South Carolina is parting ways with head coach Paul Mainieri
Special To The State
Paul Mainieri is no longer South Carolina’s head baseball coach, the university announced Saturday afternoon.
“Jeremiah Donati and I have agreed that the baseball program will be better served with new leadership,” Mainieri said in a statement provided by USC. “I take full responsibility for the win/loss record of the baseball program over the 80 games I have served as head coach.”
The Gamecocks were 40-40 overall under Mainieri.
Said athletic director Jeremiah Donati through a statement: “After a conversation this morning with Coach Mainieri, we agreed that it would be in the best interest of the program that we part ways at this time.”
Assistant Monte Lee will be USC’s interim coach, an athletics source told The State.
The move comes 23 games into Mainieri’s second season as the Gamecocks coach, and a night after USC was run-ruled 22-6 in a series-opening loss to No. 4 Arkansas.
Mainieri’s first season was a historically bad one for the Gamecocks. It ended with program records for losses (29) and SEC losses (24).
And 2026 was off to an even worse start. The Gamecocks are 12-11 overall (0-4 SEC) — with five losses to non-power conference programs.
Friday’s loss was the third time an SEC opponent scored 20-plus runs against USC in the last 14 conference games.
The hiring of Maineiri — the 2009 national championship coach with LSU who stepped in at USC as Division I baseball’s active wins leader — was made by athletic director Ray Tanner. For the third time, it was Tanner, the legendary USC baseball coach who led the Gamecocks to two national titles, choosing his successor.
Tanner, though, stepped down just months into Maineiri’s tenure, replaced by Donati. It was Donati who evaluated the 2025 baseball season and opted against making a snap leadership change.
The 68-year-old Mainieri, in his statement from USC, said the goal of returning the Gamecocks to a national power “will take more time than I had anticipated and that is time that I just don’t have at my age. …
“In short, I did not get the job done at a level that I expected, or the university deserves.”
USC baseball coaches: Recent history
Ranked by winning percentages
- Bobby Richardson (1970-76): 220-91-2 (.703)
- Ray Tanner (1997-2012): 738-316 (.700)
- June Raines (1977-96): 763-380-2 (.667)
- Chad Holbrook (2013-17): 200-106 (.654)
- Mark Kingston (2018-24): 217-155 (.583)
- Paul Maineri (2025-26): 40-40 (.500)
Full statement from Paul Mainieri
Jeremiah Donati and I have agreed that the baseball program will be better served with new leadership. I take full responsibility for the win/loss record of the baseball program over the 80 games I have served as head coach.
When Ray Tanner invited me to come out of three years of retirement to coach again, my goal was to work with young people again and restore the South Carolina program to greatness with a return to Omaha. My staff and I have worked diligently in an attempt to accomplish that goal. Unfortunately, that goal has not materialized as quickly as I would have liked and will take more time than I had anticipated and that is time that I just don’t have at my age.
I want to make it clear that Ray Tanner, Jeremiah Donati, President Amiridis, and the university leadership have supported me and the baseball program throughout my tenure. In short, I did not get the job done at a level that I expected, or the university deserves.
As I go into retirement again (and for the final time), I reflect on how fortunate I have been to do what I Iove most — coaching college baseball and trying to impact young lives — for more than 40 years at five wonderful institutions. St. Thomas University, the United States Air Force Academy, the University of Notre Dame, LSU, and the University of South Carolina, will always hold a special place in my heart. The young men that I have had the honor to coach will always be foremost in my thoughts. It is my hope that their success in life and contributions to society will be my lasting legacy.
It is time for me to rejoin my family and be the best husband, father, and grandfather that I can be.
This story was originally published March 21, 2026 at 12:28 PM.
