re: Reaction if it’s Brian O’Connor of Virginia?

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His name hasn’t been mentioned much, but this guy checks all the boxes. Would not be shocking if this was Scott’s “out of the blue” hire.

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Same.

Just look at UVA baseball *before* O'Connor arrived.

Granted, he didn't do well in 2018 and 2019, missing the tournament.
A couple of the D1Baseball guys actually picked UVA as a sleeper pick to make it to Omaha this year:
LINK

You would think he'd be greatly honored to follow in the footsteps of Mainieri and Skip.

And he's an Omaha native so the man wants to get back as often as he can.

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anybody who builds a baseball powerhouse in ACC country or in the North

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Weird to group the ACC with the north for baseball programs

Rep for killing pitchers arms and until this CWS run he hadn't cashed in much since his title.

Paul did something very similar after his title run where he just stopped trying for 2 years.

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Weird to group the ACC with the north for baseball programs

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Yeah, “ACC country” wasn’t the best way to put that. I sure didn’t mean Florida and Georgia.

Just that VA is getting close to the Mid-Atlantic states and not really a recruiting hotbed.

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I said it was him months ago. Nobody believed me.

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I still don’t believe you.

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So if he wasnt from omaha, he wouldnt try just as hard to get back there?

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It was a throwaway bit of trivia.

Didn't realize until now that the statue in front of TD Ameritrade was inspired by a picture of O'Connor.

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"I had numerous conversations with the athletic director that they were committed to it. Once I knew that, I really felt like it was a gold mine," O'Connor said. "It's not LSU, because we don't get 10,000 people to games and we haven't won national championships. But to be a first-time coach at an ACC school, the No. 1 public education in the country, great high school baseball in the state - all those ingredients for your first head-coaching job were a dream.

"I thought it was one of those sleeping giants."

Which leads to one of those hometown stories that O'Connor sheepishly allows himself to tell.

Near the main entrance to Rosenblatt Stadium stands the signature, bronzed "Road To Omaha" stature featuring four players in celebration. The one furthest right has a facial expression that was inspired by a photo the statue's sculptor borrowed from a close friend - O'Connor's father. The photo was a picture of O'Connor in a Creighton uniform.

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O'Connor was a pitcher on the 1991 Creighton team that made the CWS, their only trip to the CWS.

LINK

frick It! Just get Vitello Woody!!!

I'd like to see the same. On the contrary, linked is an article from the Washington Post about UVA's culture of being careful to protect their pitchers arms (from 2015).

UVA pitchers

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Caution might be trumped when a national championship is within reach, but Virginia is sticking to its philosophy and reputation for protecting pitchers’ arms for pro futures, even at the College World Series.

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But O’Connor stuck with his plan of limiting Jones to two outings because he felt “it was the right thing to do” and instead went with left-hander Nathan Kirby, who hadn’t pitched since April 17 because of a strained muscle in his back.

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Virginia’s coaches won’t speak to how other programs handle their pitchers, but O’Connor and Kuhn have often cited an obligation to players and their parents as reasons why they’re wary of overworking arms, even at this stage.

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“They’re not going to jeopardize a player for one year,” Waddell said. “That’s just not who they are and what they stick to. They’re going to care for your well-being, whether it be a national championship game or something else.”

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