STARKVILLE — Another lost weekend wound up costing Chris Lemonis his job as Mississippi State’s baseball head coach.

Mississippi State announced Monday that Lemonis has been relieved of his duties after six-plus seasons at the helm. Assistant coach Justin Parker will serve as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

“A change in leadership is what’s best for the future of Mississippi State Baseball,” Mississippi State Director of Athletics Zac Selmon said in a statement announcing the move. “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.”

Lemonis came to Mississippi State from Indiana in 2019 and had an outstanding start to his tenure. The Bulldogs reached the College World Series in 2019, then returned in 2021 and claimed the school’s first national championship.

Since, then, however, things have been rocky for the Bulldogs. They finished below .500 in 2022 and 2023. They improved to a 40-23 record in 2024 and returned to the NCAA Tournament, losing in the regional round, but struggled again this season.

Mississippi State fell to 25-19 overall, and 7-14 in the Southeastern Conference, after losing two out of three games at Auburn over the weekend. They are in 14th place in the 16-team SEC and have lost five of seven conference series.

The Bulldogs host Memphis in a midweek game Tuesday at 6 p.m., and then play Kentucky (25-16, 10-11 SEC) in a three-game SEC series beginning Friday night at Dudy Noble Field.

Lemonis had a 232-135 record overall at Mississippi State.

“This program is built for success. Our history proves it, and our future demands it,” Selmon said in his statement. “We are one of only four programs in NCAA history to reach the College World Series in six consecutive decades. With 40 NCAA Tournament appearances, 12 trips to Omaha, 11 SEC regular season titles, and a national championship, our program has always been a national contender. That is the bar. We’re going to find a leader who will embrace that, elevate our program and compete for championships.”