LSU’s search for a new baseball coach is expected to end soon.
The school has narrowed its list of candidates to Arizona coach Jay Johnson, East Carolina coach Cliff Godwin and Notre Dame coach Link Jarrett, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Advocate | Times-Picayune.
Johnson, Godwin and Jarrett all interviewed for the position within the past week, multiple sources said, and a final decision should come over the next few days on who will replace retired coach Paul Mainieri.
The coaches could not be reached for comment after the Lafayette Daily Advertiser first reported their candidacy Wednesday. All of them fit a similar mold: up-and-comers who turned their respective programs into postseason contenders.
LSU baseball's signees find themselves waiting with everyone else as the program searches for a new coaching staff.
Johnson, 44, has coached at Arizona for six seasons. During his tenure, the Wildcats have reached two College World Series. They finished runner-up to Coastal Carolina in 2016 — his first season as the coach — and were the first team eliminated this year.
Johnson has a 208-114 record at Arizona, which marked his first head coaching job at a Power 5 conference school. After going to the College World Series in his first season, the Wildcats didn’t advance past an NCAA regional until this year, when they went 45-18 and won the Pac 12 conference.
Johnson made a reported $856,687 this season, suggesting LSU could offer to top his current salary. The school paid Mainieri $1.225 million, according to his last contract.
Johnson has spent his life along the West Coast, giving him no previous ties to Louisiana. He graduated in 2001 from Point Loma Nazarene, a Christian liberal arts college in San Diego. Johnson coached there for four seasons, serving as the head coach in 2005, before spending time at San Diego and Nevada until he eventually reached Arizona.
Mike Bianco reaffirmed his commitment to Ole Miss as part of a statement released by the school late Sunday night, ending the possibility he could become LSU's next baseball coach.
Godwin, 43, interviewed for LSU’s job last Thursday, multiple sources said, and remains a candidate as he waits for the school to extend an offer. Godwin, who spent two years as an LSU assistant, has been considered since the beginning of LSU’s search, sources said.
Godwin spent the last seven seasons at East Carolina, where he led the Pirates to a 258-130-1 record in his first stop as a head coach. During his tenure, East Carolina has gone to five NCAA tournaments and three super regionals. It lost this season to Vanderbilt in the super regional.
Godwin signed a contract extension last summer through 2025. He earned a base salary of $395,000 this year at East Carolina plus additional compensation from postseason bonuses and marketing efforts. Godwin’s base salary increases to $425,000 by the end of his contract.
Before arriving at East Carolina, his alma mater, Godwin spent three years as an assistant coach for Mike Bianco at Ole Miss. He also coached at UCF, and before that, he was an assistant for three seasons with Mainieri, following him from Notre Dame to Mainieri’s first two seasons at LSU.
LSU athletic director Scott Woodward interviewed Mike Bianco and Cliff Godwin to become the school’s next baseball coach, but the search is expected to stretch into next week and possibly further as LSU evaluates candidates coaching at the College World Series, sources told The Advocate | Times-Picayune.
Jarrett, 49, has led Notre Dame’s program for two years. In his first full season this spring, the Fighting Irish hosted an NCAA regional for the fifth time in school history. In their first super regional since 2002 — when Mainieri took them to the College World Series — they lost to Mississippi State.
Jarrett arrived at Notre Dame after seven years at UNC Greensboro. The Spartans recorded three straight seasons with at least 36 wins, a first in school history, and received an NCAA tournament bid for the first time since 1997. They also won a Southern Conference regular season championship and a SoCon tournament title.
Jarrett has also coached as an assistant at Auburn, East Carolina and Mercer. As a shortstop at Florida State, Jarrett started on three College World Series teams and twice earned All-America honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. He still holds the NCAA record for career assists with 802.
Paul Mainieri talked to Brian O’Connor about succeeding him as LSU’s baseball coach, but O’Connor told him he wants to stay at Virginia.
If LSU hires Jarrett, the school would have plucked its second consecutive coach from Notre Dame, where Mainieri coached before he accepted the job at LSU. Mainieri announced his retirement last month after 15 seasons with LSU, creating an opening that has yet to be filled.
Since Mainieri’s announcement, LSU has wound through a number of possible candidates. The school has considered Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan, former Oregon State coach Pat Casey, Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco and former TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle, who accepted the job at Texas A&M, multiple sources said, during the search.
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LSU baseball coaching search nearing an end as list narrows to 3 candidates - The Advocate
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