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News - Collegiate Baseball Newspaper PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release: Friday, June 25, 2009 Mainieri Named National Coach Of Year By Collegiate Baseball TUCSON, Ariz. — Head Baseball Coach Paul Mainieri of Louisiana State University has been named National Coach of The Year by Collegiate Baseball newspaper. Mainieri, in his third season at LSU, led the Tigers to the 2009 NCAA Division I baseball national championship with an 11-4 win over Texas at the College World Series. LSU finished the season winning 15 of 16 games and didn’t commit an error in five of six games played at the CWS. His 2009 ball club tied Mississippi with the best record in the Southeastern Conference with a 20-10 record and captured the SEC conference tournament for the second consecutive year. He has a 134-62-2 record at the helm of the LSU baseball program and has a career mark of 998-554-6 in 27 seasons as a collegiate head coach. Mainieri has guided three teams to the College World Series during his career. He directed Notre Dame to the CWS in 2002 and also guided LSU to the event last year. It only took Mainieri two seasons to guide LSU back to the College World Series as the Tigers advanced to the 2008 CWS. Then last December, Collegiate Baseball newspaper ranked LSU No. 1 in its pre-season poll. One of the big reasons was a remarkable recruiting class in 2007 which Collegiate Baseball ranked No. 1 in the nation and included nine players selected in the Major League Draft. LSU, which won 26 of its final 29 games to close the 2008 season, has a remarkable 82-20 record since April 22, 2008. The Tigers’ late-season drive to the 2008 CWS featured an SEC-record 23-game win streak, and LSU won 14 in a row from May 21-June 22 this season prior to a game two championship series loss to Texas. Mainieri’s emphasis on academic achievement has produced outstanding results in the classroom. Fourteen LSU baseball players, the most in the program’s history, were named to the 2008 SEC Academic Honor Roll. Even more impressive is that he has his team log hundreds of hours of community service work as they regularly visit hospitals and schools in the Baton Rouge, La. area. Mainieri is extremely fortunate to be surrounded by some of the greatest minds the game has ever had. His dad Demie is considered one of the greatest coaches in the history of baseball and worked his magic at Miami-Dade North Community College with 1,018 wins and a national title in his 30-year Hall of Fame career. Another great inspiration was Ron Maestri, his coach at the University of New Orleans during Paul’s playing days. He taught him the value of little things like dragging the field and going into the community to raise support. "He (Maestri) pushed his team hard but would do anything for his players, and his players were very loyal to him," said Mainieri. And another great source has been legendary Los Angeles Dodgers’ Manager Tommy Lasorda, his godfather. "Tommy has advised me in so many areas, it’s hard to specify any areas of emphasis," said Mainieri. "I think from him, I really realized how important it is to bring joy to the ballpark every day. The players definitely follow your lead as the coach, and the enthusiasm you show for your job will rub off on them. He also taught me how to work with the media." Previous Collegiate Baseball National Coaches of The Year include:
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