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Coastal Carolina hires Chris Lemonis, who won title at Mississippi State, as coach

Coastal Carolina hired former Mississippi State baseball coach Chris Lemonis as its next coach, the program announced June 11.

The news comes less than 24 hours after South Carolina baseball officially announced the hiring of Kevin Schnall, who was Coastal Carolina's coach the last two seasons.

Lemonis is from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, near Coastal Carolina and was at MSU from 2019-25. He took the Bulldogs to the College World Series in 2019 and 2021, winning the national championship the second time. It remains the only national title in program history.

He was fired from the program in April 2025, ending his time with MSU with a 232–135 overall record.

"Chris Lemonis is one of the most respected coaches in college baseball," said Coastal Carolina athletic director Chance Miller in the news release. "He knows what it takes to get to Omaha, and more importantly, he knows what it takes to win there. Chris has proven himself everywhere he has been, and we're excited to bring a national championship-winning coach home to Conway."

Mississippi State hired Brian O'Connor to replace Lemonis, and this year the Bulldogs lost in the NCAA super regionals.

Lemonis was coach at Indiana before he was hired by MSU. The former Citadel player also was an assistant coach there from 1995-2006.

Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at LKesin@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X@Lulukesin and Bluesky‪@bylulukesin.bsky.social‬

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Coastal Carolina baseball hires Chris Lemonis as coach

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