‘I’m not going anywhere,’ USC baseball coach Paul Mainieri says
Paul Mainieri on Monday dismissed rumors of any possible head coaching change with the South Carolina baseball program.
Speaking on his weekly radio appearance on 107.5 FM, the first-year Gamecock coach said there have been no conversations about his future after one season with the program..
“I’m not going anywhere,” Mainieri said. “I’m totally committed to getting this program back on track competing for championships. That’s why we came. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. There is a reason there (was) a coaching change. You inherit a situation and you do the best you can. The kids are giving me everything they’ve got.”
Speculation around Mainieri’s job security has been in question for a few weeks now and was heightened after this weekend’s performance against Florida. The Gators swept the Gamecocks, including by scores of 22-3 and 8-0 in a doubleheader on Sunday.
Earlier on Monday, a university source told The State the Gamecocks will not make any major decisions about their baseball program — notably about the future of Mainieri — while the season is ongoing.
South Carolina sits 26-23 overall but just 5-19 in the Southeastern Conference, one spot ahead of Missouri, which has yet to win an SEC game this season. The Gamecocks have two SEC series left against Auburn and LSU before the conference tournament.
“As far as my status there is no conversations about anything,” Mainieri said. “I came here to do a job. I know it doesn’t look like we are making progress to most people and I understand that. … We are working hard everyday to build for the future.”
Mainieri said his team’s shortcomings have been “exposed” in conference play and that coaches will try to remedy those pitfalls in recruiting.
Mainieri talked about adding pitchers with better velocity and adding more power in the lineup. USC ranks 12th out of 16 teams in the conference in home runs (47) and near the bottom in strikeouts from its pitching staff.
“Need to get some hard-throwing pitchers and guys that can hit out of the park. That is what wins in this league,” Mainieri said.
The Gamecocks have signed 10 players so far for 2025 class, including four from the junior college ranks. The team is expected to be busy in the transfer portal over the next few months.
“While we are coaching this team, we are recruiting like crazy and having some good luck already,” Mainieri said. “Hopefully we will have a good summer in recruiting and put out a much better team out there next year.
“We are going to continue to work at it. We are recruiting like crazy. We are going to improve but sometimes it takes time.”
South Carolina baseball schedule
- Thursday at Auburn, 8 p.m. (ESPNU)
- Friday at Auburn, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Saturday at Auburn, 3:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
- May 13 vs. Winthrop, 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- May 15 vs. LSU, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
- May 16 vs. LSU, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- May 17 vs. LSU, 3 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
This story was originally published May 5, 2025 at 6:14 PM.
