Paul Mainieri (born August 29, 1957) is an American baseball coach and second baseman.
He then served as the head coach of the St. Thomas Bobcats (1983–1988), the Air Force Falcons (1989–1994), the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1995–2006) and the LSU Tigers (2007–2021).
[2] Mainieri completed his undergraduate degree requirement at Florida International University in 1980, earning a B.S.
Both Mainieris have deep roots with St. Thomas, and recently became the first father-son duo to be elected to the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Mainieri became the sixth person to be inducted into the St. Thomas Hall of Fame, joining Ken Stibler, Marinka Bisceglia, Manny Mantrana, Laura Courtley-Todd and John Batule.
Mainieri replaced Smoke Laval at the end of the LSU Tigers' 2006 season.
However, the team then went on a Southeastern Conference record 23-game win streak and moved on to claim the 2008 SEC Tournament championship.
Under Mainieri's leadership, the team swept the Baton Rouge Regional bracket of the NCAA baseball post-season and won their first Super-Regional since 2004.
It was LSU's first College World Series appearance since 2004 and they recorded their first win since their CWS championship in 2000.
Florida swept LSU and the Tigers finished as College World Series runner-up.
[citation needed] Paul Mainieri was named the 31st head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks baseball program on June 11, 2024.