The dream hire is in for the Mississippi State baseball team and Brian O'Connor is already putting in serious work to get things rocking in Starkville. In case you missed it, O'Connor indeed was named the new head coach over the weekend.
Think he's going to just sit back and relax after the move was announced? No chance. According to D1Baseball co-owner Kendall Rogers, two former Virginia staff members will be joining O'Connor at his new stomping grounds. That'd be recruiting coordinator Matt Kirby and assistant coach Kevin McMullan:
SCOOP: Matt Kirby, who has spent the last three seasons as the recruiting coordinator at @UVABaseball, is headed to @HailStateBB in the same role, I'm told. Kirby spent a total of 14 seasons on Brian O'Connor's #UVA staff. #HailState
— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) June 2, 2025
More details. I reported this the other day, but long-time @UVABaseball assistant Kevin McMullan is expected to join O'Connor in Starkville as well. https://t.co/lzxcvsYQDc
— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) June 2, 2025
Brian O'Connor is getting to work quickly for the Mississippi State Bulldgos
That's how you go ahead and make a statement with your new program. O'Connor has Mississippi State fans pretty fired up over his hire and understandably so. He was tremendous in leading the charge for the Virginia Cavaliers.
His resume is quite impressive, as he was a five-time ACC Coach of the Year and the National Coach of the Year with Virginia in 2015. That season, the Cavs stunned everyone by winning the College World Series, becoming the first ACC program since 1955 to do so.
As written by M&W Nation's Andrew Miller on Sunday, O'Connor instantly becomes the most impressive hire in program history. What he was able to get done throughout his career with Virginia was stellar and he's now looking to have the same kind of success in the SEC. Change was needed for the Bulldogs and now O'Connor is poised to get this program back to a top level.
This season, the Bulldogs went 36-23 overall and a disappointing 15-15 in conference play. In late April, it was announced that Chris Lemonis had been fired from his post as head coach of Mississippi State. He also helped the Bulldogs win the natty, but the writing was on the wall for him. Now, O'Connor is taking over and expectations are going to be sky-high for him - fans are confident he'll be able to deliver.