Coastal Carolina baseball coach Kevin Schnall was ejected in the first inning of Game 2 of the Men's College World Series against the LSU Tigers on Sunday, a contest the Tigers eventually won 5–3 en route to the NCAA title. With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, the Chanticleers' Sebastian Alexander stole second base as a strike was delivered to his teammate Walker Mitchell. Schnall, apparently upset about a prior call, emerged from the dugout and had some words for home-plate umpire Angel Campos, who quickly ejected him from the game. The decision shocked many, including those calling the game on the ESPN broadcast.
Well, there's two sides to every story, and Schnall provided his side after Coastal Carolina's loss.
Coastal Carolina Head Coach Kevin Schnall on his ejection this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/XSiBe9iwWI
— Noah Darling (@noahdarling_) June 22, 2025
Schnall said that he "vaguely" heard a warning, which prompted him to emerge from the dugout to seek clarification as to why his team was warned.
"... As a head coach, I think it is your right to get an explanation of why we got warned," Schnall said, via Noah Darling on X. "I'm 48 years old. I shouldn't get shooed by another grown man. So when I come out to ask what the warning is, a grown man shooed me. So at that point, I can now hear him say, 'There's a warning issued for arguing balls and strikes.'
"At that point I said, 'Because you missed three.' At that point, ejection. If that warrants an ejection, I'm the first one to stand here like a man and apologize."
First-base umpire Casey Moser, attempting to deescalate the situation, got in between an irate Schnall and Campos, but then tumbled to the ground. Coastal Carolina first base coach Matt Schilling, who joined the fray, was also ejected.
"If you guys watched the video, there was a guy that came in extremely aggressively, tripped over Campos's foot, embarrassed in front of 25,000, immediately goes two-game suspension and said, 'Bumping the umpire.' Immediately does that. There was no bump. He was embarrassed.
"I shouldn't be held accountable for a grown man's athleticism. They'll retract it though. Because now it's excessive and the reason why it's excessive is because I was trying to say I didn't bump him. It is what it is but if that warranted an ejection, man, there will be a lot of ejections.
"As an umpire, I feel like it's your job to manage the game—the national championship game—with some poise, some calmness, and a little bit of tolerance."
The NCAA said that Schnall and Schilling were ejected for "prolonged arguing." Schnall will miss the first two games of Coastal Carolina's 2026 season while Schilling will miss the first three, per NCAA rules, according to the Associated Press.
More on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Coastal Carolina Baseball Coach Reveals What He Said That Led to CWS Ejection.
