LSU Makes Jay Johnson the Highest-Paid Coach in College Baseball

Before Johnson received his new contract, Tennessee’s Tony Vitello was the highest-paid head coach with a $3 million annual salary, while Mississippi State’s Brian O’Connor recently received $2.9 million annually in Starkville.

Johnson is set to make $23.45 million before bonuses over the next seven years, according to Alexander.

Jay Johnson has built a reputation as one of the best, if not the best, coaches in college baseball. He has built an incredible career as a college baseball coach, highlighted by winning at every program he’s touched.

He started his head coaching career in 2014 at the University of Nevada, Reno, a smaller mid-major in the Mountain West Conference.

What did he do there? He went 72-15 overall in two seasons, including a 41-win season and first-place finish in 2015. He completely turned the program around.

That led to Coach Johnson’s six-season tenure with the Arizona Wildcats. In those six years, he took Arizona to two College World Series appearances, including a runner-up finish in his first year there in 2016.

The success he achieved with Arizona led to his appointment as LSU Baseball’s head coach in 2022, replacing the legendary college coach Paul Mainieri.

In four seasons with the Tigers, he’s gone 190-77 overall and won TWO College World Series championships, in 2023 and this past season in 2025.

It’s been a historic run for Johnson. And along his journey of success, he’s built a reputation of being one of the most down-to-earth, hardest-working, and genuine individuals in the game.

You regularly hear from every coach who has worked for him and every player who has played for him about the incredible impact he has had on them, not just on the field, but also off the field.

It’s fairly easy to say that this contract is well-deserved for Johnson, and the LSU Tigers’ winning ways aren’t going away anytime soon!