UVA Baseball coach Brian O’Connor celebrates the team’s 5-2 win over Dallas Baptist that sent the ‘Hoos to the 2021 College World Series. Photo courtesy UVA Athletics. But you also couldn ...

This story was updated to correct a misspelling/typo. STARKVILLE — No Mississippi State baseball assistant coach hires for Brian O’Connor’s staff have been made official yet, but clues show ...

Less than a week into Brian O’Connor’s tenure as Mississippi State’s baseball coach, a whole lot of big things have happened for the 2026 roster. O’Connor got off the plane in Starkville late Sunday night and the coach admittedly has not slept for more than three or four hours since.

The world learned Thursday night that Brian O’Connor, who had signed an extension with UVA just last June that paid him $1.4 million a year, making him the eight-highest-paid coach in college baseball, is now the second-highest-paid coach in college baseball, at $2.9 million a year.

Mississippi State welcomed new head baseball coach Brian O'Connor to the Bulldog Family at a celebration on June 5, 2025, at Dudy Noble Field.

O’Connor’s attraction to the Bulldogs is reasonable. Mississippi State boats elite facilities, a large fanbase and competes in the rigorous, prestigious SEC. The Bulldogs’ stadium has a seating capacity almost three times larger than Virginia’s, plus 41 NCAA Tournament appearances throughout program history — compared to just 21 by the Cavaliers.