South Carolina Baseball Coach Paul Mainieri Shuts Down Rumors Amid Rough Season: “I Didn’t Come Here Just for One Year”
Despite a brutal weekend series against Florida, social media buzzed with speculation that South Carolina head coach Paul Mainieri could be on his way out. But according to the man himself—he’s not going anywhere.
“If there’s going to be a change, it’s news to me, I’ll tell you that,” said Mainieri in response to the swirling rumors. “I didn’t come here just to be here for one year.”
The chatter around Mainieri’s job security intensified after the Gamecocks were outscored 30-3 in a doubleheader against Florida. But on his regular Monday radio appearance on 107.5 The Game, and again during a Tuesday media session, Mainieri made it clear he hasn’t had any conversations about his job being in jeopardy.
“I’m the coach at South Carolina. Nobody has told me anything different or implied anything different,” he said. “I’m totally committed to being here, and I want to see this thing get on the tracks in the right way.”
Now in his first season at the helm, Mainieri admitted the results have been disappointing, with the Gamecocks sitting at 26-23 overall and just 5-19 in SEC play. With a postseason berth highly unlikely unless they win the SEC Tournament, the focus now is avoiding the worst conference record in program history—currently 8-22 set in 2019 under Mark Kingston. Mainieri’s squad would need to go 4-2 in the final six games to avoid eclipsing that low.
Although Mainieri was hired by former AD Ray Tanner, he said his relationship with current athletics director Jeremiah Donati has been nothing short of positive.
“He’s a great guy. I love Jeremiah,” said Mainieri. “He’s been nothing but supportive. He’s been phenomenal… I think he has confidence in me and my staff, and I have confidence in him.”
Reflecting on his initial comments during his hiring—which mentioned a “one-year plan”—Mainieri acknowledged he may have created unrealistic expectations.
“People say that almost like I was guaranteeing that we’re going to Omaha the first year,” he said. “You guys have followed sports and understand sports. When there’s a change, there’s a change for a reason.”
Still, he remains hopeful for what’s ahead.
“At some point, we’ll be standing in front of you, and you all will be saying to me, ‘You told us this was going to happen,’ and it will.”
