South Carolina fired their HC Mark Kingston...

[dawgstudent]

South Carolina (Southeastern Conference) (2018–2024)​
2018	South Carolina	37–26 (.587)	17–13 (.567)	3rd (East)	Fayetteville Super Regional
2019	South Carolina	28–28 (.500)	8–22 (.267)	5th (East)
2020	South Carolina	12–4 (.750)	0–0 (.000)	(East)	Season canceled due to COVID-19
2021	South Carolina	34–23 (.596)	16–14 (.533)	4th (East)	Columbia Regional
2022	South Carolina	27–28 (.491)	13–17 (.433)	5th (East)
2023	South Carolina	42–21 (.667)	16–13 (.552)	3rd (East)	Gainesville Super Regional
2024	South Carolina	37–25 (.597)	13–17 (.433)	5th (East)	Raleigh Regional

 

[GloryDawg]

They expect excellence like we use to.

 

[Xenomorph]

So... Justin Parker circa 2023:

 

[patdog]

If they want a coach with a national championship resume, I've got just the man for them.

 

[Baddog11]

Kinda surprising to me, but I did hear some of their fans on a podcast last night say that if they kept him, they are not watching a single game.

 

[onewoof]

I'm not familiar with the situation or the person or team but I feel compelled to share this after a little social media research

Baseball is a business

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

They expect excellence like we use to.

We had possibility the biggest under achiever in all sports for 27 years (?). Never even sniffed a Natty in spite of overwhelming talent and resources, so I wouldn't say we "used to."

 

[The Cooterpoot]

Lemonis should go home to South Carolina.
Can we give NIL to SC to take him?

 

[pseudonym]

If they want a coach with a national championship resume, I've got just the man for them.

You joke, but if they did poach Lemonis, a lot of our fans would find out how hard it is to hire a good coach.

In my lifetime, we've made the following baseball hires:

• promoted assistant
• rehired retired coach
• SEC head coach with two regional appearances and zero super regional appearances (former player)
• SEC assistant
• Big Ten head coach with three regional appearances and zero super regional appearances

But State fans still believe that we could just go out and hire whomever we want.

 

[MSUDC11-2.0]

They expect excellence like we use to.

You clearly have not been following South Carolina baseball for the last 12 years. They played for three national championships in a row from 2010-2012, their coach took the AD job, and they haven’t been to Omaha since. They are not who you want to model yourself after in this era.

 

[Shmuley]

If they want a coach with a national championship resume, I've got just the man for them.

Copyright, Intense Bastard 2018

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Unfortunately not surprising.

And @pseudonym is correct, considering the difficulty we had hiring a permanent head coach last time, we don’t want Lemonis to go now.

Who out there now has equal to better qualifications than as listed below *and* is attainable?

• promoted assistant
• rehired retired coach
• SEC head coach with two regional appearances and zero super regional appearances (former player)
• SEC assistant
• Big Ten head coach with three regional appearances and zero super regional appearances

 

[retire the banner]

Kinda surprising to me, but I did hear some of their fans on a podcast last night say that if they kept him, they are not watching a single game.

You listen to South Carolina baseball podcasts?

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

They just extended Kingston and gave him $125k raise after last season

 

[She Mate Me]

If it wouldn't make me miserable, I'd almost like to see Lemonis to SC with Parker and Goat and then watch the carnage for a few seasons while the "experts" tell us it was a blessing, just wait.

 

[She Mate Me]

I assume they won't go after Parker??

Look for an established HC, maybe already ID'd??

 

[Barkman Turner Overdrive]

I assume they won't go after Parker??

Look for an established HC, maybe already ID'd??

I would be surprised if Ray Tanner made that move without having someone lined up.

 

[Msuirondawgs]

You joke, but if they did poach Lemonis, a lot of our fans would find out how hard it is to hire a good coach.

In my lifetime, we've made the following baseball hires:

• promoted assistant
• rehired retired coach
• SEC head coach with two regional appearances and zero super regional appearances (former player)
• SEC assistant
• Big Ten head coach with three regional appearances and zero super regional appearances

But State fans still believe that we could just go out and hire whomever we want.

And it wouldn't matter if Tommy Lasorda or Sparky Anderson came back from the dead to coach this team, some will always complain.

 

[Perd Hapley]

They expect excellence like we use to.

Nah, not really. Dude has just never done anything in 6 years. Comparing Kingston to Lemonis? Comical.

Full Seasons:
Lemonis - 5
Kingston - 6

National Championships:
Lemonis - 1
Kingston - 0

CWS Appearances:
Lemonis - 2
Kingston - 0

Super Regional appearances:
Lemonis - 2
Kingston - 2

Regional Appearances:
Lemonis - 3
Kingston - 4

50-win Seasons:
Lemonis - 2
Kingston - 0

40-win Seasons:
Lemonis - 3
Kingston - 1

Career Regular Season SEC record:
Lemonis - 75-75
Kingston - 83-96

The dude sucks. And, no one wants to hear this, but he’s sucked at a school and a program with more advantages than MSU. South Carolina’s history in the past 35 years or so is equal or better than MSU across the board. They have more money, a superior recruiting footprint, a bigger stadium, and a lot of other things going for them.

 

[ETK99]

Unfortunately not surprising.

And @pseudonym is correct, considering the difficulty we had hiring a permanent head coach last time, we don’t want Lemonis to go now.

Who out there now has equal to better qualifications than as listed below *and* is attainable?

"WE" didn't have trouble hiring a coach. Cohen had trouble. Cohen ALWAYS had trouble. It was 100% a Cohen problem. People forget, A&Ms coach interviewed. Cohen chose not to hire him (and there were some things) but we had interest. Cohen let another friend make the hire basically. Cohen always wanted a "State guy" by his definition and that was just silly. He thought it had to be "blue collar" & "family" and a "State Guy" instead of hiring the best coach. He was completely lost in football. Basketball people had to get involved with the basketball hire.

 

[57stratdawg]

I think there is more to this story than just W/L which is why Parker bailed. They hosted a regional last year and in 2021. They were on the hosting bubble with us this year.

That’s plenty of production.

 

[eckie1]

I would be surprised if Ray Tanner made that move without having someone lined up.

I thought the only reason we got Parker was because this guy had already been fired…. Only found out that wasn’t the case earlier this season. Shows how much interest I have in the fighting Don Staleys. Sounds like he was a dead man walking all season, instead.

I’m sure they may have somebody lined up, they’ve had plenty of time. But, I don’t look at this guys resume and think “wow, he sucked”. I see he was .500 or below twice, but that’s not surprising (to me) at scar.

 

[57stratdawg]

It would be nice if we could land a pitcher or two.

 

[She Mate Me]

And it wouldn't matter if Tommy Lasorda or Sparky Anderson came back from the dead to coach this team, some will always complain.

Lasorda was an overrated slob and Sparky drank like a fish. No thank you.****

 

[pseudonym]

"WE" didn't have trouble hiring a coach. Cohen had trouble. Cohen ALWAYS had trouble. It was 100% a Cohen problem. People forget, A&Ms coach interviewed. Cohen chose not to hire him (and there were some things) but we had interest. Cohen let another friend make the hire basically. Cohen always wanted a "State guy" by his definition and that was just silly. He thought it had to be "blue collar" & "family" and a "State Guy" instead of hiring the best coach. He was completely lost in football. Basketball people had to get involved with the basketball hire.

“Next time will be different.”

 

[BulldogBlitz]

It would be nice if we could land a pitcher or two.

If they need help filling out the transfer papers, I know someone that can help.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

“Next time will be different.”

We love to bash Cohen. He definitely had some faults, but I think the biggest problem he had was trying to get some one to come to Mississippi State. We can pay on the level that we should get a great coach, but we've never had a history here in anything but baseball.

 

[Msuirondawgs]

Maybe we can scoop up Mershy's little brother that committed to them(He is a catcher) and throw in Ethan Petry too

 

[Maroon Eagle]

"WE" didn't have trouble hiring a coach. Cohen had trouble. Cohen ALWAYS had trouble. It was 100% a Cohen problem. People forget, A&Ms coach interviewed. Cohen chose not to hire him (and there were some things) but we had interest. Cohen let another friend make the hire basically. Cohen always wanted a "State guy" by his definition and that was just silly. He thought it had to be "blue collar" & "family" and a "State Guy" instead of hiring the best coach. He was completely lost in football. Basketball people had to get involved with the basketball hire.

Yawn.

You say all that and he’s the person ultimately responsible for hiring the only person to coach a National Champion at Mississippi State.

You can blame a lot of things on John Cohen but he’s the only MSU AD who’s done that.

He also hired a first-time head coach who led State to a surprising super regional, pulled the plug on him early the next season, and promoted an in-house interim who guided State to a WTF CWS appearance.

He made more smart and also necessary business decisions for MSU baseball than SPS people want to think.

Yes, there are times that John Cohen is indeed the smartest person in the room.

 

[Yeti]

Cohens personality , I would bet ,rubbed candidates the wrong way. I suspect some just said no thanks.

 

[Mr. Cook]

Yawn.

You say all that and he’s the person ultimately responsible for hiring the only person to coach a National Champion at Mississippi State.

You can blame a lot of things on John Cohen but he’s the only MSU AD who’s done that.

He also hired a first-time head coach who led State to a surprising super regional, pulled the plug on him early the next season, and promoted an in-house interim who guided State to a WTF CWS appearance.

He made more smart and also necessary business decisions for MSU baseball than SPS people want to think.

Yes, there are times that John Cohen is indeed the smartest person in the room.

When it comes to Natty’s at MSU, he’s the only one in the room. *****

 

[Maroon Eagle]

When it comes to Natty’s at MSU, he’s the only one in the room. *****

Exactly.

People hate Cohen and Lemonis because deep in their hearts they KNOW they can’t loathe them like they do many other MSU people.

Jealous are they ($1)

 

[Mr. Cook]

Exactly.

People hate Cohen and Lemonis because deep in their hearts they KNOW they can’t loathe them like they do many other MSU people.

Jealous are they ($1)

************************************************************

 

[DawgieDust]

I'm impressed with Parker. His developing of talent is excellent & has been proven at multiple stops. After listening to him on interviews, his baseball knowledge is very high. Seems like a baseball talking dude and i have to imagine would be an excellent recruiter. I think he has a bright future and head coaching could be in near future.

 

[Perd Hapley]

We love to bash Cohen. He definitely had some faults, but I think the biggest problem he had was trying to get some one to come to Mississippi State. We can pay on the level that we should get a great coach, but we've never had a history here in anything but baseball.

Even in baseball, we’ve never had a history of ever making any splash hires….except when we hired Cohen himself. And he obviously only took our job based on being a former player. Not a chance in hell he would have left UK for MSU if he had no previous ties to MSU.

Hell, just look back through the years:

Lemonis - was more highly regarded than Cannizarro, but still a relative unknown.

Cannizarro - LOL

Cohen - splash hire of a former player

Polk 2 - LOL

McMahon - Career pitching coach / low mid-major HC. Equivalent of just hiring the OC or DC under a successful, retiring HC.

Polk 1 - Someone who had a good understanding of the college baseball landscape in the early 70’s can comment on if this was a proven splash hire or a relative unknown.

 

[The Cooterpoot]

When it comes to Natty’s at MSU, he’s the only one in the room. *****

When it comes to recruiting the players to win a natty, he's still missed all post season twice and lost in a regional without hosting. Lemonis could've had a job here forever if he was good at it but he's not. Just like Foxhall had one great showing in post season and then fell apart and got fired.

 

[The Cooterpoot]

Yawn.

You say all that and he’s the person ultimately responsible for hiring the only person to coach a National Champion at Mississippi State.

You can blame a lot of things on John Cohen but he’s the only MSU AD who’s done that.

He also hired a first-time head coach who led State to a surprising super regional, pulled the plug on him early the next season, and promoted an in-house interim who guided State to a WTF CWS appearance.

He made more smart and also necessary business decisions for MSU baseball than SPS people want to think.

Yes, there are times that John Cohen is indeed the smartest person in the room.

You're right, he hired Canz who recruited players here. Cohen recruited better as has every coach prior to Lemonis. Canz just couldn't get right beyond that and got fired by Cohen. John Cohen was an idiot AD and anyone involved with the school can tell you so minus the boosters that pushed for his hiring. Thankfully we've cleaned house of most of those issues.

 

[patdog]

Even in baseball, we’ve never had a history of ever making any splash hires….except when we hired Cohen himself. And he obviously only took our job based on being a former player. Not a chance in hell he would have left UK for MSU if he had no previous ties to MSU.

Hell, just look back through the years:

Lemonis - was more highly regarded than Cannizarro, but still a relative unknown.

Cannizarro - LOL

Cohen - splash hire of a former player

Polk 2 - LOL

McMahon - Career pitching coach / low mid-major HC. Equivalent of just hiring the OC or DC under a successful, retiring HC.

Polk 1 - Someone who had a good understanding of the college baseball landscape in the early 70’s can comment on if this was a proven splash hire or a relative unknown.

Polk 1 was a pretty big hire. He had taken Georgia Southern to the CWS. Got fed up with their lack of commitment to the baseball program and quit to be an assistant at Miami under legendary coach Ron Fraser. Then we hired him, before the season started. Interestingly, his replacement on Fraser's staff at Miami was Skip Bertman. Polk and Bertman had known each other from the late 1960s when Polk was at Miami Dade Jr. College and Skip was a HS coach in Miami.

 

[8dog]

You're right, he hired Canz who recruited players here. Cohen recruited better as has every coach prior to Lemonis. Canz just couldn't get right beyond that and got fired by Cohen. John Cohen was an idiot AD and anyone involved with the school can tell you so minus the boosters that pushed for his hiring. Thankfully we've cleaned house of most of those issues.

Who did Can get to campus besides Tanner Allen? I see this comment a lot about Can but don’t get the recruiting love.

We ended up with him bc Cohen insisted on taking the AD job in October and literally said he pulled up a list of top assistants on D1 baseball to start his search. Great process

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Even in baseball, we’ve never had a history of ever making any splash hires….except when we hired Cohen himself. And he obviously only took our job based on being a former player. Not a chance in hell he would have left UK for MSU if he had no previous ties to MSU.

Hell, just look back through the years:

Lemonis - was more highly regarded than Cannizarro, but still a relative unknown.

Cannizarro - LOL

Lemonis coached IU to three regionals in four seasons— which ain’t a small feat for a B1G school.

Cannizzaro was seen at the time as a pretty savvy late hire of an assistant coach on the rise. I seem to recall that the LSU coach was pissed off ar the time.

Cohen - splash hire of a former player

Best hire State could have made at the time.

Polk 2 - LOL

But still coached State to a CWS in his second tenure.

McMahon - Career pitching coach / low mid-major HC. Equivalent of just hiring the OC or DC under a successful, retiring HC.

A bit more than that — Mac came back to State as head coach in waiting. Smart hire by LT & RP.

Polk 1 - Someone who had a good understanding of the college baseball landscape in the early 70’s can comment on if this was a proven splash hire or a relative unknown.

1970s college baseball was seen as a nonentity back then.

RP coached Georgia Southern to the 1973 CWS. That District tournament was in Starkville incidentally so he was not an unknown.