Mississippi State baseball hires Brian O’Connor as program’s 19th head coach

Mississippi State has announced the hiring of former Virginia head coach and college baseball great Brian O’Connor as the program’s 19th head coach.

The announcement came on the team’s official X account on Sunday night following the Bulldogs’ 5-2 loss to No. 9 Florida State in the Tallahassee Regional of the NCAA Tournament.

O’Connor is renowned as one of the top coaches in the game, with a 917-388-2 career record, 18 NCAA Tournament appearances, 7 College World Series appearances and a championship title. He has been named the National Coach of the Year three times in his career and has coached 102 MLB draft picks, 31 of whom have gone on to play in the league.

O’Connor succeeds Chris Lemonis, who led MSU to its first CWS National Championship in 2021 but was let go in late April following a handful of tough seasons. Pitching coach Justin Parker served as the interim coach to finish out the season.