Josh Holliday, Oklahoma State
Holliday is another up-and-coming coach in the sport, taking Oklahoma State to the College World Series in 2016 and winning the Big 12 Tournament this year, D1Baseball's Kendall Rogers said he's a candidate for job
He’s been the head man at Oklahoma State since 2013 and has a 200-101 record since taking over. Before that he was an assistant at Vanderbilt, Arizona State, Georgia Tech, NC State and Oklahoma State.
Pros: He knows how to win, with five NCAA Tournament appearances and one trip to Omaha. He also knows how to recruit in the SEC as an assistant at Vanderbilt. He’s also been acquainted with the South Carolina program, beating the Gamecocks in the Super Regionals last year. He was able to see the facilities and the fan support when he was down here for the few days in June 2016.
Cons: Holliday also makes a good amount of money, $600,00 base salary annually. It would take some money to pull him away, if he was the man for the job, and it’s money Ray Tanner said he’d be willing to pay. Holliday is also at his alma mater, which could make it hard for him to leave.
Mark Kingston, South Florida
According to multiple reports, Kingston interviewed for the Gamecock opening last week, coming to Columbia and touring the facilities. He’s been the head coach at South Florida since 2015, coming from a head coach gig at Illinois State before that.
As an assistant at Miami in the early 2000s, he went to the College World Series before moving on to Tulane and Illinois State.
Pros: He’s had success in his second head coach job, taking the Bulls to the NCAA Tournament in two of the three years he’s been in Tampa. The Bulls had a 42-19 record this year and topped 30 wins in two of his three seasons. He would also be a steal money-wise, only making $140,000 annually at USF.
Cons: Kingston doesn’t have a huge sample size as a major Division I head coach, only three seasons, all of which coming at a non-Power Five school. He also hasn’t advanced past the NCAA Regionals in his two trips to the tournament.
Also see: Team scoop and an update on Jaycee Horn
Chris Lemonis, Indiana
Lemonis has manned the Indiana program since 2015 and has taken the Hoosiers to two NCAA Tournaments. Indiana is his first head coaching gig, and before that he was an assistant under Dan McDonnell at Louisville and The Citadel.
Pros: Lemonis is an up-and-coming coach in the sport, taking an Indiana program coming off a College World Series appearance and building off that success. He has a 99-68-2 record at Indiana, including a 34-24-2 record in 2017. He has ties to the state and recruiting hotbeds, playing at The Citadel from 1990-93 and coaching there for 11 years. He also has family in Columbia as well. He’s not making too much money, comparatively, only $250,000 base salary annually.
Cons: Lemonis is a somewhat unproven commodity, only holding one head coach job in his career with a small sample size at Indiana, only one year. He also hasn’t heavily recruited the Southeast since leaving Louisville in 2014.
Kevin O’Sullivan, Florida
O’Sullivan is a name generating a lot of buzz over the last few weeks. He’s spent the last 10 seasons at Florida and has taken the Gators to the College World Series six times, including the championship series this year.
Before heading to Gainesville, he was an assistant at Clemson and Virginia.
Pros: He’s a proven winner with two College World Series finals trips and five SEC titles (three regular season, two tournament). He’s recruited at a high level at Florida and reports show he’s interested in South Carolina for numerous reasons, including fan support and facilities.
Being an assistant under Jack Leggett at Clemson, he has ties to the state and its baseball talent. He also knows the area and the program well since he’s coached against South Carolina in some capacity since 2002.
Cons: O’Sullivan is a well-paid man at Florida, raking in more than $1 million annually as the Gators’ head coach. He would likely need to make as much, if not more at South Carolina if he were to leave. Plus, his buyout as of July 1 is $750,000, down from roughly $1 million right now.
Also see: Why is July such an important month for the Gamecocks?
Tom Walter, Wake Forest
Walter is another hot name in coaching. He’s been at Wake Forest since 2010, taking the Demon Deacons to two NCAA Tournaments, including a Super Regional berth this year. Before taking over at Wake, he was the head coach at George Washington and New Orleans.
Pros: He knows the region well coaching in the ACC and can recruit in states like South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia. He also has been in the NCAA Tournament and Super Regionals.
Cons: He has only had a moderate level of success at Wake, close to a .500 record in his time there. He also has only been to two tournaments and only one Super Regional since 2010, which came this year.
Also see: The latest on Rick Sandige
Roger Williams, Louisville
Sports Talk SC reported Williams gained interest as a candidate for the South Carolina opening. He’s been at Louisville for the last 11 seasons as the team’s pitching coach. He’s coached numerous All-Americans, including one this year, No. 4 overall pick in this year’s draft Brendan McKay.
Pros: Williams would cost less money, since he hasn’t been a head coach before. As an assistant, he has good experience recruiting in the Southeast and in SEC teams’ footprints. He’s also been a part of numerous College World Series teams.
Cons: He has no head coaching experience currently, and would be taking over one of the top-tier jobs in the country with Omaha expectations annually.
