Virginia Tech announced on Sunday that it has fired Pat Mason, who has been the head coach since June 2013.
“I want to thank Coach Mason for his commitment and dedication to our baseball program during his tenure as both head coach and as an assistant coach at Virginia Tech,” said Director of Athletics Whit Babcock in a statement. “We appreciate the work that Patrick and his staff have done to help our student-athletes both academically and athletically.
“We are always cognizant of the many individuals impacted by leadership changes in any of our programs, especially our student-athletes,” Babcock said. “After careful consideration and an ongoing evaluation of the long-term direction of baseball at Virginia Tech, we have decided to make a change. While I know Coach Mason is disappointed, he has handled this situation like the consummate professional that he is. We wish him the best. We plan to make no further comments regarding our baseball program or coaching search until we announce our next head coach.”
In his four seasons at Virginia Tech, Mason's Hokies were 90-126-1, and went just 37-82 in ACC games. Mason was originally hired prior to the 2010 season as an assistant under Pete Hughes, but took over the head coaching position in 2013 after Hughes took the head coaching job at Oklahoma.
“I’ll always be grateful for the opportunity to coach at Virginia Tech,” Mason said in a statement. “I appreciate the efforts that our players, coaches and support staff made to represent Tech in a first-class manner. The support of my wife and family has meant the world to me. We have many fond memories of our time in Blacksburg and we wish the Hokies the very best going forward.”
Virginia Tech has struggled mightily the last two seasons, going 19-36 in 2015 and 23-32 in 2016. Mason had one year remaining on his contract after this season. The Hokies will now begin a coaching search to fill his position, as Virginia Tech debuts a newly renovated English Field at Union Park next season.