Saying Goodbye to Brian O'Connor

Photo courtesy of UVA Athletics

Tears blurred my vision as Nathan Kirby’s 83 MPH thigh high breaking ball fluttered into Matt Thaiss’s glove for a called strike three. Virginia had just won its first National Championship after defeating an all-time great Vanderbilt team that had spoiled the ‘Hoos title dreams a year prior. It was the first ACC baseball title since 1955 and remains the only one to this day.

I’ve been a UVA baseball fan since the days of Ryan Zimmerman, Mark Reynolds, and Joe Koshansky. Prior to 2004, I had been a casual baseball fan– claiming both the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles as my favorite teams but rarely watching games. That all changed that spring when my favorite college, Virginia, started winning baseball games.

I was barely a teenager, but I lived and died by UVA football and basketball results. When star quarterback Matt Schaub injured his shoulder against Duke in the opening game victory the previous fall, I was devastated. After he missed the following week’s 31-7 loss to South Carolina, I was inconsolable and sulky for several days. When the basketball team failed to make the NCAA Tournament in March of 2004, I was adrift without a UVA sport to watch, follow, and obsess over.

Enter Brian O’Connor’s baseball program. The 2004 team featured future ACC Player of the Year Joe Koshansky and Top 5 MLB draft pick Ryan Zimmerman. Mark Reynolds, who’d go on to enjoy a 13-year MLB career with nearly 300 big league home runs to his name, was also on the team. A familiar name, UVA punter Tom Hagen, was roaming the outfield while Keith Werman, the first sibling in a long tradition of brotherhood pairs under O’Connor, was on the infield.

The ‘Hoos went 44-15 overall and finished second in the ACC with an 18-6 record. For the first time in school history, they hosted an NCAA Regional. The first edition of the “Cardiac Cavs” won 17 games with either a late comeback or by breaking a tie in the waning innings. It was an exciting underdog team that was hard not to root for and I fell in love. 

At the center of this was the ever stoic Brian O’Connor. Even at just 33-years old, he displayed a steadfast aura that just oozes confidence. While his nickname “Oak” can be attributed to the first syllable of his last name “O’Connor”, his resolute personality and strong moral compass makes the nickname apt. Not once over the last 22 seasons has there been a scandal or anything less than class behavior out of Virginia’s baseball program. 

First and foremost, Mississippi State is getting an incredible human being to lead their program. Oak is the epitome of what a college coach should be– a man who focuses on developing the young man rather than just the ballplayer. Despite an outward intensity, he is kind and generous. He and his staff focus on recruiting high-character young men and shepherding through the transition to full adulthood.

At Virginia, he instilled a distinct culture that focused on competing the right way. In those early years, the ‘Hoos delivered with pitching and small ball– despite the presence of big boppers like Koshanksy and Reynolds. Things were done the right way and the ‘Hoos won and lost with class. I was proud to be a Virginia fan.

When the Nationals selected Ryan Zimmerman 4th overall in 2005 as their first draft pick in DC, I was hooked on baseball. Between Virginia and the Nationals, I watched baseball every chance I could get in high school and college. My first game at UVA saw future Nationals closer Sean Doolittle at first base in 2006. Doolittle was a two-sport star for the ‘Hoos while serving as both their ace and best hitter. He’d win the 2006 ACC Player of the Year Award and be drafted by the Oakland A’s in 2007.

When I joined College Baseball Central prior to the 2023 season, I was supposed to be covering just the Virginia Cavaliers. That role quickly expanded to include the entire ACC, but the soft spot for O’Connor and Virginia always remained. As I gained access via practices and press conferences, I learned even more about Oak and the type of person he is.

When Virginia was eliminated in 2024 after going 0-2 in Omaha for the second straight year, I looked on in awe and Oak stood by and wished every North Carolina Tar Heel luck as they walked by in preparation to play the next game of the day against Tennessee. 

“It says more about him in particular,” UNC Coach Scott Forbes said a few hours after. “Brian is what coaching is about. He cares about his players and he’s been a tremendous friend to me. He’s been a head coach a long time and I haven’t been a head coach a long time, but he’s always treated me like I was a head coach. It didn’t matter to him, that’s just who he is. He respects the way we play but he also knows we respect the way they play.”

He lightly scolded me a few weeks prior to that when I asked about using a pitcher on short rest. In the ACC Tournament against Georgia Tech, ace Evan Blanco only threw 80 pitches when Virginia decided to remove him from the game. Given that the game was on Wednesday, I asked O’Connor if it was possible whether he would bring back Blanco on short rest over the weekend.

“I haven't even thought about bringing somebody back Sunday,” Oak said as he glared at me. “I can tell you that those of you that know my history in making those decisions, you would never see Evan Blanco on the mound on Sunday.”

I felt like I’d disappointed my dad after that response, but Oak was all smiles in the moments following the press conference. The point was, Brian O’Connor cares about his players and was a bit offended that I’d ask if he was willing to risk bringing back an underclass guy with draft potential on such short rest.

I cannot stress how much O’Connor has meant to me as both a fan and a college baseball content creator. I was able to cover Virginia over multiple home Regionals and Super Regionals. I covered them remotely in the 2023 College World Series and in-person during 2024. I lived and breathed the 2009, 2011, and 2014 Omaha runs that ended in heartbreak. I watched as Oak and assistant coach Kevin McMullen churned out program legend after program legend. Zimmerman. Doolittle. Danny Hulten, Chris Taylor, and Steven Proscia. The Werman, McCarthy, Gelof, and Teel brothers. 

O’Connor turned down the likes of Texas, Texas A&M, and LSU over the last 15 years. He saved the Virginia program from the chopping block and built it into a modern blue blood, taking the ‘Hoos to the NCAA Tournament 18 times and Omaha in seven of the last 15 seasons. And he delivered that 2015 National Championship.

Should he thank the fans? Sure, we’ve supported him and his program over the last 22 years. But with what may have gone on behind the scenes that ultimately forced him out, I’m not taking it personally if he doesn’t. After all, I owe him more thanks than I can properly express here. It will hurt to see him at Mississippi State, but he's a man that has earned the benefit of the doubt after leading this Virginia program for two decades. Without him, it's possible Virginia doesn't even have a program today, much less a nationally relevant one. So here's to you, Coach O'Connor. Thanks for everything and good luck.