With the 2025 NCAA baseball season around the corner and players earning preseason recognition, we decided to rank the 16 Southeastern Conference coaches. There is no other coaching job harder than competing in the SEC, the toughest conference in the nation.
Razorbackers SEC Baseball Head Coach Rankings
The GOAT
Unsurprisingly, we put Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn at the top of our list. The three-time SEC Coach of the Year has led the Razorbacks to 21 NCAA postseason berths in 22 full seasons. He has consistently brought in highly talented recruiting classes and is due for a national championship. In addition, he's the only SEC coach in the past seven seasons to win 40-plus games each year.
Coming in second, we have Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello, who is coming off winning the national championship for the Volunteers with a record of 60-13. Previously working as an assistant coach for Van Horn from 2014-2017, Vitello has made himself a household name in Knoxville and looks to have a very promising future at 46 years old.
We put Texas head coach Jim Schlossnagle at third after guiding Texas A&M to the College World Series last season until eventually falling in the championship series to Tennessee. The Aggies took the first game of the best of three, 9-5, but the Volunteers rallied to win the series and nab the program’s first world title in school history.
The day following the crushing defeat in Omaha, Neb., Schlossnagle was named the head baseball coach of the Longhorns.
“I think it’s pretty selfish of you to ask me that question, to be honest with you,” Schlossnagle said on June 24 after the College World Series finals to a reporter who asked if he was going to accept the Texas job. “I left my family to be the coach at Texas A&M. I took the job at Texas A&M to never take another job again. That hasn’t changed in my mind. That’s unfair to talk about something like that.
“I understand you've got to ask the question, but I gave up a big part of my life to come take this job and I poured every ounce of my soul in this job and I gave this job every ounce I could possibly give it. So write that.”
Vanderbilt skipper Tim Corbin places fourth on our list with national titles to his name. He has been with the Commodores for as long as Van Horn has been with the Hogs (since 2003) but has not advanced past a regional since 2021.
Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan comes in at number five after the Gators experienced an interesting 2024 campaign. With a record of 28-27, Florida found its way into the postseason due to having one of the best players in college baseball, Jac Caglianone. The Gators were awarded the number three seed in the Stillwater Regional and fought their way to the College World Series semifinals, where they lost to Texas A&M.
Middle of the pack
LSU’s Jay Johnson has kept the program in good hands since being named the head coach in 2022, as he ranks sixth on the list. He helped the Tigers take home the 2023 national championship in his second year while overseeing the success of 2023 MLB Draft picks RHP Paul Skenes (first overall) and OF Dylan Crews (second overall).
The 2023 draft hit LSU hard going into 2024, but the team still put together a 43-23 (13-17 SEC) season as well as gaining an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Nick Mingione had his best year yet for Kentucky after reaching the 2024 College World Series with a record of 46-16 (22-8 SEC). Entering his ninth year as the Wildcats head coach, the reigning SEC Coach of the Year places eighth on our list as the program looks to continue on with its recent success.
Wes Johnson ranks ninth on our list after having an impressive first year with Georgia. The Bulldogs finished 43-17 (13-17 SEC) last season while hosting their own regional and super regional before falling to North Carolina State at home in three games.
Michael Earley clocks in at number nine as he has a lot on his plate going into the 2025 season. He originally joined the Longhorns as their hitting coach after Schlossnagle's departure but ended up accepting the head coaching position on June 30. This will be Earley’s first career season as a head coach after serving his first eight years of coaching as an assistant (five with Arizona State and three with Texas A&M).
The bottom
Placing at 10th, 11th and 12th, we have Chris Lemonis (Mississippi State), Mike Bianco (Ole Miss) and Butch Thompson (Auburn) respectively.
Lemonis has helped the Mississippi State Bulldogs bounce back with an NCAA Tournament after missing out on the postseason twice since winning the national title in 2021. Bianco is still trying to get Ole Miss out of its 2022 national championship hangover with back-to-back losing seasons. Thompson is looking to rally Auburn back into shape after the Tigers finished dead last in the SEC with a record of 27-26 (8-22 SEC).
Rounding out at the bottom are Paul Mainieri (South Carolina), Rob Vaughn (Alabama), Skip Johnson (Oklahoma) and Kerrick Jackson (Missouri) at 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th, respectively.
Mainieri is coming out of a three-year retirement to fill in for the departed Mark Kingston, who took the head coaching job at Creighton. He guided LSU to the 2009 national championship while winning the SEC Tournament on six different occasions. Vaughn enters his second season with the Alabama Crimson Tide after putting together a decent 33-24 (13-17 SEC) season in 2024 while also making an NCAA postseason berth.
Johnson led the Oklahoma Sooners to the 2022 College World Series finals before getting swept by Ole Miss but is entering his first season coaching in the SEC. Jackson is in his second year with the Missouri Tigers after the team finished 13th in the conference standings at 23-32 (9-21 SEC) last season.
Baseball Head Coach Rankings
- Dave Van Horn (Arkansas)
- Tony Vitello (Tennessee)
- Jim Schlossnagle (Texas)
- Tim Corbin (Vanderbilt)
- Kevin O’Sullivan (Florida)
- Jay Johnson (LSU)
- Nick Mingione (Kentucky)
- Wes Johnson (Georgia)
- Michael Earley (Texas A&M)
- Chris Lemonis (Mississippi State)
- Mike Bianco (Ole Miss)
- Butch Thompson (Auburn)
- Paul Mainieri (South Carolina)
- Rob Vaughn (Alabama)
- Skip Johnson (Oklahoma)
- Kerrick Jackson (Missouri)