CHARLOTTESVILLE — Virginia didn’t have to look far for its new baseball coach.
The Cavaliers hired Duke coach Chris Pollard, UVa announced on Tuesday afternoon. Sources confirmed to The Daily Progress prior to the announcement that he was on the verge of landing the gig with the Hoos.
D1Baseball first reported Pollard’s move, which keeps him within the ACC going from Duke to UVa. The Daily Progress reported on Monday that Pollard was the favorite for the job.
Pollard, who grew up in Amherst County, spent the last 13 seasons leading the Blue Devils while piling up seven NCAA tournament appearances. All seven have come over the last decade as Pollard built Duke into one of the ACC’s most consistent programs.
“Coach Pollard’s impact over the past 13 years has been nothing short of transformational,” Duke athletic director Nina King said in a statement later Tuesday. “He built a championship-caliber program grounded in integrity, resilience and the development of outstanding student-athletes. We are deeply grateful for his leadership and the legacy he leaves behind.”
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The Blue Devils won the conference tournament in 2021 and 2024, too.
This spring, Pollard guided Duke to the Super Regionals for the fourth time in his tenure. On Feb. 22 when the Blue Devils beat Cornell, he became their all-time leader in wins and now he leaves Duke atop that category with 420 victories.
He is the 16th coach in UVa history, and is tasked with stepping into the vacancy created by ex-Cavaliers coach Brian O’Connor, who departed UVa after 22 years in charge to take the same job at Mississippi State on June 1.
Prior to Pollard’s 13-year run in Durham, he was Appalachian State’s coach for eight seasons. In his final campaign with the Mountaineers in 2012, they reached the NCAA tournament for only the fourth time ever and the first since 1986.
They played in the 2012 Charlottesville Regional and won two games as the No. 3-seed, knocking off second-seeded Oklahoma in their opener and then top-seeded UVa in the winner’s bracket contest. The Sooners eventually won the regional and eliminated Pollard’s Mountaineers in the regional championship.
Duke coach Chris Pollard holds the trophy after a win over North Carolina State in the 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference championship game in Charlotte, North Carolina.
He coached at Disharoon Park in the national postseason again just two years ago when UVa hosted Duke in the 2023 Charlottesville Super Regional. The Blue Devils won the first tilt in a best-of-three set before the Hoos bounced back and took the last two games of the series to advance to the College World Series.
Pollard came that painfully close to leading Duke to Omaha three times. In the 2019 Nashville Super Regional, the Blue Devils had 1-0 series lead before dropping the final two games to host Vanderbilt. And this past weekend in the Durham Super Regional, Duke took the opener in its home venue, Jack Coombs Field, before losing Games 2 and 3 to upset-minded Murray State.
Those losses freed Pollard up to be courted by UVa on Tuesday, though.
“I am so grateful for my time at Duke,” Pollard said in a statement released by the Blue Devils. “[Duke associated AD] Brad Berndt and [former Duke athletic director] Kevin White took a chance on a young coach with no major college experience. I am forever appreciative of the opportunity to work at this world class university. Nina King continues to elevate Duke Athletics in so many meaningful ways. ... I am excited for this new adventure at the University of Virginia, but I am leaving a big piece of my heart in Durham.”
Before Appalachian State, Pollard was the coach at Division II Pfeiffer University. In his final two seasons there, Pfeiffer won the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference regular season.
Over his two and a half decades as a head coach, Pollard has compiled an 805-614-3 record. He’s racked up five seasons with 40 wins or more.
His coaching career began at his alma mater, Davidson College, where he was the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for four seasons ahead of getting the Pfeiffer job. He was a standout pitcher during his playing days, ranking in the top 10 in Davidson history for wins, strikeouts and appearances.
Pollard also has a master’s degree from Mississippi State.
