The University of South Carolina board of trustees met on Tuesday afternoon to approve the contract of Paul Mainieri, who was hired as the head coach of South Carolina’s baseball team.
Mainieri will earn a salary of $1.3 million each year through the 2029 Â鶹Сòòò½´«Ã½. His contract includes the opportunity to earn up to $240,000 in incentive-based compensation.
Mainieri joins the staff after being retired from coaching for three years. Before his retirement, he spent 15 years as the head coach at LSU from 2017-2021, posting a 641-285-3 (.692) record. Mainieri is the No. 7 in all-time NCAA Division I Baseball wins after 39 colligate Â鶹Сòòò½´«Ã½s.
During his tenure at LSU, Mainieri captured 31 team championships, including the 2009 NCAA title, nine NCAA Regional championships, five NCAA Super Regional championships, four Southeastern Conference championships, six SEC Tournament titles and six SEC Western Division crowns.
South Carolina will also retain Monte Lee as a hitting and associate head coach. Lee spent the last two Â鶹Сòòò½´«Ã½s with the Gamecocks as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator. New additions to the staff, along with Mainieri, include pitching coach and recruiting coordinator Terry Rooney and assistant coach John Hendry.
Rooney comes to the Gamecocks from LSU after spending the 2024 Â鶹Сòòò½´«Ã½ as Associate Director of Program Development and Recruiting for the Tigers. It was Rooney's second stint with LSU after serving as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator under Mainieri from 2007-2008. Hendry joins the staff after three Â鶹Сòòò½´«Ã½s as the University of Virginia's Director of Player Development.