Assistant Mason tabbed to replace Hughes as Virginia Tech baseball coach

BLACKSBURG — Three weeks ago, Oklahoma put an end to Virginia Tech’s baseball season in the NCAA tournament.

This week, with the help of Sooners fan Toby Keith, Oklahoma took away Virginia Tech’s coach.

Oklahoma announced Thursday afternoon that it has hired Pete Hughes, who steered the Tech baseball team for seven seasons, as its new coach.

At the same time the Sooners were introducing Hughes at a Norman, Okla., news conference, Virginia Tech held a news conference of its own to announce it was promoting Patrick Mason to be Hughes’ successor.

Mason, 37, served as Hughes’ pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for three years.

Hughes guided the Hokies to five straight winning seasons, including NCAA tournament appearances in 2010 and this year. Tech was one of 16 schools to host an NCAA regional this year — a first for the program. But the Sooners eliminated the Hokies in the regional final.

The Sooners needed a replacement for Sunny Golloway, who was named Auburn’s coach on June 14.

Hughes made $157,437 at Tech this year. The terms of his Oklahoma contract were not announced. But Golloway made more than $350,000 at Oklahoma this year.

“There are certain institutions in certain conferences that have certain reputations for having unlimited resources,” Tech athletic director Jim Weaver said. “To ice the cake, they flew the [Hughes] family out on Toby Keith’s jet.”

Mason, who also had the Tech title of associate head coach, has never been a college head coach before.

“There’s definitely a comfort level that makes it [what] I hope to be a smoother transition,” he said. “But I imagine there’s going to be nerves as we get closer to the first pitch.

“But I’m fully confident and extremely excited to fulfill my dream of becoming a head coach.”

Weaver gave Oklahoma permission on June 21 to speak with Hughes. Hughes informed Weaver on Wednesday morning at Weaver’s home that he intended to take the Sooners job.

“There was not going to be a bidding war,” Weaver said. “Pete came to my house to tell me he was going to take the Oklahoma job unless … his family [wound up not] liking the Norman area.

“Pete told me, ‘Don’t go to the president and try to put a package together.’ ”

Mason said he interviewed with Weaver and associate athletic director Jon Jaudon on Wednesday morning and was offered the job Wednesday night.

Weaver and Jaudon said they moved swiftly because they were afraid of losing recruits if they did not promote Mason. Seven rising high school seniors and three rising high school juniors have verbally committed to Tech.

“How best could we keep them … committed to Virginia Tech?” Jaudon said. “Pat Mason … is the guy who has those relationships built with those 10 young men. So we said, ‘We don’t need to look any further.’ … It was pretty much a no-brainer.”

Under NCAA rules, Mason can begin talking to recruits Monday about sticking with Tech.

“That is an issue that is vitally important to us,” Weaver said.

This is the sixth straight time that Weaver has hired a head coach who had already been at Virginia Tech.

After firing men’s basketball coach Seth Greenberg last year, Weaver hired James Johnson, who had been Greenberg’s assistant for the previous five seasons. Johnson had left Tech to become a Clemson assistant before Weaver hired him as head coach three weeks later.

Two years ago, Weaver hired Dennis Wolff, who had been Greenberg’s director of basketball operations, to be his women’s basketball coach.

Weaver did go outside the campus when he hired Hughes, who served as Boston College’s coach before taking the Tech job after the 2006 season.

Hughes was 222-174 in his seven years in Blacksburg, including 40-22 this year. In 2010, Tech made the NCAAs for the first time in 10 years. This year, Tech made the ACC title game for the first time.

Hughes takes over an Oklahoma program that reached the College World Series in 2010.

Jaudon said Hughes endorsed Mason as his successor.

Mason received a five-year contract. He will reap $185,800 in total pay his first year.

“Pat’s gifts are communication and relationship-building,” Jaudon said.

Mason was an assistant at Boston College, Framingham State and Northeastern before joining Hughes’ staff.

“I’m going to carry forth a lot of what Pete had established here,” Mason said.

Mike Kunigonis said he turned down an offer to join Hughes’ Sooners staff to remain a Tech assistant.

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