How Rob Vaughn's New Salary Compares to Other SEC Baseball Coaches

At the beginning of June, Alabama baseball head coach Rob Vaughn was awarded a contract extension two years into a five-year agreement that began with the 2024 season. Terms of Vaughn's new deal, including a raise, were revealed Monday. His contract now runs through 2030.

Vaughn's previous $900,000 annual salary has risen to $1.275 million. He officially became the baseball program's first head coach to earn a $1-million salary on his 38th birthday. The UA System Board of Trustees Compensation Committee's approval placed Vaughn in a tie for 10th-highest paid baseball coach in the Southeastern Conference.

According to data obtained by The Tennessean and published this past May, Vaughn's 2025 salary was tied for third lowest in the league. His new annual compensation is level with that of Auburn coach Butch Thompson and Kentucky skipper Nick Mingione. Tennessee's Tony Vitello leads the pack; his 2026 salary will be $3 million.

Former Mississippi State coach Chris Lemonis, who had been ahead of Vaughn, Thompson and Mingione, was fired in April. He was making slightly more than the $1.275-million figure, but his replacement, former Virginia coach Brian O'Connor, will be paid an average of $2.9 million per year.

Georgia coach Wes Johnson was given a raise in late May, placing him at $1.3 million a year for 2026. He earned an even $1 million this season. The coaches at Texas and Oklahoma, Jim Schlossnagle and Skip Johnson, will receive lower base salaries than Vaughn in 2026 before scheduled 2027 increases.

Only two SEC baseball coaches of a possible 16 will have a 2026 salary under $1 million: Michael Earley of Texas A&M ($950,000) and Missouri's Kerrick Jackson ($725,000). Mingione inked an extension of his own with the Wildcats in the fall of 2024, months after guiding the program to Omaha.