5 men’s NCAA baseball tournament players to watch
The Mongomery Advertiser’s Adam Cole and The Tennesseean’s Aria Gerson break down the top players to watch in the men’s NCAA baseball tournament.
One day after losing to Murray State in the Durham Super Regional of the NCAA baseball tournament, Duke baseball is losing its coach to an ACC rival.
Virginia announced the hiring of Chris Pollard on Tuesday, stealing the coach away from their ACC rival. Pollard coached Duke for the last 12 seasons and guided the program to four NCAA super regional appearances.
Pollard led the Blue Devils to a 41-21 record during the 2025 season. While they did not earn a national seed, Duke went into the Athens Regional and knocked out No. 7 Georgia to earn a home super regional after Murray State upset No. 10 Ole Miss in the Oxford Regional.
The Blue Devils defeated the Racers 7-4 in the super regional opener on June 7, moving them one win away from the program’s first College World Series appearance since 1961. However, Murray State pulled off 19-9 and 5-4 wins on June 8 and 9, respectively, to advance instead.
With 357 career wins with Duke, Pollard departs as the all-time wins leader with the Blue Devils. He led the program to seven regionals and four super regionals. Pollard helped guide the program to its first regional since 1961 in 2016. The program won its first-ever regional in 2018.
Virginia’s coaching job came open when 22-year coach Brian O’Connor left for the coaching position with Mississippi State on June 1. O’Connor led the Cavaliers to 18 NCAA Tournament appearances and seven CWS trips. Virginia won the 2015 CWS national championship. The Cavaliers went 32-18 overall and 16-11 in ACC play in 2025.
Longtime Duke assistant Josh Jordan is viewed as the favorite to replace Pollard, according to D1 Baseball’s Kendall Rogers.
