The 2023 College World Series averaged 1.65 million viewers, up 48% from 2022.
Last June, 392,946 fans descended on Omaha for the 16-game tournament, marking the third straight year of record-breaking attendance. There’s no shortage of money flowing into college baseball, but the most prestigious programs benefit most.
Tim Corbin of Vanderbilt sits atop the list as the highest-paid college baseball coach. He’s raking in $2.45 million per year as part of his deal.
That’s $500K more than the next-highest coach on the list.
Not just that, but he earns more than six MLB managers.
Corbin has been at Vanderbilt since 2003, turning them into perennial contenders in the College World Series. He’s led them to five tournament appearances and two national titles.
He’s also won four regular season SEC titles and Coach of the Year in 2014 and 2019. Thirty former Commodores have made MLB appearances after playing under Corbin.
Coming in second is Jay Johnson of LSU, who is set to make $1.79 million this year at the helm of Tigers baseball.
He led them to their seventh national title in school history in 2023, just his second year in the program.
UNC’s Scott Forbes earns $1.7 million to land him third on the list. Forbes signed a five-year extension in May of 2023, as the school rewarded him for his 101-66 record since taking over in 2020.
The extension includes incentives for some milestones including making the Super Regional and the College World Series.
Fourth on the list is Mike Bianco. Ole Miss will pay Bianco $1.625 million this year to lead the Rebels. Bianco is the winningest coach in school history and has led them to their only national championship in 2022.
Closing out the top five highest-paid college baseball coaches is Jim Schlossnagle, who coaches the Texas A&M Aggies for an annual salary of $1.58 million.
He’s one of just four coaches to win multiple College World Series games at different programs. In his third season at Texas A&M, he is looking to guide the Aggies to their third straight College World Series appearance under him.
All eleven highest-paid college baseball coaches earn over $1.1 million per year.
The SEC dominates the top 25 highest-paid coaches with eleven making the list. The ACC is the second-most represented conference with six.
Ranking The Highest-Paid College Baseball Coaches
Here is the entire list of highest-paid college baseball coaches of 2024. The list was compiled using data from USA Today, The Tennessean, 24/7 Sports, and NCAA.
- Updated: May 30, 2024
| Rank | Coach | Team | Career Record | CWS Appearances | Total Compensation |
| 1 | Tim Corbin | Vanderbilt | 883-420-1 | 5 | $2.45 million |
| 2 | Jay Johnson | LSU | 411-211 | 3 | $1.79 million |
| 3 | Scott Forbes | North Carolina | 1,092-477 | 7 | $1.7 million |
| 4 | Mike Bianco | Ole Miss | 879-514-1 | 2 | $1.625 million |
| 5 | Jim Schlossnagle | Texas A&M | 893-440 | 6 | $1.58 million |
| 6 | Tony Vitello | Tennessee | 235-99 | 2 | $1.5 million |
| 7 | Dave Van Horn | Arkansas | 1,424-681 | 7 | $1.35 million |
| 8 | Kevin O’Sullivan | Florida | 681-319 | 8 | $1.29 million |
| 9 | Chris Lemonis | Mississippi State | 308-184-2 | 4 | $1.275 million |
| T-10 | Tim Tadlock | Texas Tech | 814-321 | 4 | $1.2 million |
| T-10 | David Pierce | Texas | 261-138 | 3 | $1.2 million |
| 11 | Dan McDonnell | Louisville | 719-311-1 | 5 | $1.10 million |
| 12 | Erik Bakich | Clemson | 397-314-1 | 1 | $850,000 |
| 13 | Brian O’Connor | Virginia | 839-353-2 | 6 | $765,000 |
| T-14 | Scott Stricklin | Georgia | 649-424-1 | 0 | $655,000 |
| T-14 | Mark Wasikowski | Oregon | 212-153 | 0 | $655,000 |
| T-16 | Mark Kingston | South Carolina | 453-310-1 | 0 | $600,000 |
| T-16 | Josh Holliday | Oklahoma State | 403-219-2 | 1 | $600,000 |
| 18 | Nick Mingione | Kentucky | 249-158 | 5 | $575,000 |
| 19 | Steve Bieser | Missouri | 158-131-1 | 0 | $475,000 |
| T-20 | Cliff Godwin | East Carolina | 351-170-1 | 0 | $500,000 |
| T-20 | Chip Hale | Arizona | 72-51 | 0 | $500,000 |
| 22 | Elliot Avent | NC State | 1252-824 | 2 | $434,833 |
| 23 | Mitch Canham | Oregon State | 171-83 | 0 | $400,000 |
| 24 | Matt Deggs | Louisiana | 342-212 | 0 | $350,000 |
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