Brian O’Connor wants high school recruiting to be ‘foundation’ at Mississippi State

Former Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor was hired at Mississippi State on June 1 to replace former head coach Chris Lemonis, who was let go mid-season. He’ll inherit a proud Bulldog program that boasts 12 Men’s College World Series appearances.

O’Connor, who is bringing along four players from Virginia via the transfer portal, revealed that he wants high school recruiting to be the foundation at Mississippi State. He explained more in his introductory press conference.

“I really believe in the high school player,” O’Connor said. “The high school player has to be the foundation of any consistent, successful college baseball program. It starts there because you bring them into the program and you have an opportunity for three or four years for them to continue to develop and you have a plan to understand what you have coming back the next year. That’s crucial.”

In his 21 seasons in Charlottesville, the Omaha, NE native compiled an 885-370-2 overall record, including a 362-234-1 mark in ACC play. He was the conference’s Coach of the Year five times, helped the Cavaliers to two ACC titles and won the Men’s College World Series in 2015.

“The exact breakdown, I don’t know, it probably depends on what the roster size ends up being,” O’Connor continued. “I think you have to look at 8-10 high school players in a class, depending on what your needs are. And then you fill in from there. If you’re developing them like they should develop, then maybe you don’t have to go into the transfer portal as much. My No. 1 priority is for the young men that possess the ability, have the skill set and think the right way, that they’re on the bus. And then after we’ve done that, we evaluate and say what are the other pieces of the puzzle that we need to put the best team on the field for the 2026 season.”

In an era where building your roster via the transfer portal reigns king, it is certainly a breath of fresh air to hear O’Connor’s high school recruiting philosophy. If you take a look at Virginia‘s 2024 starting lineup (which made the Men’s College World Series), eight of the Cavaliers’ nine offensive starters had been in the program their entire careers.

The four players O’Connor is bringing with him from last season’s Virginia team include freshman DH Chone James, freshman outfielder James Nunnallee, junior outfielder Aidan Teel, and freshman left-handed pitcher Tomas Valincius.