Paul Mainieri, South Carolina hire John Hendry, son of former Chicago Cubs general manager

Along with its announcement of the hire of Paul Mainieri, South Carolina has announced the hire or retention of three assistant coaches, including that of John Hendry, the son of long-time MLB executive and former Chicago Cubs general manager John Hendry.

Hendry had spent the last three years at Virginia, where he helped coach the Cavaliers to three straight appearances in Omaha, including this season.

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Known for his connections to his father, Hendry has begun to carve out his own space in the baseball world. He was a pitcher for the University of Indianapolis from 2016-21, working as both a starting pitcher and a reliever.

Following his playing days he immediately jumped into coaching.

He had served as Virginia’s director of player development most recently, helping build the club in various ways. It’s unclear exactly what role he’ll serve with the Gamecocks on Paul Mainieri’s staff, but it’s a quality addition, to be sure.

South Carolina also announced that assistant Monte Lee is being retained and will serve as associate head coach, while pitching coach and recruiting coordinator Terry Rooney will join the program from LSU.

Mainieri, of course, has plenty of ties to the LSU program after serving as the Tigers head coach from 2007-2021.

He takes over at South Carolina as the active leader in career wins in Division I (1,505), having guided LSU to the 2009 national championship, as well as a runner-up finish in 2017.

Paul Mainieri has twice been named the SEC Coach of the Year and is a four-time National Coach of the Year (2000, 2008, 2009, 2015).

“This is a wonderful opportunity to coach at a prestigious and tradition-rich college baseball program,” Paul Mainieri said in a press release announcing his hire. “I coached and competed against Ray Tanner for years and always had the greatest respect for him and the USC program. To now join with him on the same team and become a part of this program was simply something from which I could not walk away.

“We have a super coaching staff in place, I feel great and energized, I can’t wait to get started working with the players, and let’s get this University of South Carolina baseball program back to where it belongs – in Omaha and in the College World Series.”