Duke baseball’s Chris Pollard leaving to take head coaching job with ACC rival
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chris Pollard leaves Duke to become Virginia's head baseball coach in 2025.
- Pollard exits Duke as its winningest coach with 420 wins and two ACC titles.
- Virginia hires Pollard after missing 2025 NCAA Tournament and coaching change.
One day after Duke baseball’s season saw its season end in a 5-4 loss to Murray State in the NCAA Durham Super Regional, head coach Chris Pollard is headed to Charlottesville as Virginia baseball’s next head coach, the school announced Tuesday.
“I am so grateful for my time at Duke,” Pollard said in a statement. “....I am forever appreciative of the opportunity to work at this world class university...I feel truly blessed to coach so many wonderful players and develop relationships with so many truly exceptional people. It has been a blessing for Steph and I to raise our boys in this welcoming community. I am excited for this new adventure at the University of Virginia, but I am leaving a big piece of my heart in Durham.”
Last week, UVA athletic director Carla Williams announced she would conduct a national search after former head coach Brian O’Connor left to become Mississippi State’s coach. O’Connor departed from the Cavaliers after 22 years and the 2015 NCAA championship.
This season, Pollard led the Blue Devils to a 41-21 record, an Athens Regional championship and their fourth Super Regional appearance in the past seven NCAA tournaments. Duke earned its first opportunity to host postseason baseball on Jack Coombs Field this past weekend, ultimately ending in falling in Game 3 to the Racers.
Pollard posted 420 wins in his career at Duke, making him the winningest coach in program history.
“Coach Pollard’s impact over the past 13 years has been nothing short of transformational,” Duke athletics director s Nina King said in a statement. “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.”
In 2016, Pollard ended Duke’s 55-year NCAA Tournament drought, but failed to reach the College World Series during his time at the helm. Duke has not played in the Men’s College World Series since 1961.
Pollard was 0-7 in scenarios where Duke was one win away from clinching a spot to Omaha, including 19-9 and 5-4 losses to Murray State on Sunday and Monday after the Blue Devils opened the Durham Super Regional with a 7-4 Saturday win.
Duke named Pollard its 25th head baseball coach in 2012, following tenures at Pfeiffer University and Appalachian University. He coached 46 Major League Baseball Draft picks and seven All-Americans, leading the Blue Devils to two ACC Baseball Tournament Championships in 2021 and 2024.
Virginia failed to make the NCAA Tournament in the 2025 season, finishing with a 32-18 record and falling in the first round of the ACC Tournament.
Pollard is taking three Duke assistant coaches - Brady Kirkpatrick (pitching), Derek Simmons (recruiting coordinator) and Eric Tyler (hitting) - with him to Virginia.
Still, he’s confident the success Duke baseball experienced in his tenure will continue with his successor.
“Nina King continues to elevate Duke athletics in so many meaningful ways,” Pollard said. “I have zero doubt that she will hire a great coach to continue the trajectory of Duke baseball.”
As he led Duke to success the program hadn’t experienced in decades, Pollard became a top target when ever jobs opened at schools around the country. In 2023, he weighed an offer to become Miami’s head coach before ultimately deciding to stay in Durham.
“The best advice I’ve gotten is don’t mess with happy,” Pollard told the News & Observer upon making his decision. “At the end of the day, that’s what it came down to. We’re very happy here and I don’t want to mess with that.”
His choice to stay with Duke in 2023 came with a restructured contract and promises to enhance the program’s facilities. That included renovations of the program’s on-campus stadium, Jack Coombs Field, so the Blue Devils could someday host NCAA tournament games.
That came true last weekend when Duke played Murray State in the Durham Super Regional.
This story was originally published June 10, 2025 at 12:12 PM.