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Paul Mainieri responds to question about future after South Carolina falls to 5-19 in SEC play
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Paul Mainieri has had a rough return to the SEC in his first season at South Carolina.
The Gamecocks fell to 5-19 in SEC play after being swept at home by Florida over the weekend. UF won Games 2 and 3 – 16 innings played as a doubleheader finished Sunday – by a combined score of 30-3.
South Carolina is not in the NCAA Tournament picture. The Gamecocks have an RPI of No. 62 and can only reach 11 conference wins in regular-season play if they sweep top-10 opponents Auburn and LSU. All 16 conference teams will play in the SEC Tournament, with the tourney winner earning an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament.
While Gamecock fans are understandably frustrated with the state of the baseball program, Mainieri appears to be set on returning to right the ship in 2026. The South Carolina skipper said there have not been any conversations about his future as the program’s head coach.
Paul Mainieri asked on @1075thegame about his future, if he's had conversations about it:
— David Cloninger (@DCPandC) May 5, 2025
"I’m not going anywhere. I’m totally committed to getting this program back on track and competing for championships. There's no conversations about anything."
Mainieri, who turns 68 in August, took the South Carolina job in June 2024 after 3 seasons away from the sport. He coached for over 3 decades at St. Thomas University in Florida, Air Force, Notre Dame and LSU. In his LSU tenure (2007-21), Mainieri led the Tigers to a national championship in 2009, 4 SEC regular-season titles and 6 SEC Tournament titles. He retired after the 2021 season.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
