One-on-One with Brian O'Connor: Mississippi State coach navigates a wild first two weeks

Brian O’Connor was sitting on his porch on Monday morning making his rounds through several media requests.

The last few days have been the first time in two weeks that O’Connor has had a chance to catch a breath after arriving to Mississippi State as the new head baseball coach. Through meetings with the current roster and recruiting the transfer portal and high school classes, O’Connor has hardly had time to sleep.

A Father’s Day weekend dead period arrived Saturday-Monday and it allowed the coach at least some time to spend with family and collecting his thoughts, but work is about to pick right back up for he and his staff.

We were one of the media requests that O’Connor filled on Monday as the coach graciously gave his time to Maroon and White Daily to talk about the whirlwind two weeks as State’s coach. Below is the entirety of that 20-minute conversation where the coach goes in on his first several days on the job, his thoughts on State fans, the staff’s recruiting work to this point and more.

Question: What have the last couple of weeks been like for you?

BOC: “The word that I come up with is exciting. I love it. I love the fast pace of it, trying to put everything together and piece everything together to have the best program that we can have at Mississippi State. It’s been a combination of learning Mississippi State a little bit and getting settled with the hiring processes. Human resources and everything to get done what you need to get done. There’s a component of that where time is of the essence.

“My attention first and foremost on the ground at Mississippi State was to meet with the current players that had eligibility left and talk to them about the vision of the program was and what the standards are that I believe in to have a highly successful college baseball program. And to talk to them about their opportunities at Mississippi State. Because what ends up happening in any of these coaching changes is that a lot of guys jump into the portal seeking opportunities while trying to understand what the new coaching staff is about.

“I feel really good about what we’ve done in two weeks to retain the current roster at Mississippi State. You’re not going to be able to keep all of them because maybe in the last year or two they haven’t played as much as they wanted to or pitched as much as they wanted to and maybe they want to venture out and find a different role than they’ve had over the last year or two and that’s ok.

“What you do is start to figure out what are the pieces of the puzzle that fit together to try and have the best 2026 team at Mississippi State. We’ve been consumed with that and building those pieces to build out that roster construction for next year and beyond.”

Q: This is such a different situation for you too because, after over 20 years at Virginia, you’re starting at a new place and having to deal with the transfer portal and retaining the roster. What’s it been like learning this whole process?

BOC: “I don’t have a lot of experience with it having been at Virginia for 22 years. A big part of this was that the majority of my staff and support staff came along with me at Mississippi State so we know each other, we know our strengths and we know what our roles are. Those have already been in place. It allowed us to hit the ground running on who has what responsibilities versus having to hire a bunch of staff members that you don’t know.

“I’m a big believer in efficiencies and people knowing their roles in an organization and being responsible for those roles and counting on them to deliver in those roles. That was the advantage of bringing coach (Kevin) McMullan who has been with me for 22 years and coach (Matt) Kirby that has been with me for 14 years and then four support staff members who have been with me or previously been with me and they understand what my standards and expectations are for what needs to be accomplished and get done. We were able to immediately go to work.

“I haven’t and will not have time to spend with donors and fans because we have to pour everything into building out this roster to have the best team to put on the field next spring.”

Q: Your whole staff is essentially guys that you’ve worked with for several years but Justin Parker is different in that he was at Mississippi State. What was it about him that you felt like it was the fit?

BOC: “I’ll say this, anytime you’re the leader of a program, you’re always paying attention to other coaches out there. You’re learning about them, you see how they work, you see their track record for development and all of that. Last year when we had a chance to compete against Mississippi State at the Regional, I paid attention through competition on how his pitchers competed and how they executed. Obviously, they had some really good talent, but what was he getting out of them?

“Also, understanding his reputation, most importantly to connect with young men in the recruiting process and connect with them while they’re under your development. Those were the most important things to me. Obviously, he has strong contacts in the southeast from a recruiting standpoint which is vitally important. Us spending time together, I got a better understanding of what he’s about as a man and what he believes in running a high level baseball program and his role as a pitching coach.

“Every coach always keeps a list with them of who they think are really good, capable assistant coaches out there depending on what role you’re in and Justin Parker fit that bill perfectly. I think it’s going to be a great partnership having him as part of our staff moving forward.”

Q: You’ve retained several key players announce their return for next season. How big is that for your program to have them bridge the gap for you next year?

BOC: “It’s the most important part because those young men love Mississippi State. That’s why after being hired, that was my first focus. Those young men had the ability and love Mississippi State to pave the way for them to remain in this uniform. That was priority number one before we started looking into replacing players.

“That’s important in consistency and continuity and getting the best players that have the right kind of talent and want to be there. That wasn’t going to be everybody and I understand that. Some players needed to take their own journey and try something new and that’s ok. That’s where we kind of backfill the roster and make it the most complete team we can make it.”

Q: At your announcement at Dudy Noble Field, you said all of the pomp and circumstance wasn’t really your vibe but you did get a good idea of what this fanbase is about. What were your thoughts on that night?

BOC: “Excitement and opportunity. I’ve been familiar with the fanbase and the passion and love that they have for the baseball program at Mississippi State and I’m fully aware of that and have been for some time. But there was a lot of pomp and circumstance that went on that night and I understand that’s part of it. Yeah, that might not be me, but when you’re the baseball coach at Mississippi State that’s got to be part of who you are. I welcome that and understand that.

“With it came excitement and energy about how passionate these fans are at having a highly successful baseball program. I look forward to that. You can’t shy away from that being the baseball coach at a place like Mississippi State. You have to welcome and relish it because it’s part of what makes it makes it an incredible experience for the players, coaches, fans, everybody involved.”

Q: 25 years ago you were in Starkville for a Regional as Notre Dame’s pitching coach. What do you remember about that Regional?

BOC: “What I remember first is the loss to end the season and that doesn’t sit well as a competitor because you wanted to win the darn thing. Also, just left with the feeling of the passion that the fans have for great college baseball. Obviously, they want their Bulldogs to win, but their appreciation and love for really good baseball and that’s exciting. The standing ovations for a great play by a member of the other team. That says it all – that they understand the game, they appreciate the game and they appreciate great play. Obviously, they want it on the side of Mississippi State, but the game is hard to play and their understanding of what goes into it is truly a lot of fun.”

Q: State has had some extreme highs and some extreme lows over the last couple of decades. As a coach that has had that consistency over the course of your career, how do you bring that here and create a more stable environment?

BOC: “I think that starts with the consistency of recruiting and roster creation. We have a lot of work to do on that, not only for next year but for the future. Is recruiting out of the transfer portal critically important? Yes, it is. There’s no question about it. But also, starting to get a small handful of freshmen to come into the program because if they’re high level players and get a chance to develop over three years, then you have that player for three years.

“When you’re constantly hunting the majority of your roster in the transfer portal in the summer, that’s not a good recipe for consistent success. You can evaluate players in the portal on video and statistics and there’s no guarantee that they come to your program and end up delivering at that level.

“Somewhat of a constancy of a handful of freshmen that can grow in the program is really important in roster creation and development to have sustained success. We’ve got work to do on that. You look at the roster and, from a position player standpoint, rising sophomores or rising juniors that started in the program at Mississippi State. If that’s the case, you’re always continuing to build out the entire position player roster in the transfer portal.

“That’s going to take two or three years for that roster to catch up. Not going to change what you need to do in the transfer portal at all. But, you look at a lot of teams that have been to Omaha and have won the National Championship, there’s a good majority of those teams that were born and raised in that program. We’re not going to solve that right away. That’s going to take a few years to solve and we’re going to have to patch it with portal guys before that time it can be built. That’s going to be vital for us.

“Then it comes down to the development of the culture of the program. What kind of standards are you holding the players to? How do you work? How do you develop them on a consistent basis? Those are the challenges, but those are the things that I’m really excited about.”

Q: What has been the reception you’ve gotten from kids in the portal and in high school since you’ve been hired at State?

BOC: “I think it’s been pretty good for sure. A lot of players are excited about it, open about it and want to be a part of building something. That’s a challenge that you present to recruits all the time. You want to go to a place that’s well established and going to Omaha a lot, there’s those places out there. How are you wired? Do you want to go to a place where you can make a difference? They can make a difference at Mississippi State.

“It’s got to be the right kind of young man that wants the kind of environment that’s at Mississippi State. Every school is not right for everyone, but they understand what this opportunity is about and what we’re about as coaches. I feel like the reception has been really good, but when you’re recruiting in the SEC, everybody is really good. There are established programs and programs that have been to Omaha a lot lately and that’s what we’re up against.

“What we’re offering is a new opportunity to come and make a difference in the foundation of this baseball program.”

Q: What does the summer look like for your staff?

BOC: “Well, it’s about putting the best team on the field next year for Mississippi State while some of our staff members also stay engaged in the 2026 and ’27 recruits. That goes back to building the roster for the future for longevity and stability.

“I was actually up in the Cape on Friday before the dead period closed up. It’s about going wherever you have to go to accomplish two things: getting what you need to get in the transfer portal while also building the future of this thing. Hand-in-hand, we have to pay attention to both of them and are.

“It’s piecing it all together all the way through the summer and into the middle of August because we have high school recruiting events that go in all the way until then and putting this thing together to have the best team that we can possibly have.”