Mississippi State has zeroed in on longtime Virginia skipper Brian O’Connor to become the ninth head coach in program history, multiple sources familiar with the situation told Baseball America. O’Connor quickly became a primary target for Mississippi State athletic director Zac Selmon following the school’s dismissal of former coach Chris Lemonis in April.
O’Connor, 54, is one of the nation’s most accomplished active head coaches, having guided Virginia to seven College World Series appearances, including in 2015 when it won the national title. Three of O’Connor’s last five Virginia teams reached Omaha, and he was recognized as the ACC coach of the year on five different occasions from 2004-14.One of the longest-tenured active head coaches in the nation, O’Connor has been at the helm with the Cavaliers since 2004. After missing the NCAA Tournament this year, he was promised increased resources for baseball but ultimately chose to pursue an SEC opportunity.
A deal is not yet completed for O’Connor’s hiring, but one is expected in the coming days. O’Connor’s buyout with UVA is $800,000.
“We will be in a much-improved scholarship situation moving forward,” O’Connor told reporters on Monday regarding his expectations for resources at Virginia. “That exact number I don’t have, but that’s being continued to be worked on. The NIL situation is totally up in the air for all of college athletics.”
Mississippi State’s decision to hire O’Connor comes with championship expectations and nothing less, a reality that was made clear throughout the hiring process, according to multiple sources.
Those expectations come on the heals of the Bulldogs’ late-April decision to fire Lemonis, who won the national championship in 2021.
Lemonis’ tenure at Mississippi State began with great promise as he led the Bulldogs to back-to-back College World Series appearances in 2019 and 2021, culminating in the program’s first national title. However, the years that followed saw a significant downturn, with Mississippi State struggling to maintain its place among the SEC’s elite. After a last-place SEC finish in 2022 and a missed postseason again in 2023, the Bulldogs’ continued inconsistency in 2025 proved too much to overcome.
Mississippi State said it will conduct a national search for its next head coach, emphasizing the program’s stature within the sport.
“Mississippi State is the premier job in college baseball,” Selmon said in April. “The tradition, the facilities, the NIL offerings and the fan base are all second to none. Dudy Noble Field is the best environment in the sport, period.”
While O’Connor has emerged as the favorite to take over the program, Mississippi State’s season is still alive under interim coach Justin Parker.
The Bulldogs were tabbed the No. 3-seed in the Tallahassee Regional, where they’ll face Florida State, Northeastern and Bethune-Cookman.
