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Pollard is . 

“I basically make the same meal every night of the week,” he said.

The consistency is rooted in reality. Eventually, Pollard’s family will join him, and the menu will expand. But for now, he’s rolling on a steady diet of taco bowls and baseball.

UVA, ranked as high as No. 14 in the national polls, opens its 2026 season Friday against Wagner College at Disharoon Park.

The beginning of the Pollard era comes after Brian O’Connor’s decorated 22-year run as the Wahoos’ coach. Under O’Connor, Virginia went to the College World Series seven times and won the 2015 NCAA title. 

Pollard smiles alongside his family during an introductory news conference at Disharoon Park on June 18, 2025. Pollard’s wife, Stephanie, has remained in Durham, North Carolina, while their youngest son, Brady, finishes high school this spring. A full family move to Charlottesville is expected in May. (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)

�鶹�ƽ�� all-time winningest coach left for the same position at Mississippi State University, but references to his teams’ accomplishments remain proudly displayed all over Disharoon Park.

“It’s an awesome responsibility,” Pollard said. “It’s pressure. But I tell our guys, ‘Pressure is a privilege.’ It motivates you to really continue the tradition that’s been established here.”

Pollard is also a proven winner. The Amherst County native took Duke, once a perennial cellar-dweller in the Atlantic Coast Conference, to seven NCAA Tournaments, four NCAA Super Regionals and two ACC Tournament championships. Before that, he had successful stints at Appalachian State University and Pfeiffer University. 

Pollard is 806-614-3 over 26 seasons as a collegiate head coach. 

Pollard visits with members of his UVA team on the mound at Disharoon Park. The Cavaliers enter this season ranked as high as No. 14 nationally. (Virginia Athletics photo)

“I enjoy program building,” Pollard said. “I like building the program, holistically speaking, where there’s real investment and real buy-in from former players, from the donor base, connecting with the community. I like building stability within the program from a coaching standpoint, from a support staff standpoint.

“And then I ultimately like building stability, as much as you can do it nowadays in college athletics, within the locker room, with players that really want to be here.”

Pollard’s first UVA roster features notable returning Cavaliers, including All-ACC shortstop Eric Becker and outfielder Harrison Didawick, whose 23 home runs in 2024 are tied for the most by any Wahoo in a single season. 

The roster also has seven players who followed Pollard from Duke, among them center fielder A.J. Gracia, a preseason All-American and , and Kyle Johnson, a former Freshman All-American . 

“He’s a great coach,” Johnson said of Pollard, “and an even better person. He cares a lot about us, and not just how to develop us as baseball players, but as men. We definitely all have a strong connection with him.”

“Be the buffalo” is the motivational metaphor Pollard has shared with his team this preseason, a mantra he borrowed from a high school coach that encourages his players to face adversity – as a buffalo does with a storm – instead of fleeing in the opposite direction. 

“It’s part of what I told our guys at our first team meeting,” Pollard said. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s a new staff, a team full of veteran returners, young guys, or a mix of both. Over the course of a season, you’re guaranteed to deal with struggle, to deal with storms.

“You’ve got to lean into the inconvenience, lean into the struggle.”

One taco bowl at a time.