In just three years as LSU Tigers baseball head coach, Paul Mainieri restored the legacy of the program and put them back into the national spotlight. (Getty Images)

In just his third year as head coach of the storied LSU Tigers baseball team, Paul Mainieri has breathed new life into the program and restored it to national prominence.

Fresh off the school's sixth National Championship and the Tigers second straight World Series appearance, Mainieri has cemented his legacy as one of the top collegiate baseball coaches in the country.

The LSU Tigers baseball team was a dominant force in the 90's, capturing five National Championships under legendary head coach Skip Bertman, with the last of those titles coming in 2000.

However, the Tigers slipped from the national scene after Bertman retired, as Smoke Laval took over the Tigers program. Laval never had a truly bad season, but he couldn't seem to take the Tigers back to that elite level they played at under Bertman.

Even when Mainieri was first hired for the 2007 season, it wasn't clear that he would be able to restore pride to the once dominant program. It wasn't until April 22nd, 2008 that the Tigers really turned the corner under Mainieri.

Heading into that April 22nd game against Tulane, the Tigers had a mediocre 23-16-1 record and were just 6-11-1 in the SEC, certainly no guarantee to make the NCAA Tournament field.

But the Tigers went on to roll off 23 straight wins, cruising into a Super Regional matchup against UC-Irvine. Perhaps more impressive was the manner that the Tigers did it in, consistently pulling off miraculous 9th inning comebacks through that remarkable 23 game winning streak.

LSU went on to beat UC-Irvine after dropping the first game of the Super Regional, sending the Tigers back to the College World Series for the first time since 2004.

The Tigers ended up exiting Omaha in 2008 after two losses to North Carolina. But the tone had been set and the Tigers had firmly announced that they were back.

The swagger had returned to the LSU baseball program and suddenly the Tigers expected to win. Mainieri brough that winning mentality back and set a goal for the 2009 season: the school's sixth National Championship.

After a remarkable season, that included the debut of the new Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, Mainieri and his Tigers had realized that dream.

With their three game series win over Texas in the 2009 National Championship, the Tigers restored the legacy of LSU baseball.

And in just three years, head coach Paul Mainieri etched himself into college baseball history and LSU baseball lore.