Who could replace Chad Holbrook as the Gamecocks' next head coach?
Below is our initial look at a few candidates who could take over and become the next head baseball coach at South Carolina.
Dan McDonnell, Louisville
McDonnell has built Louisville into a baseball powerhouse with the Cardinals earning a national seed the last three seasons. McDonnell has also taken them to the College World Series three times. McDonnell has ties to the Palmetto State; he played baseball and was an assistant at The Citadel until 2000 when he left to be an assistant at Ole Miss. He currently makes a base salary of $1 million, so it will be very hard to lure him away.
Kevin O’Sullivan, Florida
O’Sullivan and the Gamecocks have their history, with South Carolina beating O’Sullivan’s Gators to win the 2011 national title. He’s also a proven coach with multiple trips to the College World Series (six total) and is one of college baseball’s few coaches making over $1 million annually. He has a steep buy out, $1 million if he leaves before July and $750,000 after.
Tim Corbin, Vanderbilt
Corbin is also an entrenched, proven winner in the SEC, taking Vanderbilt to three CWS and winning it once in 2014. He’s been at Vanderbilt since 2003 with a great setup, so it would be tough to pull him away from Nashville.
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Brian O’Connor, Virginia
O’Connor has had success in the ACC, winning the national title in 2015 and taking the Cavaliers to Omaha on three other occasions. He has a .729 win percentage (637-236-2) in Charlottesville. He’s only making $225,000 in base salary, a full $175,000 less than Holbrook’s guaranteed pay. He has a $400,000 buyout.
Jim Schlossnagle, TCU
He’s one of the most revered coaches in the sport right now. In his 14th season at TCU, he’s been to the College World Series four times and has won his conference tournament eight times along with 11 regular-season titles.
Mark Calvi, South Alabama
Calvi is no stranger to the Gamecock baseball program, serving as pitching coach starting in 2005 and ending with the team’s 2010 national title. He’s now the head coach at South Alabama and has led the Jaguars to three NCAA Tournaments, three regular season Sun Belt titles and, most recently, one Sun Belt Tournament title.
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Chris Lemonis, Indiana
Lemonis is an up-and-coming coach in the Big 10 with ties to South Carolina. He was an assistant at The Citadel with McDonnell and was one of his assistants at Louisville before taking the Indiana head coach job in 2014. He’s taken the Hoosiers to two regionals in his first three seasons.
Greg Lovelady, UCF
He’s an up-and-coming coach in his first season with the Golden Knights. He took the team to a 40-22 record, winning the American Conference regular season title and taking the team to its first NCAA Tournament since 2012.
Tom Walter, Wake Forest
Walter is in his sixth season with the Demon Deacons, taking the team to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments and advancing to the Super Regionals this year.
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Erik Bakich, Michigan
He’s another rising star in the coaching community. He’s taken Michigan to two NCAA Tournament and won the Big 10 Tournament in 2015. He played his college baseball at East Carolina and was an assistant at Clemson before becoming the head coach at Maryland in 2010.
Tim Tadlock, Texas Tech
Tadlock, in his fifth year at the helm, has done a great job at Tech. He's taken the Red Raiders to three regionals in his tenure, including to the Super Regionals twice. His team was a national seed in 2017 before losing in the regionals. He also has a steep buyout, near $1.5 million this year.