South Carolina athletics director Ray Tanner is targeting former LSU skipper Paul Mainieri in his search for the program’s next baseball coach.
While a deal is not formally done, all signs point to Mainieri ultimately being the hire, sources tell GamecockCentral’s Chris Clark.
Baseball America’s Teddy Cahill, citing sources, first reported Monday afternoon that South Carolina was targeting Mainieri.
Mainieri, who spent 15 seasons at LSU, led the Tigers to the 2019 national championship, and was tops among active NCAA Division I coaches in career victories when he retired in 2021.
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Overall, he is 1,505-775-8 in his career with LSU, Notre Dame, Air Force and St. Thomas baseball.
Mainieri initially retired after the 2021 season. He led LSU to the NCAA Super Regionals but had not made a College World Series since 2017, where the Tigers were the runner-up.
While with LSU, Mainieri won four SEC titles and six SEC Tournament titles. He also led Notre Dame to the College World Series in 2002 amid nine total NCAA Tournament appearances.
Mainieri won the NCBWA National Coach of the Year award in 2015, the Skip Bertman Award that same year and was also the coach of the year in 2009 while winning a national title.
On3’s Nick Kosko contributed to this report.
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