Where Vitello’s salary ranks among SEC baseball coaches
As SEC baseball has grown in popularity and increasingly exerted its dominance, its salaries for coaches, too, have skyrocketed.
In 2022, only Vanderbilt’s Tim Corbin made over $1.5 million among SEC coaches. Now, four coaches will hit that mark for the 2024 season, according to records obtained by the USA TODAY Network.
The two coaches who faced off in the 2023 College World Series finals — LSU’s Jay Johnson and Florida’s Kevin O’Sullivan — each received significant raises with new contract extensions. Those two, along with 2022 national champion Mike Bianco of Ole Miss and Tony Vitello of Tennessee, now join Corbin in making at least $1.5 million.
Nick Mingione, who was named the USA TODAY Network’s SEC Coach of the Year, did so despite being the SEC’s fourth lowest-paid coach at just $705,000. Mingione led Kentucky to its second super regional in program history in 2023 and its second SEC title in 2024.
On the other hand, each of the league’s top four highest-paid coaches face an uncertain postseason outcome. Bianco’s Ole Miss likely needs to win the SEC tournament to receive an NCAA tournament bid. Florida, Vanderbilt and LSU are three of five teams that finished 13-17 and are on the bubble.
After there were no first-year coaches in the SEC in 2023, the 2024 season has seen three first-timers: Rob Vaughn at Alabama, Wes Johnson at Georgia and Kerrick Jackson at Missouri. Each of the three makes more than their predecessor.
Here is how much every coach in the SEC is paid. Payment numbers do not