Chris Lemonis Becomes Coastal Carolina's Seventh Head Baseball Coach
chris lemonis is Coastal Carolina’s seventh head baseball coach, a move that brings a Myrtle Beach native back to the Grand Strand with a 2021 national championship on his résumé. He arrives with 11 seasons of head-coaching experience and a 373-226-2 record across Indiana and Mississippi State.
Chris Lemonis Returns Home
Chance Miller called Lemonis “one of the most respected coaches in college baseball” and said he “knows what it takes to get to Omaha, and more importantly, he knows what it takes to win there.” Miller also said Coastal Carolina is bringing “a national championship-winning coach home to Conway,” a nod to Lemonis’ Myrtle Beach roots and his Socastee High School background.
Lemonis said, “I am incredibly honored and humbled to be named the head baseball coach at Coastal Carolina University,” and added, “This opportunity means a great deal to my family and me.” He also said, “Growing up in Myrtle Beach, I have seen firsthand the pride this community has in Coastal Carolina and the tremendous success this baseball program has achieved.”
Mississippi State And Indiana
His record at Mississippi State was the centerpiece of the hire. In seven seasons there, Lemonis led the Bulldogs to the 2021 NCAA National Championship, the first national title in program history, along with the 2019 SEC regular-season championship and the 2021 SEC Tournament championship.
Mississippi State reached two College World Series appearances, two NCAA Super Regional appearances and three NCAA Tournament berths under Lemonis. The 2021 team finished 50-18, and he went 10-3 in NCAA Tournament play that season before being named Baseball America National Coach of the Year.
Coastal Carolina's New Direction
Before Mississippi State, Lemonis spent four seasons at Indiana and compiled a 141-91-2 record. He guided the Hoosiers to three NCAA Tournament appearances and became the first coach in program history to lead Indiana to NCAA Regional appearances in three of his first four seasons, including a 40-win campaign in 2018.
Across his career, Lemonis has been part of 18 NCAA Tournament appearances and five College World Series trips, and his teams have produced 111 MLB Draft selections, 22 Major League Baseball players, 38 All-Americans and 19 Freshman All-Americans. Coastal Carolina is betting that profile can lift a program already known nationally, and Lemonis said, “I cannot wait to get to Conway and get to work competing for championships.”
