Way down the right field line at Disharoon Park is a space that’s part museum, part library and, on the rare occasion, part bedroom.
University of Virginia baseball coach Brian O’Connor has collected a number of treasures in addition to his school-record 885 wins in 21 seasons leading the Cavaliers. As the 2025 Wahoos, ranked as high as No. 2 in the national polls, enter Friday’s season-opener against the University of Michigan in Puerto Rico, UVA Today is giving you a peek into O’Connor’s office.
From the random to the sentimental, each item comes with a different story that might help better understand the architect of a program seeking its fourth trip to the College World Series in five years.
Trophy Corner
This display of hardware represents the Cavaliers’ seven College World Series appearances since 2009, the second-most of any program in the country in that span.
UVA won the 2015 national championship, the only national title an Atlantic Coast Conference school has captured since 1955.
UVA Baseball Business Card, Circa 2004
Despite the success, O’Connor doesn’t forget how it all started.
A laminated UVA baseball “business” card that assistant coach Kevin McMullan made and handed out to all of the players during the early years of this era still sits on O’Connor’s desk.
The card cites the number of miles – 1,186 – from Charlottesville to Omaha, Nebraska, the site of the College World Series, a trip the Wahoos have now made seven times.
King Tut Statue
O’Connor’s connections at UVA go beyond his players and fellow coaches. They extend to someone like Isam Salih, the athletic department’s director of housekeeping who, after returning from a trip to his native Egypt four years ago, gifted O’Connor this statue of King Tutankhamun.
“I immediately put it behind my desk, and it’s been sitting there over my shoulder ever since,” O’Connor said.
Perhaps it’s a lucky charm, as the Cavaliers have made the College World Series three times since King Tut’s arrival.
Daily Reminder
O’Connor’s list of five things to quit right now is not only taped to his desk to serve as a personal reminder; it’s there, too, as something he can offer his players.
“Sometimes if a player comes in my office and he’s struggling a little bit or maybe he’s underachieving of what maybe everyone thinks he can do,” he said, “I always make a photocopy of this and share it with them.”
Remember Your Why
This figurine is an extension of a book, “Lead … for God’s Sake!” Todd Gongwer, the book’s author, introduced O’Connor to it in 2015. Several copies of the book sit on a shelf behind O’Connor’s desk.
“It’s a reminder of why you do what you do,” O’Connor said. “As a coach, that’s driven by the players and their relationship with them. It’s not driven by wins or losses; it’s that your relationship is good with your players. And if your motivation is right, the wins will happen.”
Cot Mattress
For when the long days at the ballpark turn into long nights, O’Connor makes sure he has the proper equipment to rest.
A cot mattress, a Christmas gift from assistant coach Kevin McMullan, gets rolled out from one corner of O’Connor’s office and moved under his desk, where he’s been known to catch a few hours of shuteye.
Cardinal
O’Connor’s father, John, died Nov. 7, 2022. As a reminder of the man who made a huge impact on his life – both in and out of baseball – a small cardinal sits on his desk.
The cardinal, often symbolic of a lost loved one, was a gift to O’Connor from a Disharoon Park security guard.
Old UVA Baseball Relics
It turns out UVA baseball was competing for championships long before O’Connor’s arrival.
Inside this case is a trophy to signify the Cavaliers’ conquering of the Virginia Intercollegiate Western Division in 1900, as well as a ball the Wahoos used during play in an 1893 national tournament held at the Chicago World’s Fair.
O’Connor and his staff found the items in a storage space at University Hall before the old arena was demolished in 2019.
Western Union Letter
Under O’Connor, 102 Cavaliers have been selected in the Major League Baseball draft, including 16 in the first round.
It’s a feeling O’Connor knows firsthand, as he, himself, is a former draftee. The right-handed pitcher from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, was taken by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 29th round of the 1993 draft. The ensuing brief stint in the minor leagues marked O’Connor’s last job before getting into coaching.
“Obviously, the Major League Baseball draft has changed so much from 30 years when I was drafted,” O’Connor said. “Back then, they’d call you, but you’d also receive a Western Union notice that you’ve been selected.”
