Duke hires Corey Muscara as new coach

Duke lost its baseball coach to another ACC program; it stayed in the ACC — and in the state — to hire its next coach.

Corey Muscara has been hired as Duke’s next baseball coach, the program announced Thursday afternoon. He comes to Duke after spending the past four seasons as Wake Forest’s pitching coach; he was named D1Baseball’s assistant coach of the year in 2023.

“We are thrilled to welcome Corey Muscara as the next head coach of Duke Baseball,” athletics director Nina King said through a news release. “Corey is one of the most respected pitching minds in the country, and his track record of developing elite student-athletes while competing at the highest levels speaks for itself.

“His passion, energy and commitment to excellence align perfectly with the values of Duke Athletics.”

In 2023, Muscara’s second season at Wake Forest, the program reached its first Men’s College World Series since 1955. The Deacons led the country in ERA (2.83), hits allowed per nine innings (6.59), strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.26) and strikeouts per nine innings (12.1).

Wake Forest reached the NCAA tournament in each of the last four seasons and averaged 43 wins in that span.

“I am incredibly honored and excited to join the Duke community and lead the Blue Devils’ baseball program,” Muscara said through a news release. “This is a truly special opportunity to build on the program’s success and compete for championships at one of the premier academic and athletic institutions in the country.”

Before his time at Wake Forest, Muscara was Maryland’s pitching coach from 2018-21. That came after a stint as St. John’s pitching coach from 2013-17.

"I want to thank Corey Muscara, his wife Suzie and their family for 4 great years in Winston-Salem," Wake Forest coach Tom Walter said in a statement provided to Rivals. "Corey helped establish Wake as a destination program known for pitching development and for that I am incredibly grateful. The Blue Devils are lucky to have him."

His coaching career started at Southern New Hampshire in 2010. He earned a degree in history from Franklin Pierce in 2009.