Duke baseball turns to an ACC rival to find its new head coach
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- Duke hired Wake Forest assistant Corey Muscara to lead its baseball program.
- Muscara replaces Chris Pollard, who left to coach Virginia after 13 seasons.
- Muscara led Wake Forest's top-ranked pitching staff during its 54-win 2023 season.
Duke named Wake Forest pitching coach Corey Muscara as its next baseball coach on Thursday.
Muscara fills in for former head coach Chris Pollard, who departed from Duke earlier this month to become the head coach for Virginia baseball. The program’s all-time wins leader with 420, Pollard spent 13 years leading the Blue Devils, bringing Duke to new heights with four NCAA super regional appearances.
Muscara brings 15 years of collegiate coaching experience.
“I am incredibly honored and excited to join the Duke community and lead the Blue Devils’ baseball program,” Muscara said in a news release. “This is a truly special opportunity to build on the program’s success and compete for championships at one of the premier academic and athletic institutions in the country.”
Joining the Wake Forest staff in 2022, Muscara led a bullpen in the 2023 season that launched the Demon Deacons to a program-record 54 wins and their first College World Series appearance since 1955.
In 2023, Muscara was named D1Baseball’s Assistant Coach of the Year after Wake Forest led the nation in ERA (2.83), WHIP (1.05) hits-per-nine innings (6.59), strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.26) and strikeouts per nine innings (12.1).
This past season, Wake Forest posted a 39-22 overall record and advanced to the NCAA Knoxville Regional Final, falling 11-5 to Tennessee.
Prior to his time at Wake Forest, Muscara served as Maryland’s pitching coach from 2018-2021 and as an assistant coach at St. John’s from 2013-2017.
He began his coaching career at Southern New Hampshire in 2010 and returned in 2012 as a pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. In his second stint, the Penmen reached the Division II College World Series in Cary and recorded a program-record 43 wins. Muscara’s pitching staff led Division II in ERA (2.41) and strikeouts per nine innings (9.3).
“Corey is one of the most respected pitching minds in the country, and his track record of developing elite student-athletes while competing at the highest levels speaks for itself,” Duke athletic director Nina King said in a news release. “His passion, energy and commitment to excellence align perfectly with the values of Duke athletics. I am confident Corey will build upon the strong foundation of our program and lead Duke baseball to sustained success on and off the field.”
In the final season under Pollard, Duke baseball notched a 41-21 overall record and hosted postseason action for the first time at Jack Coombs Field. The Blue Devils ultimately fell 5-4 to Murray State in the Durham Super Regional to conclude the 2025 season.
Muscara now looks to lead a program that has seen 23 players enter the transfer portal.
This story was originally published June 19, 2025 at 4:23 PM.