Former St. Thomas head baseball coach Paul Mainieri has led his current team, the LSU Tigers, to the 2009 College World Series title, beating the University of Texas in three games. Mainieri was head coach at St. Thomas from 1983-1988, and went on to coach at Air Force and Notre Dame before landing at his current job with the Tigers. Mainieri was the 2008 rivals.com and collegebaseballinsider.com’s national coach of the year, when he also led his team to the College World Series.
Mainieri gave thanks to St. Thomas in his post-game interview, acknowledging the talented players he has been lucky to have over the years. Not only does Mainieri himself have ties to STU, but his father, Dr. Demi Mainieri was an adjunct professor with the school as well. The ties between LSU and STU go even deeper, as ex-Bobcat head coach Manny Mantrana, who left prior to this season to coach at UT-Pan American, played at LSU, and in turn coached current Bobcat head coach Jorge Perez at St. Thomas.
The athletic department would like to thank coach Mainieri for his dedication to the school, and congratulate him on his achievement while wishing him continued success.