CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) Virginia has its new baseball coach and he’s plenty familiar with the Cavaliers and the ACC.

UVA has tapped Duke coach Chris Pollard, to take over its program, the school announced Tuesday.

Pollard spent the past 13 seasons leading the Blue Devils, whose season ended with a 5-4 home loss to Murray State in the NCAA Super Regionals on Monday. The team was one win shy of the program’s first-ever trip to the College World Series.

“Coach Pollard’s impact over the past 13 years has been nothing short of transformational,” said Duke athletic director Nina King in a statement released by the school. “He built a championship-caliber program grounded in integrity, resilience and the development of outstanding student-athletes. We are deeply grateful for his leadership and the legacy he leaves behind.”

Pollard ends his Duke tenure as the program’s all-time winningest coach, finishing with a 419-295 mark. He was 20-21 against UVA during that time.

Pollard, a 1996 Davidson graduate, got his first head coaching position in 2000, leading Pfeiffer University for five seasons. He moved to Appalachian State in 2005, turning around the Mountaineers program and getting them to the NCAA Regionals in 2012.

After that season, Duke hired Pollard, who proceeded to elevate the Blue Devils’ standing in the NCAA and nationally, taking them to seven of the last nine NCAA tournaments and reaching four Super Regionals.

“I am so grateful for my time at Duke,” said Pollard in the statement from the Blue Devils. “Brad Berndt and Kevin White took a chance on a young coach with no major college experience. I am forever appreciative of the opportunity to work at this world class university. Nina King continues to elevate Duke Athletics in so many meaningful ways. I have zero doubt that she will hire a great coach to continue the trajectory of Duke Baseball. I feel truly blessed to coach so many wonderful players and develop relationships with so many truly exceptional people. It has been a blessing for Steph and I to raise our boys in this welcoming community. I am excited for this new adventure at the University of Virginia, but I am leaving a big piece of my heart in Durham.”

Pollard – who grew up in Virginia, in Amherst County, and attended high school at Virginia Episcopal School in Lynchburg – takes over for Brian O’Connor, who left UVA for Mississippi State last month.

O’Connor went 917-388-2 in 22 seasons leading the Cavaliers, taking them to 18 NCAA Tournaments, making seven College World Series appearances and winning the 2015 national championship.