Less than 24 hours after the Duke baseball program fell to Murray State in the Durham Super Regionals, ending its season, it was reported that former Blue Devils head coach Chris Pollard has accepted the head coaching vacancy at the University of Virginia. Pollard is also taking his entire staff with him to Charlottesville.
Pollard is from central Virginia, and it was a sort of homecoming for him to accept the job with the Cavaliers. But that now puts Duke on a hunt to find a new program leader.
Not too long after it was announced that Pollard would be leaving Durham for the Hoos, National College Reporter for Baseball America, Jacob Rudner, announced that LSU assistant Josh Jordan is "widely viewed" as the favorite to take over as the head coach of the Blue Devils.
"LSU assistant Josh Jordan is widely viewed as the favorite to replace Chris Pollard at Duke, according to multiple sources. Jordan spent a decade under Pollard as his top assistant. One source told @BaseballAmerica that they would be 'stunned' if Jordan didn't assume the role," Rudner announced in a post on X.
LSU assistant Josh Jordan is widely viewed as the favorite to replace Chris Pollard at Duke, according to multiple sources. Jordan spent a decade under Pollard as his top assistant. One source told @BaseballAmerica that they would be "stunned" if Jordan didn't assume the role.
— Jacob Rudner (@JacobRudner) June 10, 2025
According to multiple reports, the Duke program is now heavily pursuing Jordan to take over as the team's next head coach.
Jordan, who serves as LSU's top assistant and recruiting coordinator, spent ten seasons with the Blue Devils' baseball team before heading to Baton Rouge to join the staff at LSU. Before joining the Tigers' staff, Jordan worked closely under Pollard for several seasons. He won the National Assistant Coach of the Year Award by Baseball America in 2018.
In 2023 as an assistant at LSU, he coached a Tigers team that led the SEC in 12 different statistical categories and went on to win the College World Series.
After a heartbreaking way for the Blue Devils to end their 2025 campaign, just one game short of a College World Series appearance, it looks like they've zeroed in on their target for head coach. As of now, LSU is headed to Omaha to compete in the CWS, so an official announcement declaring Jordan the next Duke head coach will have to wait, if it were to happen at all.