It didn’t take long to see why Virginia targeted Chris Pollard from the moment Brian O’Connor indicated that he was planning to leave to take over the baseball program at Mississippi State.
The guy is a perfect fit.
Pollard, the former head baseball coach at Duke, is a proven winner.
At Duke, Pollard took the baseball program to heights it had never reached.
Despite everything.
The facilities are antiquated, and resources are limited. Compared to other programs within the Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill), the Blue Devils have no business being as good as they were.
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When Pollard arrived in Durham, the Duke program hadn’t sniffed the NCAA Tournament in over half a century, and played on a high school-quality field.
Think Virginia baseball in the mid-1990s, only worse.
Yet in the 13 seasons Pollard was head coach, he guided the Blue Devils to seven tournament appearances, two ACC titles, and four regional titles.
And Mike Krzyzewski gets all the accolades at Duke?
Virginia AD Carla Williams described Pollard very efficiently in saying he’s “a proven winner.”
How did Pollard reach this level in his profession?
Well, he paid his dues, to begin with.
Pollard came to Duke with 13 years of head-coaching experience at Division II Pfeiffer, located in the small town of Misenheimer, North Carolina, population 603.
Then he left for the big city of Boone, home of Appalachian State, where Pollard spent 11 seasons.
So, when he arrived at Duke, Pollard was quite used to making the most from the least.
Pollard quickly learned to take advantage of the resources available to him in Durham.
First, a great university, then a town with a historic minor league franchise and top-shelf stadium, the Durham Bulls and Durham Athletic Park.
The Blue Devils played some of their home games at Bulls Park, while Duke’s field was, well, somewhat upgraded.
Pollard made it clear that Duke did invest some resources into improving the program, but they couldn’t match what Virginia was investing.
And investing, they are, at Virginia.
Pollard has been on the job for a little over two weeks, and he’s already reaping the reward of a school that has donors willing to invest in the program.
On Monday, UVA alumnus Tim Smith and his wife, Jennifer, made a $5.5 million donation to UVA Athletics, with $4 million designated for scholarships in baseball and five women’s sports, plus additional funds for baseball operating expenses.
Virginia is planning on more than doubling the baseball scholarship allotment to at least 25 of the new 34-scholarship limit.
I had the opportunity to speak with Pollard after the press conference and asked him for his thoughts on the program’s current status regarding the total number of scholarships.
I said that, looking back over previous years, the analytics suggested that only about 25 players saw playing time.
Pollard agreed.
“Hey, that’s a pretty accurate figure, and I agree that usually is where you end up,” said Pollard.
“But it will help to have a few more scholarships available, keep everyone competing, and it protects you from injuries plaguing the program. But in postseason, you’re back to somewhere around 27, so there you go again,” added Pollard.
Pollard was asked about his ability to bring in Ivy League graduate transfers who fit the Duke profile, since grad students aren’t eligible for athletics in the Ivy League.
How do you plan to continue that at the University of Virginia? I asked.
“Hey, both are elite universities, there’s no reason the pipeline can’t continue here,” said Pollard.
“The most important task is to identify those potential players early, that’s what my great staff has been doing tremendously. I’m so fortunate to have them with me; it’s not easy, but it’s a great deal more seamless having the staff in place,” said Pollard.
I asked Pollard if the midweek scheduling strategy would change under his direction.
“To some extent, I thought playing Maryland in Fredericksburg was a great idea. I watched the game on television, and the place was jumping. I liked the idea so much I’ve already signed a deal for next year,” noted Pollard.
Like it or not, the RPI plays a considerable part come NCAA Tournament time, and Pollard said he will schedule accordingly.
“You know, if the three games against Florida State hadn’t been lost, who knows where Virginia may have been. You win two of those games, you might be hosting a regional. You have to be aware of the RPI, and scheduling is a big part of this,” noted Pollard.
I also had the chance to speak with current Virginia player Luke Hanson, a Virginia native who has stated that he will remain part of the Cavalier baseball team.
“I’m just excited to be getting back to concentrating on the grind of baseball. I look forward to working with the new staff and learning new techniques,” said Hanson.
Hanson has been a member of two Virginia College World Series teams.
While Chris Pollard hasn’t yet led a team to the sport’s premier stage, it was very clear Wednesday that he knows what it takes to get there.
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