Paul Mainieri will be retained as South Carolina’s head baseball coach, a university source told The State on Wednesday. The news comes after the Gamecocks’ 2025 season wrapped up with an 11-3 loss to Florida on Tuesday in the first round of the SEC Tournament. South Carolina finished the year with a 28-29 record and a 6-24 mark in SEC play. In addition to totaling the most single-season and SEC losses the Gamecocks also recorded the highest team ERA in program history (6.41). As those losses began to run together, apathy hit Columbia and speculation and debate grew among South Carolina fans of whether or not Mainieri would return. Following the Gamecocks’ season-ending loss, Mainieri declared there would be no changes to his coaching staff — especially not pitching coach Terry Rooney, who worked under Mainieri at LSU.
Terry Rooney is here to stay,” Mainieri said. “He’s not going anywhere. He’s an outstanding coach and he’ll prove that as we go forward.” So will Mainieri, who will have at least another year to right the ship. The 67-year-old was hired last summer by then-athletic director Ray Tanner after the latter fired baseball coach Mark Kingston
Home Customer Service Stay Connected Read today’s Edition The State’s Best News Sports Entertainment & Living Opinion Obituaries Video Featured Reality Check Uniquely GoGamecocks The State’s Best Shopping/Reviews Deals & Offers Press Releases Sponsored Content Classifieds Place an Ad – Celebrations Search Jobs Search Legal Notices Advertising 6 months for $1.99 SUBSCRIBE NOW USC GAMECOCKS BASEBALL Paul Mainieri will be back in 2026 as South Carolina’s baseball coach By Jordan Kaye Updated May 22, 2025 9:10 AM South Carolina Gamecocks South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Paul Mainieri shakes hands with LSU Tigers LSU Tigers head coach Jay Johnson before their game at Founders Park Saturday, 5/17/25. Jeff Blake Jeff Blake Photo Paul Mainieri will be retained as South Carolina’s head baseball coach, a university source told The State on Wednesday. The news comes after the Gamecocks’ 2025 season wrapped up with an 11-3 loss to Florida on Tuesday in the first round of the SEC Tournament. South Carolina finished the year with a 28-29 record and a 6-24 mark in SEC play. In addition to totaling the most single-season and SEC losses the Gamecocks also recorded the highest team ERA in program history (6.41). As those losses began to run together, apathy hit Columbia and speculation and debate grew among South Carolina fans of whether or not Mainieri would return. Following the Gamecocks’ season-ending loss, Mainieri declared there would be no changes to his coaching staff — especially not pitching coach Terry Rooney, who worked under Mainieri at LSU. “Terry Rooney is here to stay,” Mainieri said. “He’s not going anywhere. He’s an outstanding coach and he’ll prove that as we go forward.” So will Mainieri, who will have at least another year to right the ship. The 67-year-old was hired last summer by then-athletic director Ray Tanner after the latter fired baseball coach Mark Kingston. Mainieri arrived at South Carolina with an impressive resume, coming to Columbia as the DI active wins leader. During a long career at Air Force, Notre Dame and LSU, he had appeared in the College World Series six times and won the 2009 national title with the Tigers. But, dealing with chronic neck and back pain, he retired following the 2021 season. That his return to college baseball came at South Carolina was a surprise, but viewed as an intriguing experiment.
6 months for $1.99 SUBSCRIBE NOW USC GAMECOCKS BASEBALL Paul Mainieri will be back in 2026 as South Carolina’s baseball coach By Jordan Kaye Updated May 22, 2025 9:10 AM South Carolina Gamecocks South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Paul Mainieri shakes hands with LSU Tigers LSU Tigers head coach Jay Johnson before their game at Founders Park Saturday, 5/17/25. Jeff Blake Jeff Blake Photo Paul Mainieri will be retained as South Carolina’s head baseball coach, a university source told The State on Wednesday. The news comes after the Gamecocks’ 2025 season wrapped up with an 11-3 loss to Florida on Tuesday in the first round of the SEC Tournament. South Carolina finished the year with a 28-29 record and a 6-24 mark in SEC play. In addition to totaling the most single-season and SEC losses the Gamecocks also recorded the highest team ERA in program history (6.41). As those losses began to run together, apathy hit Columbia and speculation and debate grew among South Carolina fans of whether or not Mainieri would return. Following the Gamecocks’ season-ending loss, Mainieri declared there would be no changes to his coaching staff — especially not pitching coach Terry Rooney, who worked under Mainieri at LSU. “Terry Rooney is here to stay,” Mainieri said. “He’s not going anywhere. He’s an outstanding coach and he’ll prove that as we go forward.” So will Mainieri, who will have at least another year to right the ship. The 67-year-old was hired last summer by then-athletic director Ray Tanner after the latter fired baseball coach Mark Kingston. Mainieri arrived at South Carolina with an impressive resume, coming to Columbia as the DI active wins leader. During a long career at Air Force, Notre Dame and LSU, he had appeared in the College World Series six times and won the 2009 national title with the Tigers. But, dealing with chronic neck and back pain, he retired following the 2021 season. That his return to college baseball came at South Carolina was a surprise, but viewed as an intriguing experiment. By May, most Gamecock fans were ready for the experiment to be over. As losses began to run together. Even if South Carolina, led by new athletic director Jeremiah Donati, wanted to part ways with Mainieri, it would have been tricky. Mainieri still has four years left on his contract, with each earning him $1.3 million. Firing Mainieri would cost South Carolina $5.2 million and could have vaulted the buyout over $7 million, depending on the futures of Rooney and hitting coach Monte Lee, who was the highest-paid assistant coach in college baseball this season. That’s a steep price, especially as South Carolina prepare for the possible effects of the House settlement, a widespread case that would open the door for schools to share up to $20.5 million in revenue with its student-athletes.
Now, Mainieri’s focus will turn toward revamping the Gamecocks’ roster. “We’re working really hard in recruiting,” Mainieri said Tuesday night. “We’ve already lined up some really, really good players for next year through the junior college ranks. He continued: “Then we’re anxious for the transfer portal to open on June 2. We’re obviously going to need a lot of players there.”
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