STARKVILLE, Miss. (WTVA) — Chris Lemonis is no longer the head baseball coach at Mississippi State.

Athletics Director Zac Selmon announced Lemonis’ firing on Monday, April 28.

Selmon named pitching coach Justin Parker as the interim head coach for the rest of the season.

“A change in leadership is what’s best for the future of Mississippi State Baseball,” Selmon said. “We have not consistently met the standard of success that our university, fans and student-athletes expect and deserve. I want to thank Coach Lemonis for his work and the time he gave to our program, including a national championship in 2021. We appreciate his efforts and wish him and his family all the best moving forward.”

He said a national search for the program’s next head coach is underway.

Lemonis was in his seventh year at MSU and led the Bulldogs to the program’s first national championship in 2021.

However, his teams missed the postseason in 2022 and 2023, and his team may miss the postseason this year. The 2024 team made it to a regional.

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