A former Mississippi State Baseball coach has his new home.
Chris Lemonis was hired as the head coach of Coastal Carolina on Thursday. Lemonis spent 2019-25 leading Mississippi State, and took the Bulldogs to their first-ever national championship in 2021.
“I’m excited to be here,” Lemonis said in a video posted by Coastal Carolina Baseball. “Beautiful facility, great town, unbelievable fanbase, and our goal is to get ourselves back to Omaha.”
Lemonis was fired by MSU following the 2025 season, after back-to-back regional eliminations in 2024 and 2025, and no postseason baseball in 2022 and 2023. Lemonis had the Bulldogs in Omaha in 2019 and 2021.
He is headed to a familiar area. Lemonis, who was born in Starkville, graduated from Socastee High School in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, a 15-minute drive from Coastal Carolina’s campus. He spent his college days at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. His wife, Jill, is a Coastal Carolina graduate.
“Chris Lemonis is one of the most respected coaches in college baseball,” Chance Miller, vice president for intercollegiate athletics and university recreation at CCU, said in a press 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.”
The Chanticleers won the College World Series in 2016, and were runners-up in 2025. Former CCU head coach Kevin Schnall spent 2025-26 with Coastal, and was officially hired at the University of South Carolina earlier this week.
Jake is the Mississippi State athletics reporter for The Dispatch.
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