South Carolina baseball could not be at a lower point after back-to-back losing seasons and multiple players hitting the transfer portal. The decision to fire former head coach Paul Mainieri felt long overdue, even though he only spent two seasons with the Gamecocks, but South Carolina knew a change was needed.
The Gamecocks stretched their search far and wide, wider than some might have expected, but after nearly two and a half months of searching, it has all come to an end. Per On3's Pete Nakos, South Carolina is set to hire Coastal Carolina coach Kevin Schnall to be the next skipper for Gamecocks baseball.
BREAKING: South Carolina is set to hire Coastal Carolina head baseball coach Kevin Schnall as its next HC, @PeteNakos and @jcshurburtt report. https://t.co/13iOEwmHRW pic.twitter.com/NuYoQJch9X
— On3 (@On3) June 9, 2026
Kevin Schnall comes with a short resume that has big accomplishments on it
While some may scoff at a small school like Coastal Carolina, the Chanticleers have had a lot of success on the baseball diamond in the last few years, including a National Championship appearance in the 2025 season, thanks to the coaching of Schnall, who was a top candidate for the job as soon as it opened up in Columbia.
While Schnall's coaching resume might be shorter, he has proved he can take a team with not a lot of resources to the big game. In his first season with Coastal Carolina, Schanll led the Chanticleers to a National Championship appearance, ultimately falling to LSU in the big series. In his second season, Coastal Carolina was a No. 2 seed in the Regional round, falling short of making it back to the Super Regional round.
Coming in with a 93-36 record in the last two seasons, South Carolina is eager that Schnall will be able to bring those winning ways back to Columbia. After being one of the worst teams in the SEC the last two seasons under Mainieri, there is hope that Schnall can lead the Gamecocks out of the baseball basement and back to its early 2010s winning ways.
With 20 players currently in the transfer portal from South Carolina, Schnall will have his work cut out for him when it comes to roster building. Schnall is expected to get a large sum in NIL/Revenue Share money for next season in hopes of building a championship-winning roster.
Schnall doesn't bring a ton of experience to his resume, coaching at Coastal Carolina for most of his career as an assistant. He also spent a brief time even further south in the Sunshine State when he joined the staff at UCF. However, he was named the head coach for the Chanticleers in 2025, becoming the Baseball America Coach of the Year.
Schnall was the first-ever first-time head coach to earnt he honor and just the fourth first-time head coach to take his team to the National Championship. South Carolina is expected to officially make the announcement in the next 24 hours with a press conference most likely following later this week.
A new era is set to begin for South Carolina baseball, and fans will eagerly wait to see if the winning ways of Gamecocks baseball will finally return to Columbia.
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