On Tuesday, June 10, the day after Duke was eliminated from the 2025 NCAA Tournament, it was announced that head coach Chris Pollard will be taking the job as head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers.
Pollard’s Great Tenure at Duke – Pollard has been at Duke since 2013. In his 13 seasons with the Blue Devils, he won a total of 420 games and made the NCAA Tournament seven times.
The past three seasons (2023, 2024, 2025) for Pollard at Duke have been highly successful. He has led the Blue Devils to the NCAA Tournament in all three of those seasons. In two out of those three seasons, Duke made it to a super regional.
Pollard also led the Blue Devils to a super regional in 2018, 2019, and 2021.
Despite not getting to the College World Series, Pollard has put some postseason hardware on Duke’s mantle. The head coach led the Blue Devils to two Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament titles in 2021 and 2024.
Contract Details – In 2018, Pollard signed an extension with Duke that would last until June 30, 2025.
In 2023, upon hearing that the Miami Hurricanes showed interest in hiring Pollard, Duke restructured his contract. However, according to The News and Observer in Raleigh, N.C., Duke did not release specific details about the restructured contract.
In comparison to a deal that would be made with Virginia, the former head coach of the Cavaliers, Brian O’Connor, had a $1.4 million annual salary. This made him one of the top 10 highest paid coaches in college baseball.
Who Takes over at Duke? – After making another super regional in 2025, Duke now has a vacancy at their head coaching position.
Many reporters, including Kendall Rogers of D1 Baseball, believe that LSU’s Josh Jordan is a top option for the Blue Devils.
Jordan is currently an assistant coach at LSU and also serves as their recruiting coordinator.
He spent time in the Duke baseball program as an assistant under Pollard and was also with the newly named Virginia head coach at Appalachian State prior to his run in Durham.
Photo: Duke coach Chris Pollard holds the trophy after a win overt North Carolina State in an NCAA college baseball game during the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game on Sunday, May 30, 2021, in Charlotte, N.C. Duke moved into the top 10 of the national rankings Monday, March 11, 2024, after winning two of three on the road against Wake Forest, which had opened the season No. 1 in the major polls. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)
