Paul Mainieri gives definitive response to speculation over future at South Carolina: 'I'm not going anywhere'

As the baseball regular season comes to a close, there have been questions about the future of South Carolina head coach Paul Mainieri. Coming out of retirement to take over in Columbia, Mainieri is wrapping up his first season with the Gamecocks. And thus far, results have not been great.

Even so, Mainieri is insistent he will be back with South Carolina in 2026. The goal for him was to get the program back on the right path, competing for national championships. Mission not accomplished quite yet as Mainieri was definitive in his response.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Mainieri said. “I’m totally committed to getting this program back on track and competing for championships. There’s no conversations about anything.”

Mainieri is one of the more accomplished active head coaches in college baseball at the moment. One national championship was won at LSU back in 2009. He is also the two-time SEC Coach of the Year, along with four SEC regular season titles and six in the SEC Tournament.

All these accolades without recognizing the work Mainieri did at Notre Dame as well. Point being — South Carolina has put some trust in Mainieri to turn things around. At the age of 67, he is not ready to call it quits quite yet.

Based on the comments, Mainieri will be back for the 2026 season with South Carolina. This offseason should not bring another coaching search for the baseball program.

More on South Carolina under Paul Mainieri in 2025

South Carolina just wrapped up a weekend series against Florida, getting swept at home. The overall record sits three games over .500 at 26-23, while SEC play has not gone as well. Just five wins are on the resume with 19 losses. Ole Miss is the lone conference team to have a series loss against Mainieri’s bunch.

On3’s Jonathan Wagner does not have South Carolina included in the NCAA Tournament field in his latest projections. They are not even on the bubble, having some serious work to do in order to get back into consideration. At this point, winning in Hoover might be a requirement.

Seven games remain before postseason play begins. A trip to the Plains for a showdown against Auburn will take place beginning Friday, before hosting Winthrop midweek. LSU will then come to Founders Park in what could be an emotional series for Mainieri, going up against his former club.