Two more Blue Devils transfer to Virginia

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Photo by Nikolozi Khutsishvili

The influx of standout Duke players to Virginia’s program via the transfer portal, following Chris Pollard to Charlottesville, continued Thursday with two more Blue Devils joining the Cavaliers.

Virginia landed star outfielder A.J. Gracia, an outstanding slugger along with two-way talent Kyle Johnson, a standout pitcher for Duke. Both are coming off stellar sophomore campaigns for the Devils. Those announcements came on the heels of UVA flipping Duke high school commitment Jayden Stroman on Wednesday (see related story). Stroman is the younger brother of New York Yankees pitcher Marcus Stroman.

Gracia was a second-team All-ACC performer this past season and is projected as a first-round pick in the 2026 Major League Baseball Draft. Gracia belted 15 home runs and posted 54 RBI in ‘25.

Johnson, a 6-foot-1, southpaw pitcher, was 4-4 last season in 19 appearances and had a 7.19 ERA, 41.1 innings pitched with 26 walks and 43 strikeouts. Johnson blossomed during Duke’s appearance in the NCAA Tournament, which came up one game shy of qualifying for Omaha.

Star Duke recruit flips commitment to Virginia

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Photo: Newsday

New Virginia baseball coach Chris Pollard already has secured his first high school recruit after Jayden Stroman announced he had flipped his commitment from Duke to UVA.

Stroman, a pitcher/outfielder from Long Island, N.Y., is the younger brother of New York Yankees right-handed pitcher Marcus Stroman. The younger Stroman, who spent 11th grade at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., played his senior season back home in Long Island, pitching for Patchogue-Medford.

Stroman throws in the mid- to upper 90s.

He may not be the only player to follow Pollard to Charlottesville.

Macon Winslow, Duke’s star sophomore catcher, entered the transfer portal with a do not contact tag, meaning he knows where he’s headed. Winslow drilled 9 home runs and 48 RBI this past season and walked 40 times.

Another Blue Devil with a do not contact tag in the portal is star sophomore outfielder A.J. Gracia, a second-team All-ACC player. He is projected as a first-round pick in the 2026 Major League Baseball Draft.

Also, sophomore power hitter Sam Harris, who hit 9 homers and had a hitting line of .297/.385/.563 has a do not contact tag.

While another Blue Devil in the portal does not have that tag, Crozet native Noah Murray, a sophomore this past season, was a key reserve for Duke this past season, who had nine starts. The infielder carried a .342 average with 10 RBI.

BREAKING: UVA hires Duke’s Pollard to replace O’Connor

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Photo: Duke Athletics

Director of Athletics Carla Williams announced Tuesday the hiring of Chris Pollard as the University of Virginia’s Head Baseball Coach. Pollard becomes the 16th coach in program history.

Pollard arrives in Charlottesville after spending the last 13 seasons at Duke, leading the Blue Devils to a 420-296 record, seven NCAA tournament berths, four Super Regional appearances and two ACC Baseball Tournament championships. His 420 wins are the most by a head coach in Duke baseball history.

During his time at Duke, Pollard coached 46 Major League Baseball Draft picks, 28 All-ACC selections, nine Freshman All-Americans and seven All-Americans.

Virginia will be Pollard’s fourth stop as a collegiate head coach. Over his 26 seasons as a skipper, Pollard has compiled a career record of 806-614-3, including stops at Pfeiffer (2000-04), Appalachian State (2005-12) and Duke (2013-25). As he did at Duke in 2025, Pollard led Appalachian State to the NCAA Tournament during his final season with the Mountaineers in 2012.

No stranger to postseason baseball in Charlottesville, Pollard coached Duke to the 2023 Charlottesville Super Regional and Appalachian State to the 2012 Charlottesville Regional.

In his final two seasons in Durham, Pollard led the Blue Devils to back-to-back 40-win campaigns for the first time in program history, culminating in Duke hosting its first Super Regional in 2025.

The 2024 season saw the Blue Devils break the home run record for the second consecutive season, recording a program-best 115. Duke finished the 2024 campaign with a 40-20 record, the second time in program history to record 40-plus wins in a season (both under Pollard). The Blue Devils secured their second ACC Tournament title by sweeping the week in Charlotte.

Duke secured the program’s third Super Regional appearance in 2023, finishing with a 39-24 record. The Blue Devils were selected to the Conway Regional, advancing to the championship game against host Coastal Carolina, where Duke blasted its way to a 12-3 final in the regional championship. 

Pollard led Duke to another historic season in 2021, capturing the program’s first ACC Baseball Tournament championship title in program history and its first conference title since 1961.

Duke’s 35 wins in 2019 marked Pollard’s sixth consecutive season with over 30 victories, making the Blue Devil skipper the first head coach to lead Duke to six 30-win seasons in his first seven campaigns. The 2019 season culminated in the program’s second Super Regional appearance, where Duke fell to eventual national champion Vanderbilt.

Under Pollard’s guidance, Duke assembled a historic 2018 campaign. Ranked in the preseason for the first time in program history, the 2018 Blue Devils lived up to the early-season hype, achieving the first 40-win season in program history while also earning a program-record 18 ACC wins and advancing to the first NCAA Super Regional in school history. 

Pollard and the Blue Devils first burst onto the national scene in 2016 as Duke ended the season with a record of 33-24, which was good enough to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1961.

Before taking the job at Duke, Pollard spent eight seasons transforming Appalachian State from a bottom-dweller to a perennial mid-major power.

The Pollard era in Boone was highlighted by the 2012 Mountaineers winning their first conference championship since 1987 and advancing to NCAA postseason play for the first time since 1986. Appalachian State also claimed four wins over nationally-ranked opponents and spent six weeks in the national rankings. Before the record-breaking 2012 campaign, the Mountaineers boasted just one win over a nationally ranked team since 1982 and one appearance in a major college baseball poll.

Pollard got his first head coaching gig at DII Pfeiffer University. In his final year at Pfeiffer, Pollard coached the Falcons to the winningest season in school history, a 41-14 campaign that culminated with Pfeiffer’s second straight Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference regular-season championship and a berth in the 2004 NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional.

His prowess in program building can be traced back to Pfeiffer, as the Falcons suffered three losing seasons in the four years preceding his arrival. The Falcons improved their record in each of the five years with Pollard at the helm.

Pollard broke into the college coaching ranks in 1997 as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at his alma mater, Davidson College.

While on staff at Davidson, Pollard gained coaching experience in the NCAA-certified Coastal Plain Summer League as the head coach of the Durham Braves in 1998 and pitching coach with the Rocky Mount Rock Fish in 1997.

As a player at Davidson from 1993-96, Pollard became just the third pitcher in program history to win 20 games for a career. He ranks among the top 10 in Davidson history with 20 wins (4th), 309 innings pitched (6th), 18 complete games (6th) and two shutouts (3rd).

Pollard and his wife, Stephanie, have two sons, Thomas and Brady.

THE CHRIS POLLARD FILE

2013-25 – Duke – Head Coach (420-296)

2005-12 – Appalachian State – Head Coach (244-210-1)

2000-04 – Pfeiffer – Head Coach (141-108-1)

1996-99 – Davidson – Assistant Coach

PRESS CONFERENCE INFORMATION 

The date and time of Coach Pollard’s introductory press conference is to be determined.

Will Virginia turn its attention to Duke’s Pollard?

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Photo: Duke Athletics

With Duke suffering a heartbreaking loss only a step away from advancing to Omaha on Monday night, will Virginia go after Blue Devils coach Chris Pollard?

At least one national report placed Pollard and Wake Forest coach Tom Walter at the top of UVA’s wish list to replace Brian O’Connor, who became college baseball’s second-highest paid coach when he took the Mississippi State head coaching job last week. Updated reports said that Walter may be out of the running after he made a homophobic slur during the Demon Deacons’ game with Tennessee.

The slur was caught by ESPN’s crowd microphone and quickly spread through the sports world.

Certainly that’s not going to go over well at Virginia. Walter has been Wake’s coach since 2009 and led the Deacs to seven NCAA Tournament appearances since 2016 while posting a 495-383 record. He has 927 wins to his credit during his career.

Does that mean UVA AD Carla Williams’ national search will focus on Duke’s Pollard?

It would be a natural transition because Pollard is a native of nearby Amherst County and grew up a huge Virginia and O’Connor fan. He has won everywhere he’s been, from Pfeiffer to Appalachian State, to Duke in 2013. He’s come a long way since breaking into the college ranks in 2000.

Pollard has coached 46 Major League Draft picks and is well respected among major college baseball circles.

Aidan Teel latest Wahoo to follow O’Connor

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Photo: UVA Athletics

Virginia outfielder Aidan Teel is the latest Cavalier to announce his transfer to Mississippi State, following former UVA coach Brian O’Connor to Starkville.

Teel, a third-team All-ACC player and one of the top players in the transfer portal, joined freshmen Tomas Valincius (pitcher) and Chone James (designated hitter) as former Wahoos to join O’Connor’s program, along with another former teammate in James Nunnallee. In addition, Valincius’ older brother, Vytas Valincius, who played at Illinois, also committed to Mississippi State.

A .317 hitter, Teel had seven home runs and 40 RBI this past season. He also scored 51 runs and started all 50 games for the Cavaliers.

The older Valincius will be a senior. He played outfield for the Fighting Illini.

Cowbells ring in Brian O’Connor era in Starkville

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Photo by Austin Frayser/Special To The Clarion Ledger

Thousands of Mississippi State baseball fans and their patented cowbells showed up at Dudy Noble Field on Thursday night to greet and celebrate the hiring of Brian O’Connor.

The long-time Virginia coach was cheered, given his first cowbell and a No. 26 Bulldogs jersey, and was saluted with fireworks to cap off the night. O’Connor had already signed a four-year contract worth an average of $2.9 million annually, essentially doubling what he made at UVA ($1.4 million). MSU’s deal made the Hall of Fame coach the second-highest paid coach in the SEC, behind only Tennessee’s Tony Vitello ($3.25 million per year).

O’Connor said Bulldogs athletic director Zac Selman was the key figure in convincing him to accept Mississippi State’s offer, after having turned down opportunities at several other schools in recent years, including Florida, LSU and Texas A&M.

“Zac Selman was a big part of this,” O’Connor said. “I felt like if I was going to leave this place that I loved and worked at for 22 years, it had to to be the right partnership, first and foremost. And then, it had to be the place that you felt like you could be as successful as possible. I poured everything into that program in Charlottesville and the timing was lined up from the standpoint of where I was at in my career and where my family was at.”

Selman told media attending the welcome event that he was overjoyed when O’Connor decided to accept the Bulldogs’ offer. It wasn’t an easy decision for the veteran Cavaliers coach.

“Well we had a final conversation, Zach and I did, and I think he felt like in that conversation, maybe I should have or would have accepted the job,” O’Connor said. “And I just told him that I needed a little bit of time. I’m a little bit of a softie sometimes, OK. My family is always first and foremost in my decisions, I sat down on the couch with my wife, Cindy, and my son, Dylan, and I held their hands and said one last time, are you all on board?

“They looked at me and smiled and said, yes, we are. I knew that I wanted to do it. I knew it was the right opportunity. And then I called Zach back and told him that I wanted to be the next baseball coach here. There’s a process in this. It just doesn’t mean that now you’re going to be the baseball coach. There’s approvals that have to happen and things like that, and that takes sometimes 24 hours to run those approvals as just part of the search. It was an exciting, proud moment in my life. Obviously it was a change, but really exciting.”

O’Connor said he sat down with every Mississippi State player who had eligibility left, each meeting lasting half an hour, on Tuesday and Wednesday, but felt it was important.

“Those two days were long days, but they were great days because I got to understand from them, the guys that wore the uniform, what this place means to them, what the fan base means to them, and that cultural investment that is so important.”

O’Connor confirmed that Mississippi State pitching coach Justin Parker, considered one of the top pitching coaches in the nation, will stay on to complete his coaching staff.

The former Virginia skipper spent most of the early portion of his chat with media Thursday night, thanking UVA’s fan base for all its support through the years.

In addition to his salary, O’Connor also agreed to several contract bonuses that could earn him up to $500,000 in bonuses each year. Here’s the breakdown:

• SEC regular season championship: $50,000
• SEC tournament championship: $50,000
• SEC coach of the year: $50,000
• National coach of the year: $50,000
• NCAA tournament appearance: $50,000
• NCAA tournament super regional appearance: $100,000
• College World Series: $150,000
• College World Series final: $200,000
• National championship: $300,000

O’Connor thanks Virginia fans, donors for support

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Photo by Austin Frayser/Special To The Clarion Ledger

Brian O’Connor was full of excitement about his new gig as Mississippi State’s baseball coach, but he didn’t forget where he came from when he was introduced to Bulldogs Nation on Thursday night in Starkville.

“Before I answer questions, I want to talk about the past and why I’m here,” O’Connor said. “22 years ago, the athletic director at the University of Virginia decided to take a chance on a 32-year-old, never-been head coach and I’m forever grateful to Craig Littlepage for providing me that opportunity.

“And as the 22 years passed, we had so much success on the field, in the classroom. And the donors at the University of Virginia, the fans, it just kept growing and growing to levels that maybe nobody ever thought it would. I’m incredibly proud of that and thankful for those years of everybody that immersed themselves in that baseball program, players, fans, donors.”

O’Connor continued on with his well wishes and thanks to everyone back in Charlottesville.

“Craig Littlepage stepped down and Carla Williams took over as the athletic director, and with her guidance and support, our program continued to elevate. That was evident three out of the last four years with that program going to Omaha. So I haven’t had the opportunity to thank the fans and all the support and everybody involved at the University of Virginia, but I am forever grateful for all the support that was there for that baseball program. I had written a letter to all those fans and those donors and former players and Carla Williams will release that letter thanking all those people.”

O’Connor told this reporter late Wednesday night that he had sent that letter to UVA a few days ago, but didn’t know why it hadn’t been released. Virginia said Thursday that it didn’t receive the communication from O’Connor’s administrative assistant Justin Armistead until Wednesday.

“Virginia’s support meant everything to me, they poured resources and their time and everything going on with the program so it could be one of the nation’s elite,” O’Connor went on to say Thursday night. “So I would be remiss if I didn’t start off by showing my gratefulness for the last 22 years and what that program means and what their opportunities are moving forward. So I’m honored to be the baseball coach at Mississippi State.”