The first weekend of the NCAA Baseball Tournament has yielded some good results for the ACC. They have had some advancement to the Super Regionals already, with a few more playing for a spot next weekend on Monday.
One team in the ACC that has already punched its ticket to the Super Regionals is Florida State, and they did so by winning their regional. They won the last two games over Mississippi State out of the SEC. Not only did the Seminoles end the Bulldogs' season on Sunday night, but they also allowed the program to announce their next head coach.
Mississippi State names former Virginia coach Brian O’Connor its next head coach
When Mississippi State fired Chris Lemonis back in April, which was odd at the time, they named Justin Parker the interim coach for the remainder of the season. When MSU’s season ended against Florida State, they removed Parker’s interim tag and hired Virginia’s Brian O’Connor.
As expected, this isn’t sitting well with the fan base in Charlottesville, but they shouldn’t be surprised by the news, as Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball reported that this was the likely route Mississippi State would go. As expected, several Virginia players have already entered the portal, leaving the program scrambling to find its next head coach.
O’Connor has been a staple at the helm of the UVA program and had them in Omaha last season in the College World Series. They missed the tournament this year, falling short of an at-large bid, but when an SEC school comes calling, you listen. This season, the conference got 13 teams into the tournament, warranted or not.
Despite O’Connor leaving the ACC for the SEC, Virginia Tech and head coach John Szefc will see him and his team very early next season. Both Mississippi State and Virginia Tech will take part in the 2026 Amegy Bank College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, the home of the Rangers.