Paul Mainieri reflects on first year at South Carolina after disappointing season
Standing alone with his backpack on, Paul Mainieri looked out at the field where so many of the teams that he led over the years were winning SEC championships. Six to be exact, only second to his friend and former LSU head coach, Skip Bertman.
This latest trip to Hoover gave him a much different feeling, though. For only the second time in his career, he was heading home on the first day of the SEC Tournament. The first time? In 2021, his last year at LSU when he announced he would be retiring after the season.
But four years later, Mainieri was back in the same spot after South Carolina suffered an 11-3 loss to Florida in the first round on Tuesday.
His first year in Columbia ended with many program lows. The Gamecocks finished with not only a losing record but their worst-ever SEC record and most losses in a single season. This wasn’t what he expected when he first arrived last summer.
“This program isn’t in the doldrums,” Mainieri said at his introductory press conference last June. “They won 37 games last year. They won three games in the SEC Tournament. They won a game in the regional. They’re close. There’s talent on this team. I know there’s talent on this team.”
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If South Carolina wasn’t in the doldrums before, though, it surely is now. Sure, there were injuries dating back to well before the season started, even though Mainieri didn’t want to use them as an excuse for why the season went the way it did.
“It’s just reality. We didn’t have the depth to overcome some of those things,” he said. “I’m an optimist by nature. And I thought that we would have what it took to compete in this league.”
But there were problems far beyond a few injuries that were impactful. Now, Mainieri, who will turn 68 years old in August, will be tasked with turning the program around after being at its lowest point.
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“I think the future is bright for our program,” Mainieri said. “And like I said, I’m disappointed about this year, but I’m not discouraged about the future. We’re just going to keep rolling up our sleeves and working hard at it, and hopefully we’re going to be a lot better next year.”
There will undoubtedly be many changes to the roster as there always are when the transfer portal opens on June 2. Mainieri said he and his staff are anxious for that day to come since they’re “going to need a lot of players there.”
As for what else could look different, Mainieri quickly shut down the idea of any staff changes coming. Specifically with his pitching coach and recruiting coordinator, Terry Rooney, who led the Gamecocks to the worst ERA (6.41) in program history.
“Terry Rooney is here to stay. He’s not going anywhere,” Mainieri ensured. “He’s an outstanding coach, and he’ll prove that as we go forward. And there won’t be any other changes with our staff.”
Regarding his future, Mainieri has already stated that he isn’t going anywhere. While the program is in a spot now where a rebuild looks evident, he believes he will have the full support from the administration to get things back on track.
“Yes,” he said when asked point-blank about administration support. “Very simply, yes.”
