The University of Virginia has signed baseball coach Brian O’Connor to a contract extension that will keep O’Connor on Grounds through the 2027 season.
Terms of the deal were not announced.
The seven-year extension that he had signed in 2014 was worth $765,000 this season. Additionally, O’Connor earned a $500,000 longevity bonus for finishing out that deal.
His overall compensation package ranked him third among the eight coaches whose teams made it to the 2021 College World Series, the list being led by Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin, whose base salary was at $1.2 million in 2019.
Second on the list was Arizona coach Jay Johnson, whose salary this year was $855,000.
Johnson was announced this week as the new coach at LSU, replacing Paul Mainieri, whose base salary was $1.125 million per year.
Mainieri said in an interview with “The Jerry Ratcliffe Show” podcast last week that LSU had reached out to O’Connor about the school had reached out to O’Connor, a long-time friend of Mainieri since their days working together at Notre Dame, but O’Connor “wouldn’t bite.”
The Virginia baseball team is returning today from its fifth trip to Omaha in O’Connor’s tenure. UVA is one of five programs to have reached the College World Series that many times since 2009, the year of the Cavaliers first trip.
In 18 seasons at the helm, O’Connor boasts a 750-319 overall record. His .701 winning percentage is the second highest of any active coach in NCAA DI baseball.
Earlier this season he recorded his 300th ACC victory with a 9-4 win over Duke on April 23. O’Connor is one of eight coaches in the history of the ACC to reach the 300-win plateau.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have Brian O’Connor leading our program,” Virginia Athletics Director Carla Williams said. “He is the ultimate professional, an amazing leader and a great representative of the University of Virginia.”
“My thanks to Athletics Director Carla Williams and University President Jim Ryan for the trust and confidence that they have shown in allowing me to continue to lead the University of Virginia baseball program,” O’Connor said. “It is a privilege and an honor to have the opportunity to have coached and continue to coach the remarkable student-athletes of this program.
“The University of Virginia is a special place to me and my family. I am committed to this program, our student-athletes, the fans and this great institution. We will keep working to reach all of our goals on and off the field,” O’Connor said.
Story by Chris Graham
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Chris Graham
