It’s game two of the College World Series Finals, and your team is down 0-1. You have to win this game, or the season is over. As a coach, wouldn’t you do everything you can to motivate your guys — and wouldn’t you stick up for the team if you thought the umpires were making bad calls?
Doing just that, what any coach worth his salt would do, got Coastal Carolina head baseball coach Kevin Schnall ejected from Sunday’s CWS Final Game 2 in the bottom of the first inning in one of the most ridiculous ejections in history. The thin-skinned umpires also ejected first base coach Matt Schilling shortly after tossing Schnall.
Head umpire Angel Campos quickly ejected Schnall after the coach said that Campos had missed three strike calls. Schnall must have hurt Campos’ precious feelings or something, so the ump quickly tossed Schnall.
In the fracas, another umpire ran up, tripped over Campos’ feet, and toppled backward. That ump got big mad, too, and called for a two-game suspension for Schnall. How the umpire couldn’t keep his balance is Schnall’s fault is beyond me. I’m not exactly sure why the umps threw Schilling out other than that he argued with them, too.
I’m not a lip reader so I’m not going to try.
— Collin Neill (@CNeill_22) June 22, 2025
But from what I can tell, Coastal Carolina head coach Kevin Schnall isn’t doing anything that warrants an ejection.
Umpire then decides to do his best LeFlop impression.
pic.twitter.com/DOIMvrPul9
Related: The Greatest CWS Pitching Performance Ever? Gage Wood Made His Case.
Louisiana State University (LSU) wound up winning the game 5-3 to capture its second CWS title in three years. The Tigers may have won anyway, but what difference did ejecting Schnall and Schilling have on Coastal Carolina and the game?
Side note: I’ve liked Coastal Carolina for a long time, and I adopted the Chanticleers as my CWS favorite after my Georgia Bulldogs were eliminated in the Regionals. However, as an SEC guy, I’m not mad that LSU took home the title.
Fans and sports media personalities took to X to condemn the umpires. ESPN’s Jeff Passan weighed in:
“You missed three pitches” does not qualify as one of those combinations. If this is all it took for Kevin Schnall to get ejected, that is absurd. pic.twitter.com/qKFIjhoSYh
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 22, 2025
The NCAA’s got a real problem.
— Garrett Armbrust (@4thandsaturday) June 22, 2025
Ejecting Kevin Schnall & the first base coach from the game in the bottom of the 1st and then the umpire flops over.
Really???
You CANNOT eject a manager in the College World Series Finals over THIS!
— College Sports Only 🏈 🏀 ⚾️ (@CollegeSportsO) June 22, 2025
Justice for Kevin Schnall… #cws pic.twitter.com/At42BgKCdx
The Kevin Schnall ejection is not a good look for the sport. Toss a head coach in the first inning of an elimination game in the championship series without a warning? Bold move. Absolutely insane.
— Matt Grissom (@GrissomOnX) June 22, 2025
Schnall had plenty of criticism for the umpires after the game, as ESPN reported.
"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," Schnall told reporters.
The coach expressed outrage at his treatment:
"There's 25,000 people there, and I vaguely heard a warning issued," Schnall said. "I was an assistant coach for 24 years and treated like second grade — a second-level citizen — and you can't say a word. Now, as a head coach, I think it is your right to get an explanation of why we got warned.
"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 he's issued a warning for arguing balls and strikes. At that point, I said, 'because you missed three at that point.' Ejected."
Schnall was also upset that the umpire who fell accused Schnall of “bumping” him.
"You guys watch the video," Schnall told the media. "There was a guy that came in extremely aggressively and tripped over Campos' foot, embarrassed in front of 25,000 people. He immediately goes 'two game suspension' and says 'bumping the umpire.' The umpire immediately does that. There was no bump. He was embarrassed.
"I shouldn't be held accountable for a grown man's athleticism," he added.
Schnall said that he believes that the two-game suspension he received for “prolonged arguing,” along with Schilling’s three-game suspension, won’t stand because the umpires’ behavior was “excessive.”
Coastal Carolina Athletic Director Chance Miller shared a statement on X:
Proud of @CoastalBaseball. The 2025 season is one TEAL NATION will remember 4 a long time. Congrats to LSU, a great team that earned this championship.
— Chance Miller (@cmiller05) June 23, 2025
However, on the game’s highest stage our coaches should have been there throughout, but that opportunity was taken from them pic.twitter.com/pQ9pgk5kab
Side note: There was a sweet coda to the game when LSU’s legendary retired baseball coach Skip Bertman shook hands with Schnall after the game.
How about this moment. The legend Skip Bertman requesting a moment with Kevin Schnall post national championship
— Jack DeLongchamps (@JDelongchamps) June 22, 2025
👌🏼x 🐅 pic.twitter.com/QGTsrmsUBf
Congrats to the LSU Tigers for a thrilling CWS win, and congrats to the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers for making it to the finals. But shame on Campos and the other thin-skinned umpires who acted like children — especially the one who tried to blame Schnall for his own tumble. Umpires need to do better, and the NCAA should do something about it.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the final score of the game. We apologize to our readers for this error.
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