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A New Era In Starkville
Mississippi State’s 2025 baseball campaign came to a close on Sunday when they lost to Tallahassee Regional host and ninth nationally seeded Florida State in the final. But, not even an hour later, the Bulldogs announced a historical hire at head coach.
The university announced the hire of Brian O’Connor, the all-time winningest coach at the University of Virginia. O’Connor spent the past 22 seasons with the Cavaliers of the ACC, stacking up countless accolades and achievements during his tenure. Coach O’Connor is a proven winner, racking up 917 victories over his time in Charlottesville. However, the list of achievements only begins there.
Over 22 seasons, Virginia made 18 trips to the NCAA Tournament (including 14 consecutive from 2004-2017), Nine Super Regional trips and seven appearances in the College World Series. The seven trips to Omaha are the second most of any program nationally since 2009 and the third most among active NCAA head coaches.
In 2015, Virginia were national champions for the first time in program history, also the first ACC team to win the College World Series since 1955.
O’Connor’s winning led to him receiving the ACC Coach of the Year award five times and National Coach of the Year three times. He has notched 66 NCAA Tournament wins which is good for fourth most in the NCAA from the years 2009 to 2024. O’Connor and the Cavaliers also accumulated five 50-win seasons and 13 seasons with at least 40 victories.
O’Connor is also responsible for producing a ton of professional talent at UVA. Since he began coaching in Charlottesville, 102 players have been selected in the MLB Draft31 of those players made it to the major leagues, with some notable names including Ryan Zimmerman, Sean Doolittle and Chris Taylor.
O’Connor made a statement after being named head coach.
“Mississippi State represents everything I love about college baseball – tradition, passion, and relentless pursuit of excellence. I’ve coached against this program and followed it closely for years. The atmosphere at Dudy Noble Field is nationally recognized as the best in the sport. I’m incredibly honored and grateful for the opportunity to lead a program with this kind of legacy and fan base. Mississippi State has set the standard in college baseball, and I can’t wait to get to work, build relationships and compete for championships in Starkville.”
O’Conner will be taking over a proud Mississippi State program with a very passionate fanbase. The Bulldogs are one of only four programs in NCAA History to reach the College World Series in six consecutive decades. 41 NCAA Tournament appearances, 12 trips to the College World Series, and the program’s first national championship in 2021 has developed the winning culture that Brian O’Connor will now be leading moving forward.
