South Carolina baseball coach Mark Kingston fired

South Carolina baseball coach Mark Kingston has been fired after seven seasons leading the program, the university has announced. The news comes after the Gamecocks lost in the Raleigh Regional on Sunday, failing to reach the championship game of the regional.

South Carolina finished with a 37-25 (13-17) record in 2024 and was swept in its final two series of the regular season.

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Mark Kingston finishes his time at South Carolina with a 217-155 record. Kingston addressed his future in Columbia after the Gamecocks lost to James Madison in an elimination game on Sunday.

“Everybody at South Carolina wants to win at a high level,” Mark Kingston said when asked if he felt like he had the support of the administration.

Kingston added that his program obviously needed to get better. The Gamecocks missed the NCAA Tournament twice in two seasons under Kingston.

“I think every program in the country wants to keep getting better and we’re no different. The SEC is filled with teams that are dumping huge resources in. I think it’s just a matter of we need to continue to do everything we can to try to get this program what it needs to be successful,” Kingston said. “There’s so many parts of our program that are in great shape, great shape. But obviously we need to keep getting better – bottom line.”

South Carolina has historically had an excellent program, and the job should be an attractive one for coaches around the country.

Current Athletics Director Ray Tanner led the Gamecocks to the College World Series six times from 2002-2012. The Gamecocks won the national title in 2010 and 2011 and finished as the runner ups in 2012. After that season, Tanner moved into the Athletics Director role at South Carolina, and assistant Chad Holbrook was promoted to head baseball coach.

Holbrook finished 200-106 in five seasons at South Carolina before being fired and replaced by Kingston. Now Tanner is once again looking for a new head coach.

South Carolina was inconsistent on the mound and at the plate this season. The Gamecocks had only two players hit .300 or better in sophomore Ethan Petry and catcher Cole Messina. Kingston’s club had a team batting average of .276 and an ERA of 5.09.

The Gamecocks did deal with some injuries, but they were never able to live up to expectations after reaching the super regionals in 2023 before falling to Florida.