Mississippi State Closing in on Virginia's Brian O'Connor

Mississippi State is working to hire Head Coach Brian O’Connor, sources have told College Baseball Central.  O’Connor has enjoyed 22 successful years at the helm at Virginia.  The move comes after Mississippi State parted ways with Chris Lemonis on April 28th.  Since the dismissal of Lemonis, the Bulldogs are 9-2 and earned a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament.  O’Connor fell short of the NCAA Tournament for just the third time in his 22 year tenure in Charlottesville.  

The Council Bluffs, Iowa native and Creighton graduate began his coaching career as the pitching coach at his alma mater before working as the recruiting coordinator and pitching coach at Notre Dame under Paul Mainieri.  After spending nine seasons in South Bend, O’Connor took the helm at Virginia.

In his time as Head Coach, O’Connor has compiled 885 wins, reaching the College World Series in Omaha on seven occasions.  O’Connor has led the Hoos to five 50-win seasons and reached the NCAA Tournament in 14 straight seasons from 2004-2017.  O’Connor and Virginia won the National Championship in 2015, the first in program history. 

O'Connor is expected to welcome Wake Forest Pitching Coach Corey Muscara to his staff at Mississippi State. Muscara has been at Wake Forest since 2022, he was named National Assistant Coach of the Year by D1Baseball in 2023.