Virginia Baseball Coaching Search HQ: Coaching Candidates, Rumors, and Carousel Updates

Jun 16, 2024; Omaha, NE, USA; The Virginia Cavaliers meet on the field after the loss against the Florida State Seminoles at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

One of the premier jobs in college baseball came open this week:

Long-time head coach Brian O'Connor left for Mississippi State and one of the best jobs in college baseball became open. In a statement from Virginia AD Carla Williams, she said that "Our national search began moments after he informed me of his decision on Sunday evening and we are making significant progress. With the tremendous support from our donors and our fans over the last two decades, we look forward to hiring a head coach that will build upon the excellence that already exists and continue competing for championships."

Note: This is just speculation, not reporting of any candidate's interest in Virginia or Virginia's interest in them

Potential Virginia Baseball Coaching Candidates (listed in no particular order):

• Kevin Schnall, Coastal Carolina

• Tom Walter, Wake Forest

• Cliff Godwin, ECU

• Karl Kuhn, Charleston Southern

• Mike Glavine, Northeastern

• Chris Pollard, Duke

• Drew Dickinson, UVA pitching coach

• Dan Skirka, Murray State

• Steve Sabins, West Virginia

• Mitch Canham, Oregon State

Major Conference Coaching Changes & Vacancies

Virginia- Open

Major conference coaching vacancies filled

Mississippi State- Brian O'Connor

Georgia Tech- James Ramsey

Latest College Baseball Coaching Carousel News

June 5th- One major ACC Job has been filled. After longtime head coach Danny Hall retired, the Yellow Jackets wasted no time and named associate head coach James Ramsey as the new head coach of the program. In seven seasons since Ramsey’s arrival on The Flats as hitting coach in 2019, Georgia Tech leads the ACC in batting average (.308), hits (3,961), doubles (796), on-base percentage (.408), OPS (.918) and sacrifice flies (208), and ranks second in runs (2,937), triples (84), home runs (547), RBI (2,709) and slugging percentage (.510).

Since he took over as the Yellow Jackets’ recruiting coordinator following the 2019 season, Tech has landed four top-5 and five top-10 signing classes, and all six have ranked among the top 20 nationally. The Jackets’ most recent class in 2024 was ranked No. 2 nationally by Perfect Game, the highest-rated class in Tech history.