The South Carolina Gamecocks baseball program is entering a new era. On Wednesday, the Gamecocks made the hire of head coach Kevin Schnall official, and the former Coastal Carolina coach brings some major College World Series experience to Columbia.
Now that his hire is official, we now know what his new contract with South Carolina looks like. According to 247Sports, Schnall will be making $1.3 million in his first season as South Carolina's head coach, which will begin in 2027. The five-year contract will increase by $50,000 starting on July 1, 2027, and each year from there.
Over the course of those five years, his contract will total close to $7 million. According to WNBF News, Schnall is getting a pretty massive pay raise with his new gig. Per Schnall's contact he signed with Coastal Carolina in October of 2025, he had a base salary of $500,000.
Schall was expected to be a frontrunner for Gamecocks AD Jeremiah Donati when head coach Paul Mainieri resigned in March. The former Chanicleers head coach is 93-36 as a head coach, and led Coastal to a College World Series appearance just last season. As an assistant with the Chanticleers from 2001-2012 and again from 2016-2024, he helped Coastal win their first-ever CWS title in 2016.
His contract also includes several incentives, like a $50,000 raise if the team participates in a Super Regional or $75,000 if it goes to the College World Series. If South Carolina were to win its first CWS title since 2011, he will get a $150,000 raise.
What Coastal and Schnall were able to do with far less resources than a place like South Carolina is massively impressive. In Columbia, the Gamecocks can give him plenty in terms of recruiting and staff support to bring South Carolina back to the CWS where it belongs. It also helps that Schnall having coached within the state means he knows exactly what it takes to bring winning ways back to the Gamecocks.
“I’ve been in the state of South Carolina for 25 years, and I’ve seen first-hand the power of the University of South Carolina and the power of University of South Carolina baseball,” Schnall said via the school. “The opportunity to be a part of this program is something that I quietly imagined for a long time. This is an opportunity that I can assure you, we’re not going to take for granted.”
South Carolina athletic director Jeremiah Donati brings in a head coach with plenty of winning experience, with decades of it on his resume. While nobody can predict the future, it's clear that South Carolina is paying Schnall like it has picked a true winner on the diamond.
Using 2026 college baseball head coach contracts, Schnall will be just outside one of the nation's 10 highest-paid head coaches in college baseball.
Gamecock fans should be fired up about the new era of South Carolina baseball under Schnall. He will have the opportunity to breathe new life into a program that went 40-40 under Mainieri the last two seasons.
ALSO READ: South Carolina football kickoff time windows revealed for 2026
Add us as a preferred source on Google