Report: Duke baseball coach Chris Pollard turns down the Miami Hurricanes' position

The Miami Hurricanes’ baseball program has yet another talented head baseball coach turn down their advances, Kendall Rogers and Aaron Fitt of d1baseball.com reported on Sunday evening. Duke baseball head coach Chris Pollard is staying put in Durham after the Blue Devils’ administration made a stronger commitment to facilities and more. He’s also getting a raise this offseason, per d1baseball.com’s report.

The Hurricanes have been searching for a new head coach since Gino DiMare surprisingly stepped down on June 8th. Although DiMare made every single NCAA Tournament possible for him, Miami never made it out of a Regional. This year was the latest disappointment, hosting in Coral Gables.

Prior to being the head coach, DiMare served as an assistant on the staff. He joined in 1997 and stayed all the way through the 2008 season. His second stint began in 2012 and was eventually promoted to head coach before the 2019 season.

DiMare decided to step away from the program after nearly two and a half decades.

“I want to thank Gino for his dedication to Miami baseball over the last 24 years,” Vice President/Director of Athletics Dan Radakovich said. “He is a great ambassador for our program both on and off the field. I wish Gino and his family all the best in their next chapter, and he will always be a member of the Hurricane Family. We will begin the search for a new head coach immediately.”

Duke head coach Chris Pollard guided the Blue Devils to a fantastic 2023 season

Pollard guided the Duke Blue Devils to an exceptional 2023 campaign. They advanced all the way to the Charlottesville Super Regionals, where they were defeated 2-1 in the series by the Virginia Cavaliers. Duke won the first game of that series, thanks to a pivotal two-run blast by Damon Lux in the top of the third inning. The Blue Devils also had a number of their freshman pitchers step up in that game to shut down the Cavaliers’ bats. Unfortunately, Virginia piled on the runs in the final two games to punch their tickets to Omaha to the 2023 College World Series.

Duke won three of their four games in the Conway Regional in the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Baseball Tournament. In advancing to the Super Regional this year, they made the trip there for the first time since 2019.

The Blue Devils finished with a 39-24 overall record. Duke slugger M.J. Metz was one of their best power hitters, along with Alex Stone. Both players blasted 17 home runs this year, tying for the team lead.

On3’s Griffin McVeigh also contributed to this article.