Paul Mainieri

Paul Mainieri (born August 29, 1957) is a former American college baseball coach. 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), Air Force Falcons (1989–1994), Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1995–2006), LSU Tigers (2007–2021), and South Carolina Gamecocks (2024-2026). 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.

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.

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. 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.

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. 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. Mainieri announced his retirement from coaching after the conclusion of the 2021 season.

South Carolina Paul Mainieri was named the 31st head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks baseball program on June 11, 2024. In the 2025 season, the Gamecocks compiled a 28–29 (6–24 SEC) record and missed the NCAA tournament. After a 12–11 start to the 2026 season, Mainieri and South Carolina agreed to part ways on March 21, 2026.

Head coaching record

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