LSU Baseball Coach Paul Mainieri announced his retirement after 15 impressive seasons serving as the Tiger’s head coach.
Mainieri joined the team back in 2007, but in no ways was this his first rodeo. The Louisiana legend is currently completing his 39th year overall as a head coach throughout his long and notable career.
Prior to his LSU successes, Mainieri coached at St. Thomas University from 1984-88, Air Force from 1989-94, and Notre Dame from 1995-06.
Some of his most noteworthy accomplishments include leading the team to the 2009 College World Series national championship and five CWS appearances.
In his time at LSU, Coach put up a staggering 637 game wins-securing him the No.1 spot on the list for active NCAA coaches and No.9 all-time NCAA wins. He is one of six coaches in NCAA history to have won over 1,500 games as well as a national championship.
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Under Mainieri’s guidance, the Tigers made nine super regional appearances and five College World Series. With his 1501 wins, the legendary coach has the third-highest winning percentage in LSU history.
Mainieri isn’t the only record-breaking coach LSU has seen in the past few decades. Following coach Skip Bertman and coach Ray Tanner, he had a lot to live up to-and he most definitely did not disappoint Tiger nation. He took the pressure with stride and class like no other.
“Make no mistake about it, the goal is to return LSU to the pinnacle position in college baseball,” Mainieri said in his first presser after being announced head coach back in 2006.
“I have all the confidence in the world that we can do that here.”
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Coach Paul Mainieri will go down in histroy as one of the most prominent coaches Baton Rouge has ever seen, his legacy will live on for years and years to come.
“Today is a day of celebration,” Athletic Director Scott Woodward wrote.
“Coach Mainieri’s career is one that others will strive to match, yet few will succeed. His dedication to the sport of baseball and to LSU has been, and will continue to be, unwavering, and we are forever grateful; to him for his commitment to excellence at LSU.”
Not only did CPM contribute to the success of LSU Baseball, he could also be seen speaking to various classes as a motivator and mentor. He will truly be missed on campus.
Who knows, maybe we’ll see an SEC Network documentary on Mainieri next.
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