Five Potential Candidates for Virginia Baseball's Head Coaching Job

Brian O’Connor is set to depart Virginia baseball after 22 seasons in Charlottesville, where he brought the Hoos seven trips to Omaha, five 50-win seasons, two ACC Championships, and one National Championship. With O’Connor officially on his way to Mississippi State, here are four potential replacements for the coach who turned Virginia baseball into a powerhouse program. 

Kevin Schnall, Coastal Carolina Head Coach

Schnall has quickly impressed in his first year as head coach of the Chanticleers, leading them to a 48-11 record and an NCAA Tournament bid to go along with Sun Belt Tournament and Regular Season Titles. Schnall garnered 2025 Sun Belt Coach of the Year honors for his efforts and has quickly proved that if he wants to take the step up to a Power 4 conference, he’s more than capable of leading a big-time program. The Chanticleers won the Conway Regional this past weekend with a 3-0 record.

Tom Walter - Wake Forest Head Coach

Walter has coached at Wake Forest since 2010, having made it to the College World Series once in 2023 but consistently being a step behind Virginia. Despite this, Walter has proven himself in Winston-Salem and is ready for promotion to a program with more resources and a better reputation. Walter earned the ACC Coach of the Year in 2023 and has his team still alive in the Knoxville Regional with one game to go. 

Cliff Godwin - ECU Baseball Head Coach

Godwin, like Schnall, is another coach looking to take the step up as he’s guided East Carolina to nine regional appearances in 11 seasons of coaching the Pirates. This year, Godwin guided the Pirates to an American Athletic Conference Championship to secure an automatic bid as a five seed in their conference, one of the bid stealers that bumped Virginia out of the NCAA Tournament. Godwin has proven to be a resourceful coach in Greenville, North Carolina, and can handle a Power 4 program such as Virginia. 

Karl Kuhn - Charleston Southern Head Coach

Kuhn led Charleston Southern nearly into the NCAA Tournament as the Buccaneers advanced to their conference final before falling to USC Upstate. Kuhn has proved he can run a program as he’s also coached at Radford, where he led the Highlanders to their best start since 2014, his first year in 2020. Kuhn also has ties to Charlottesville as he was a member of the Virginia baseball program during its first College World Series run in 2009 and its first National Championship in 2015. In 2014, Kuhn received the 2014 Collegiate Baseball National Pitching Coach of the Year.

Mike Glavine - Northeastern Head Coach

In 2025, Glavine notched his fifth CAA Coach of the Year award en route to leading the Huskies to an astounding 45-9 regular season record to go along with a CAA Championship. At Northeastern, Glavine boasts a 308-211-1 overall record with four trips to the NCAA Tournament, making him a prime candidate for the Virginia coaching job. With Glavine's squad eliminated in the Tallahassee Regional, the Cavaliers could contact him immediately.

For