Chris Lemonis is an American college baseball coach, currently serving as head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team. Lemonis was an infielder at The Citadel, and was on the team that appeared 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. Beginning in 1995, Lemonis served as an assistant with the Bulldogs, working with hitters and outfielders and later adding associate head coach duties. The Bulldogs appeared in five NCAA Regionals and produced seven All-Americans with Lemonis on staff.
In 2007, Lemonis joined fellow Bulldog Dan McDonnell at Louisville as an assistant coach, where he helped the Cardinals to three College World Series 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 ABCA/Baseball America Assistant Coach of the Year.
Indiana
On July 24, 2015, Lemonis earned his first head coaching job at Indiana, a rising program with two straight Big Ten Conference 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, they went 35–24 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, 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. 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. 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 by a score of 2–3.
On June 25, 2018, Mississippi State confirmed that it had hired Lemonis as their new head baseball coach, formally ending Lemonis' tenure with the Hoosiers.
