Virginia Cavalier head coach Brian O'Connor takes the field before the game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Charles Schwab Filed Omaha. Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

The Brian O'Connor Era is Already Underway With the Transfer Portal Open

Originally posted on Mississippi State Bulldogs on SI
By Taylor Hodges | Last updated Jun 2, 2025 8:00 PM ET

The Brian O’Connor in Starkville is officially underway and moving at full speed already.

Most of the action is with O’Connor building his coaching and support staff.

Wake Forest pitching coach Corey Muscara (the 2023 D1 Baseball Assistant Coach of the Year) has reportedly been hired to fill the same role at Mississippi State. O’Connor is also bringing his recruiting coordinator from Virginia, Matt Kirby, to Mississippi State, too.

BREAKING: Wake Forest pitching coach Corey Muscara has been hired as the next pitching coach for Mississippi State Baseball

The 2023 D1 Baseball Assistant COTY is one of the best pitching coaches in CBB, & has fielded a plethora of All-Americans & top MLB draft picks

ELITE hire pic.twitter.com/ZZX9ewlnkV
— HailStateMuse (@HailStateMuse) June 2, 2025

The sports world moves fast and it moves even faster when the transfer portal is open. So, O’Connor has no choice but to start working immediately.

Fortunately, for him and the Bulldogs’ fans, O’Connor probably won’t have to work as hard to bring in some of the best players in the transfer portal considering he was their head coach this past season.

As of Monday afternoon, more than 1,000 players have entered the transfer portal, including 14 Virginia players. It’s expected some of those players will follow O’Connor to Starkville.

Yes. https://t.co/j3pLGPXb5O
— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) June 2, 2025

Some of the former Cavaliers in the portal are being put in top 10 lists of the best players in the transfer portal. See this tweet/post from 64Analytics:

2,500 emails already sent out today.

Site is up to date as of about 30 minutes ago (just did another download).

Going to take the 200 or so players with no data and create generic profiles for them now, just for completion. Detailed information to come.

Top 25, as of now. pic.twitter.com/WW4GUWVgRM
— 64Analytics (@64Analytics) June 2, 2025

Outfielder Henry Ford and pitchers Tomas Valincius, Evan Blanco and Chris Arroyo are looked at as top 10 players in the transfer portal. Expand the range to the top 25 and you can add in outfielder James Nunnallee and pitcher Bradley Hodges.

Ford batted .362/.575/.420 in 207 at-bats last season and produced 11 home runs and 46 RBIs. Valincius was Virginia’s best pitcher, posting a 6-1 record with a 4.59 ERA, 70 strikeouts, 17 walks, 33 ER and a .256 b/avg.

Sources tell @CollegeBaseCNT that Travis Reifsnider will follow Brian O’Connor to Mississippi State.

A former player at UVA, Reifsnider spend the last year as the director of player development and scouting. pic.twitter.com/nyfnhFmoP4
— Jake Mckeever (@CBCJakeMck) June 2, 2025

Both players could easily end up in Starkville and would help O’Connor build a championship caliber team. Shoot, all 14 could end up in Starkville and if reports of players listing themselves in the portal under the “no contact” designation are accurate, a lot of them will end up at Mississippi State.

It’s not a lock some of the best player in the portal will come to Mississippi State. Other premier baseball programs will be vying for their services.

O’Connor also has work to do keep the Bulldogs’ best players in Starkville, specifically, third baseman Ace Reese. The SEC Newcomer of the Year and former Houston transfer led the Bulldogs with a .352 batting average, 21 home runs and 66 RBIs.

There’s also the MLB Draft to worry about. Players could choose to go that route instead of coming or returning to Starkville next season.

No matter what happens, though, it’s definitely an exciting time to be a Mississippi State baseball fan.