"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,” Babcock said. “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 continued. “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.”The move is not a surprise given how the Hokies struggled in the final half of the season that included a 3-14 stretch after sweeping Boston College. With Virginia Tech also completing a major renovation of English Field next season, Whit Babcock and the Hokies are looking for the baseball program to take the next step and to build some excitement and momentum going into a renovated English Field. Babcock and the Hokies will perform a national search with Babcock likely having already begun laying the groundwork and building a list of targets for the Hokies to interview and pursue. Expectations should be that this search will at least take a few weeks with many of their targets likely to busy leading their teams in the NCAA Baseball Tournament and a new manager likely to not be named until at least sometime around the College World Series. We wish Pat Mason the best of luck in his future endeavors.
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