After making the decision not to bring back Monte Lee as head baseball coach for the 2023 season, Clemson athletic director Graham Neff said the program is ready to “invest and invest big” in a coach that can get the Tigers back to contending for ACC championships and beyond.
In Neff’s educated opinion, the responsibility of leading a program that’s made 32 of the last 35 NCAA Tournaments and has been to 12 College World Series is one that ranks top 15 nationally. And while Neff said he would be open to all types of candidates, he admitted he will start by looking for high-profile, accomplished coaches in the sport.
But what exactly will it cost for Neff to lure that kind of coach to Clemson?
If the current marketplace is any indicator, it could be seven figures or something close to it, the kind of money Clemson has never spent for a baseball coach. Lee made $500,000 this season while his predecessor, Jack Leggett, who led the Tigers to their six most recent College World Series appearances during his 22-year tenure, had an annual compensation package of $400,000.
That’s in stark contrast to what many of the sport’s most successful coaches are pulling in annually.
Of the teams that entered this weekend’s regionals ranked in the top 15 of D1Baseball’s latest top 25, there’s more than one being led by a million-dollar coach. Start at the top with Tennessee coach Tony Vitello, who, fresh off leading the top-ranked Volunteers to their first CWS appearance since 2005, is making $1.5 million this year. Texas A&M’s Jim Schlossnagle, who previously took TCU to Omaha five times, is reportedly bringing in $1.4 million in annual compensation. Louisville’s Dan McDonnell is making roughly $1.1 million a year.
There are coaches at other high-profile programs that are also raking in some serious coin. The SEC, which has produced seven of the last 12 CWS champions, is full of seven-figure baseball coaches, including Vanderbilt’s Tim Corbin ($1.668 million), Arkansas’ Dave Van Horn ($1.3 million), Mississippi State’s Chris Lemonis ($1.25 million), Ole Miss’ Mike Bianco ($1.2 million), LSU’s Jay Johnson ($1.2 million) and Florida coach and former Clemson assistant Kevin O’Sullivan ($1.2 million) among others, according to USA Today.
After McDonnell, Virginia’s Bryan O’Conner may be the ACC’s next-highest paid coach at roughly $765,000 in annual compensation. McConnell and O’Connor have combined to lead their current programs to 15 super regional appearances and 10 trips to Omaha.
As a private institution, Notre Dame is not required to release salary information for its coach, Link Jarrett, who has Clemson’s interest piqued. As for a pair of other candidates Neff has interest in, Michigan’s Erik Bakich and East Carolina’s Cliff Godwin are coaches whose compensation packages are more comparable to what Leff made this season.
Bakich makes roughly $400,000 in base salary as part of a contract that was extended following the Wolverines’ CWS appearance in 2019. Godwin, whose Pirates earned a No. 8 national seed this postseason, is reportedly making $405,000 this season.
Bakich and Godwin have been at the helm of their programs for at least eight years each, so getting them to leave a familiar situation when they’ve got a good thing going – and in Godwin’s case, his home state and his alma mater – would likely force Clemson to make a financial offer neither could refuse. Jarrett is only in his third season at Notre Dame but is trying to get the Fighting Irish back to the super regionals for the second straight year.
Regardless of who he eventually zeros on in, if Neff is determined to make a splash hire with proven credentials in the college ranks, one thing is certain: it won’t come cheap.
