Paul Mainieri shares life, coaching lessons learned along journey to South Carolina
New South Carolina baseball coach Paul Mainieri’s coaching resume speaks for itself.
After three seasons away from college baseball, Mainieri returns as the active wins leader at the NCAA Division I level. His teams have won 1,505 games, along with one national championship, over the course of his career.
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Mainieri landed head coaching jobs at St. Thomas University, the Air Force Academy, Notre Dame and LSU before taking on a similar role at South Carolina. At each of those stops, he learned valuable lessons that helped him along his coaching journey.
Mainieri’s coaching career began at St. Thomas, a private Catholic university in Miami, whose athletic teams competed at the NCAA Division II level at the time. In his six seasons there, he focused on player development and helping the team make a name for itself.
“No one really even knew we had a baseball program,” Mainieri said. “All I did was work with the players and enjoy that part of it.”
He then was named the head baseball coach at Air Force after six seasons in Florida. With his appointment, he became the first civilian to hold the position.
Mainieri would eventually be the second-most successful coach in program history, despite finishing his tenure with a 152-158 record. But he said his primary takeaway from his time with the Falcons was much bigger than baseball.
“My uncle served as a bombardier in World War II. My father served in the Army. When you’re around the cadets at the Air Force Academy and around people that have served in our military, I can’t tell you how much that makes you feel privileged to have opportunities to go out onto the baseball field and play a game that we love because of those people,” Mainieri said. “My time at the Air Force Academy is something I’ll always cherish.”
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After another six seasons at Air Force, Mainieri was chosen to take on a coaching opportunity at Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish, who had not reached the College World Series since 1957, were looking for new leadership.
Mainieri joked that turning down the job would lead to him not getting into heaven “on the first ballot.” He added that he will never forget one of his first memories with the program, which came during his initial press conference.
“I’m sitting there just amazed that people cared enough about baseball,” Mainieri said. “The priest next to me leaned over to me and said, ‘Paul, I want you to know, because we’re a private school, you don’t have to divulge what your salary is.’ And I said, ‘Don’t worry, Father, I’m just as embarrassed about it as you are.’”
Success would eventually follow after the awarding of that paycheck. Mainieri helped Notre Dame return to the College World Series in 2002 and make nine NCAA Tournament appearances across 12 seasons.
While with the Fighting Irish, he had multiple opportunities to climb the coaching ladder one step further and lead teams in the SEC and the Big 12. But none of those opportunities excited him enough to make him want to leave South Bend.
That was until he received a call from Skipp Bertman, LSU’s athletic director at the time. He had been the Tigers’ baseball coach for almost three decades, amassing five national championships in the process.
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Mainieri said he took the job the next day, after having a conversation with his wife, because he believed he would regret it for the rest of his life if he didn’t.
“In the biggest games of the year, the most pressure on you, you cannot be afraid to fail. You’ve got to believe in yourself, and you’ve got to go out there and make it happen. You need to attack,” Mainieri said. “Well, I started thinking, ‘Maybe I ought to listen to that advice I gave my players through all those years, and I ought to take this jump of faith. Let’s go for it.’”
Mainieri achieved the greatest success of his coaching with the Tigers, the team he earned all four of his national championships with. But he was forced into an early retirement after experiencing neck issues that made it physically difficult for him.
Three years later, Mainieri said he is now feeling better than ever and looking forward to coaching the Gamecocks.
“Right now, I’m standing in front of you at 66 years old. But, believe me, that’s just a number. I don’t feel anything close to 66 years old – I feel like I’m 40 years old again,” Mainieri said. “I’m so excited about being here and doing this job. I’m so excited about being part of the Carolina history and the tradition – the winning tradition.”
