notre Dame	2–2	.500	Eliminated by Cal St. Fullerton in Fullerton Regional Finals
align="center" \| 2004	Notre Dame	2–2	.500	Eliminated by Arizona in South Bend Regional Finals
align="center" \| 2005	Notre Dame	2–2	.500	Eliminated by Florida in Gainesville Regional Finals
align="center" \| 2006	Notre Dame	0–2	.000	Eliminated by Kentucky in Lexington Regional
align="center" \| 2008	LSU	6–3	{{winpct\|6\|3\|0}}	Won Baton Rouge Regional & Super Regional College World Series (5th Place)
align="center" \| 2009	LSU	10–1	{{winpct\|10\|1\|0}}	Won Baton Rouge Regional & Super Regional College World Series champions
align="center" \| 2010	LSU	1–2	{{winpct\|1\|2\|0}}	Eliminated by UC Irvine in Los Angeles Regional
align="center" \| 2012	LSU	4–2	{{winpct\|4\|2\|0}}	Won Baton Rouge Regional. Eliminated by Stony Brook in Baton Rouge Super Regional
align="center" \| 2013	LSU	5–2	{{winpct\|5\|2\|0}}	Won Baton Rouge Regional & Super Regional College World Series (7th Place)
align="center" \| 2014	LSU	2–2	{{winpct\|2\|2\|0}}	Eliminated by University of Houston in Baton Rouge Regional
align="center" \| 2015	LSU	6–2	{{winpct\|6\|2\|0}}	Won Baton Rouge Regional & Super Regional College World Series (5th Place)
align="center" \| 2016	LSU	3–3	{{winpct\|3\|3\|0}}	Won Baton Rouge Regional. Eliminated by Coastal Carolina in Baton Rouge Super Regional
align="center" \| 2017	LSU	9–3	{{winpct\|9\|3\|0}}	Won Baton Rouge Regional & Super Regional College World Series Runner-Up
align="center" \| 2018	LSU	2–2	{{winpct\|2\|2\|0}}	Eliminated by Oregon State in Corvallis Regional
align="center" \| 2019	LSU	3–2	{{winpct\|3\|2\|0}}	Won Baton Rouge Regional. Eliminated by Florida State in Baton Rouge Super Regional
align="center" \| 2021	LSU	4–1	{{winpct\|4\|1\|0}}	Won Eugene Regional. Eliminated by Tennessee in Knoxville Super Regional
align="center" \| colspan="2" \| Totals	75–44	{{winpct\|75\|44\|0}}	21 Regionals (Won 10) 10 Super Regionals (Won 6) 6 College World Series (1 Championship)