SEC baseball coach expected to be fired midseason, per report
By David Wasson
Published:
The always-busy coaching carousel is about to fire up in college baseball, with one Southeastern Conference coach about to find himself out of a job.
Reporting by 247Sports on Saturday indicates that South Carolina is about to part ways with veteran coach Paul Mainieri – the active leader in Division 1 coaching victories who has led the Gamecocks since June 2024.
Mainieri’s Gamecocks are 12-11 and mired in a six-game losing streak heading into Saturday’s second game of a three-game series against fourth-ranked Arkansas. South Carolina dropped a 22-7, seven-inning decision in Friday’s series opener, and were swept by 23rd-ranked Florida last week in the SEC opener.
Mainieri guided LSU to a 2009 national championship and a 2017 runner-up finish among his five College World Series appearances in 15 seasons at LSU. He also took Notre Dame to the CWS, and won four SEC championships, six SEC Tournament championships and 10 NCAA regional championships.
Mainieri is a two-time SEC Coach of the Year and a four-time National Coach of the Year (2000, 2008, 2009 and 2015). He was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2014.
South Carolina posted a 28-29 record in 2025, Mainieri’s first losing record since the 1992 Air Force Falcons went 23-24. His overall record in 39 years as a collegiate head coach entering Saturday’s game (4 pm ET, SEC Network Plus) is 1,545-817-8.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
