Photo by: Chamberlain Smith/Mississippi State Athletics
Lemonis Lands National Coach Of The Year Honor
August 18, 2021 | Baseball
STARKVILLE – Chris Lemonis continues to reap the rewards of leading Mississippi State to its first ever national championship this past season.
Lemonis received a substantial raise and had his contract extended last month and was named the National Coach of the Year by Baseball America on Tuesday.
Lemonis guided the Diamond Dogs to a 50-18 record in 2021, including an impressive 10-3 showing in the NCAA Tournament. MSU defeated fellow SEC foe Vanderbilt 13-2 and 9-0 in the final two games of the National Championship Series in Omaha, Nebraska to take home the school's first national title in a team sport.
Lemonis is the fourth person to be picked as Baseball America's National Coach of the Year as both an assistant and head coach joining Tim Corbin, Brian O'Connor and Dave Serrano. Lemonis shared Assistant Coach of the Year honors with pitching coach Roger Williams while both were working at Louisville in 2013.
In three seasons at State, Lemonis has posted a 114-37 record (.755 winning percentage) and gone to the College World Series in both years in which it was held, the first time a Division I head coach has ever accomplished that. He also holds the record as the winningest first-year coach in SEC history (52 victories in 2019) and is one of just three coaches in the conference history to take his team to Omaha in his first season.
Mississippi State has had 19 players drafted by Major League Baseball during Lemonis' time in Starkville, including a first rounder in each year of his tenure (Ethan Small, 28th overall, 2019; Justin Foscue, 14th overall, 2020; Will Bednar, 14th overall, 2021). The Bulldogs had five players selected from their national championship squad.
Lemonis holds a 255-128-2 overall record in his seven seasons as a head coach. He signed a $1.25 million contract extension for next season in July that will continue to increase by $25,000 annually through the length of the contract.
 Lemonis' assistant coaching staff is the highest paid baseball staff in the country.
Â
Lemonis received a substantial raise and had his contract extended last month and was named the National Coach of the Year by Baseball America on Tuesday.
Lemonis guided the Diamond Dogs to a 50-18 record in 2021, including an impressive 10-3 showing in the NCAA Tournament. MSU defeated fellow SEC foe Vanderbilt 13-2 and 9-0 in the final two games of the National Championship Series in Omaha, Nebraska to take home the school's first national title in a team sport.
Lemonis is the fourth person to be picked as Baseball America's National Coach of the Year as both an assistant and head coach joining Tim Corbin, Brian O'Connor and Dave Serrano. Lemonis shared Assistant Coach of the Year honors with pitching coach Roger Williams while both were working at Louisville in 2013.
In three seasons at State, Lemonis has posted a 114-37 record (.755 winning percentage) and gone to the College World Series in both years in which it was held, the first time a Division I head coach has ever accomplished that. He also holds the record as the winningest first-year coach in SEC history (52 victories in 2019) and is one of just three coaches in the conference history to take his team to Omaha in his first season.
Mississippi State has had 19 players drafted by Major League Baseball during Lemonis' time in Starkville, including a first rounder in each year of his tenure (Ethan Small, 28th overall, 2019; Justin Foscue, 14th overall, 2020; Will Bednar, 14th overall, 2021). The Bulldogs had five players selected from their national championship squad.
Lemonis holds a 255-128-2 overall record in his seven seasons as a head coach. He signed a $1.25 million contract extension for next season in July that will continue to increase by $25,000 annually through the length of the contract.
 Lemonis' assistant coaching staff is the highest paid baseball staff in the country.
Â
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
IF
/ BaseballBASEBALL | NCAA Starkville Highlights vs. Lipscomb - 5/29/26
Saturday, May 30
BASEBALL | Brian O'Connor, Duke Stone & Vytas Valincius Lipscomb Postgame Press Conference - 5/29/26
Friday, May 29
BASEBALL | Mississippi State NCAA Starkville Regional Press Conference - 5/28/26
Thursday, May 28
BASEBALL | Bryce Chance & Ben Davis NCAA Starkville Regional Selection Press Conference - 5/25/26
Monday, May 25