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Mississippi State

Long-time Virginia assistant Kevin McMullan following Brian O'Connor to Mississippi State

Grant Grubbs Profile Pictureby: Grant Grubbs06/02/25grant_grubbs_
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(Photo by Chris McDill/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

On Monday, Kevin McMullan, who was Brian O’Connor‘s associate head coach at Virginia, posted on X a picture of Mississippi State‘s Dudy Noble Field with the caption “Morning to you!! Make it a great day.” D1Baseball’s Kendal Rodgers reported that McMullan is expected to follow O’Connor to Mississippi State, where he accepted an offer to be the next head coach.

McMullan’s post confirmed Rodgers reporting. McMullan has served on Virginia’s baseball staff since 2003. He served as an associate head coach in 20 of his 23 seasons with the program.

Additionally, McMullan was Virginia’s recruiting coordinator and hitting coach. He specifically worked defensively with the Cavaliers’ infielders and catchers. McMullan is considered one of the best recruiters in college baseball.

He has been recognized in a poll of 70 Division I head coaches by Baseball America as the top assistant coach in college baseball three times (2012, 2017, 2020). McMullan not only knows how to recruit talent, but is excellent at developing it too.

For five consecutive seasons (2014-18), Virginia had at least one player chosen in the first round of the MLB Draft. During his career, McMullan has had over 100 players signed by professional organizations. Now, Kevin McMullan will look to find similar success at Mississippi State with O’Connor.

In his 22 seasons at the helm of Mississippi State, O’Connor amassed a stunning 913-392-2 record. He’s led the Cavaliers to two regular season conference championships, two ACC Tournament titles and a College World Series championship in 2015, the program’s only national title.

O’Connor also led Virginia to seven appearances in the CWS (2009, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2023, 2024). For his efforts, he’s been named the ACC Coach of the Year five times and reeled in multiple national coach of the year awards.

Despite reaching the CWS in the previous two seasons, Virginia failed to reach the NCAA Tournament this season after posting a 31-25 overall record and a 12-18 mark in conference play. At Mississippi State, O’Connor will replace Chris Lemonis, who the school fired on April 28.

Assistant coach Justin Parker has been serving as the team’s interim head coach since Lemonis’ dismissal. The Bulldogs made the Tallahassee Regional this season but ultimately suffered a season-ending loss against 1-seed Florida State in the regional final. O’Connor is excited to get started.

“Mississippi State represents everything I love about college baseball — tradition, passion and a relentless pursuit of excellence,” O’Connor said. “I’ve coached against this program and followed it closely for years. The atmosphere at Dudy Noble Field is nationally recognized as the best in the sport. I’m incredibly honored and grateful for the opportunity to lead a program with this kind of legacy and fan base.”