Paul Mainieri

College coach infobox
Name = Paul Mainieri


ImageWidth =
Caption =
Title = Head Coach
College = Louisiana State University
Sport = Baseball
Conference = Southeastern Conference
CurrentRecord = 78-45-2
DateOfBirth = Birth date and age|1957|8|29
Birthplace = Morgantown, WV
DateOfDeath =
Deathplace =
OverallRecord = 942-537-6
Contract =
BowlRecord =
TournamentRecord =
CFbDWID =
Championships = Big East: 1999, 2001, 2002, 2006
Big East Tournament: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
SEC Tournament: 2008
Awards = National Coach of the Year (CBI): 1999, 2008
National Coach of the Year (Rivals): 2008
CoachingRecords =
Player = *
Years = 1976
1977
1978-1979
Team = LSU
Miami-Dade North CC
UNO
Position = Second base
Coach = *
CoachYears = 1983-1988
1989-1994
1995-2006
2007-Present
CoachTeams = St. Thomas University
Air Force
Notre Dame
LSU
FootballHOF =
CollegeHOFID =
BBallHOF =

Paul Mainieri (born 29 August 1957 in Morgantown, WV) is the current head coach of the LSU baseball team. Prior to that position he was the head coach of the Notre Dame baseball team from 1995-2006, the United States Air Force Academy baseball team from 1989-1994 and the St. Thomas University baseball team from 1983-1988.

His cumulative record in 26 years of coaching is 942-537-6. His Division I coaching record is 763-416-5.

Playing career

Mainieri started his college baseball playing career in 1976 at LSU. He played for one season, earning a letter, before transferring to Miami-Dade North Community College to play for his father, Demie Mainieri. After one year he transferred to the University of New Orleans where he played for two years and helped the team win two Sun Belt Conference titles and earn an appearance in the 1979 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.

Mainieri completed his undergraduate degree requirement at Florida International University in 1980, earning a B.S. in physical education. He played two years of minor league baseball and earned a M.S. in sports administration from St. Thomas University in 1982.

Coaching career

t. Thomas

Mainieri began his coaching career in Florida as the head coach of St. Thomas University in 1983. In six seasons, his team went 179-121-1, and Mainieri became the winningest coach in St. Thomas History.

Air Force

He moved on to the United States Air Force Academy in 1989, where he would also remain for six seasons. He became the second-winningest coach in Air Force history posting a mark of 152-158.

Notre Dame

Moving to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 1995, Mainieri turned the Fighting Irish into a perennial postseason contender winning the Big East tournament an unprecedented 5 straight seasons, making the NCAA Tournament 9 out of 12 seasons, and leading the Irish to one College World Series appearance in 2002. In total, Mainieri posted a .714 winning percentage going 533-213-3 in twelve seasons.

LSU

Mainieri replaced Smoke Laval at the end of the LSU Tigers' 2006 season. In the 2007 season, LSU finished 29-26-1 and did not reach the NCAA Tournament. 40 games into the 2008 season, the Tigers were again struggling with a 23-16-1 record. However, the team then went on a Southeastern Conference record 23-game winning streak. Under Mainieri's leadership, the team swept the Baton Rouge Regional bracket of the NCAA baseball post-season and won their first Super-Regional in years. [cite news |url=http://www.thestate.com/sports/story/422830.html |title=Baseball: LSU's confidence grows with win streak |accessdate=2008-06-18 | date=2008-06-03] UC Irvine ended the streak in the first game of the Super Regional, defeating LSU 11-5, but LSU won the next two games and reached the 2008 College World Series. It was LSU's first College World Series appearance since 2004 and they recorded their first win since their CWS championship in 2000. [cite web | url=http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/20223609.html |title=Rally cats |accessdate=2008-06-18 |date=2008-06-18]

Coaching Tree

Paul Mainieri's influence extends throughout the game of baseball, as seven of his former assistant coaches and six of his former players presently work as coaches or administrators.

Former Assistant Coaches
*Terry Rooney, Head Coach, Central Florida
*Brian O'Connor, Head Coach, Virginia
*David Grewe, Head Coach, Michigan State
*Cory Mee, Head Coach, Toledo
*Dave Schrage, Head Coach, Notre Dame
*Eric Campbell, General Manager, Team USA
*Al Avila, Assistant General Manager, Detroit Tigers

Former Players
*Marty Smith, Head Coach, Central Florida CC
*Rick Hitt, Head Coach, South Florida CC
*Elvis Dominguez, Head Coach, Eastern Kentucky
*John Corbin, Assistant Coach, Eastern Kentucky
*Mike Kazlausky, Assistant Coach, Air Force
*J.J. Brock, Assistant Coach, Toledo

Year By Year Coaching Record

References

* [http://und.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/mainieri_paul00.html University of Notre Dame Athletic Bio]
* [http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=319086&KEY=&DB_OEM_ID=5200&DB_LANG=&IN_SUBSCRIBER_CONTENT= LSUSports.net Bio]
* [http://www.lsubeat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080604/SPORTS0202/806040315 Tigers' win streak preceded by skid]