Christopher Michael Lemonis (born January 22, 1970) is an American

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

coach, currently serving as head coach of the

Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball The Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball team representing Mississippi State University in NCAA Division I college baseball. The program is a member of the West Division of the Southeastern Conference ( ...

team. Lemonis grew up in

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its y ...

. He played college baseball as a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

The Citadel The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a Public college, public United States senior military college, senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one ...

, where he appeared with the team in the 1990 College World Series. He later earned All-SoCon honors twice and led the team in several offensive categories as a senior in 1993. In 1995, Lemonis began his coaching career as an assistant coach for The Citadel, a position he would hold until 2006. During his time on staff, The Citadel qualified for the NCAA Tournament five times and had seven All-American players. From 2007 to 2014, Lemonis was an assistant coach at

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, helping Louisville make seven NCAA Tournament appearances including the 2007 College World Series. In 2013, Lemonis won Assistant Coach of the Year honors from the

American Baseball Coaches Association The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) is the world's largest amateur baseball coaching organization. It was founded in 1945 as the American Association of College Baseball Coaches. Now, the ABCA is composed of over 13,000 baseball coac ...

and ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

''. Lemonis held his first head coaching position at

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

from 2015 to 2018, during which Indiana had 141 wins and three NCAA Tournament appearances. Beginning in 2019, Lemonis was head coach at Mississippi State. After appearing in the 2019 College World Series, Mississippi State won the 2021 College World Series title, the first national championship in any sport for the school.

Early life and education

Lemonis was born January 22, 1970, in

Starkville, Mississippi Starkville is a city in, and the county seat of, Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States. Mississippi State University is a land-grant institution and is located partially in Starkville but primarily in an adjacent unincorporated area desig ...

, when his father Thomas was a student at

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

. Growing up with a

Greek American Greek Americans ( el, Ελληνοαμερικανοί ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. The lowest estimate is that 1.2 million Americans are of Greek descent while the highest es ...

family in

, Lemonis graduated from

Socastee High School Socastee High School (abbreviated SHS) is a large, three-story public high school with about 1,700 students located in Socastee, South Carolina in the Myrtle Beach metro area. It is run by Horry County Schools. Academics Socastee High Scho ...

in 1988. After high school, Lemonis enrolled at

The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one of six senior military colleges in the United States. ...

. Initially majoring in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

like his father, Lemonis changed his major to

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

one year into college, a move that worried his father. Lemonis played at first base for The Citadel Bulldogs baseball from 1990 to 1993 under head coaches Chal Port and Fred Jordan, including an appearance in the 1990 College World Series. A two-time All-

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...

second team selection in 1991 and 1993, Lemonis hit .367 with 10 home runs and 66 RBI as a senior in 1993. Lemonis completed his bachelor's degree in physical education at The Citadel in 1992.

Coaching career

Assistant coach (1995–2014)

From 1995 to 2006, Lemonis was an assistant coach at The Citadel under Fred Jordan, including four seasons as associate head coach from 2003 to 2006. With Lemonis on staff, The Citadel appeared in the NCAA Tournament five times and produced seven All-Americans. On June 30, 2006, Lemonis joined fellow Citadel alum

Dan McDonnell Dan McDonnell is an American college baseball coach who has been the head coach of the Louisville Cardinals since the start of the 2007 season. As of the end of the 2017 season, Louisville has a 646-266 (.708 winning percentage) in 15 seasons r ...

as an assistant coach. At Louisville, Lemonis helped the Cardinals to three

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

appearances and seven NCAA appearances in eight seasons. Lemonis was responsible for recruiting and worked with hitters at Louisville, producing 33 professional players, several highly ranked recruiting classes, and three fifty win seasons. In 2013, he was named the

/''

'' Assistant Coach of the Year.

Indiana (2015–2018)

On July 24, 2014, Lemonis got his first head coaching job at

, a rising program with two straight

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

championships and a College World Series appearance in the previous two seasons. In his first season with the Hoosiers during the

2015 NCAA Division I baseball season The 2015 NCAA Division I baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began in February 2015. The season progressed through the regular ...

, they went 35–24 (12–10 in the Big Ten) in the regular season. Lemonis would lead the Hoosiers to the NCAA Regionals before being defeated by Vanderbilt in the second round. In his second season with the Hoosiers, Lemonis finished the 2016 season 32–24 overall and 15–9 in conference play. Lemonis and the Hoosiers would be invited to the Big Ten Tournament where they would eventually lose to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, in the second round. Following the conclusion of the 2017 regular season, Lemonis and the Hoosiers would finish the season 34–24–2 overall and 14–9–1 in conference play. After a second round exit in the 2017 Big Ten Tournament, the Hoosiers would be invited to the 2017 NCAA Tournament, in the Lexington Regional. Indiana would eventually be eliminated from the regional, following a loss to

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. Lemonis and his Hoosiers would finish the 2018 regular season 40–19 overall and 14–9 in conference play; the Hoosiers' 40 wins is Lemonis' highest win total in a season in his 4-year tenure with Indiana. Finishing 5th in the Big Ten, the Hoosiers would fall in the second round of the 2018 Big Ten Tournament to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. Lemonis' Hoosiers would then be selected to play in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, beginning in the Austin Regional. The Hoosiers would eventually lose in the final round of the Austin Regional to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

by a score of 2–3.

Mississippi State (2019–present)

On June 25, 2018,

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univers ...

announced the hiring Lemonis as head baseball coach, formally ending Lemonis' tenure with the Hoosiers. In his first season in 2019, Lemonis led Mississippi State to a 52–15 record and

appearance. Lemonis set a new record for wins for a first-year

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) head coach and the third SEC head baseball coach to advance to the College World Series in his first season. Lemonis followed the 2019 season with a 12–4 start to 2020 before the season was canceled due to COVID-19. In his third season, Lemonis led Mississippi State to a 50–18 record and the 2021 College World Series title, the first team national championship in Mississippi State sports history.

Head coaching record

References

External links

*
Mississippi State biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemonis, Chris 1970 births Living people People from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina The Citadel Bulldogs baseball players The Citadel Bulldogs baseball coaches Indiana Hoosiers baseball coaches Louisville Cardinals baseball coaches Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball coaches Baseball players from South Carolina Sportspeople from Starkville, Mississippi Baseball players from Mississippi Baseball first basemen Baseball coaches from South Carolina Baseball coaches from Mississippi American people of Greek descent