Cavalier Corner is the publication just for UVa sports fans!
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22 CAVALIER CORNER BY SCOTT FITZGERALD I t's hard to believe that 2023 will be season No. 20 for Virginia baseball head coach Brian O'Connor. After a nine-year stint as a pitching coach for his good friend Paul Mainieri at Notre Dame, O'Connor officially took over in Charlottesville in the summer of 2003 and has transformed the Cavaliers into a national baseball powerhouse. Under his direction, the Cavaliers have racked up 789 wins — the fifth most of any college base- ball program in the past 19 years — and five College World Series appearances — all of which have come since 2009, the second most of any program during that time span. After a 39-19 overall record and CWS ap- pearance last year, fans and media pundits have high expectations for Virginia in 2023. The Cavaliers are ranked No. 19 in the D1Baseball national preseason poll and as high as No. 16 (Collegiate Baseball News- paper) among the various college baseball polls. The excitement around this year's club is there largely due to the formidable lineup that returns to Disharoon Park. The potent Cavalier offense of 2022 set the school re- cord for home runs with 75 and scored 8.6 runs per game, the most in the O'Connor era and the most by a UVA team since 1985. That dynamic offense was spearheaded by All-America third baseman Jake Gelof. The third-year from Rehoboth Beach, Del., put together one of the best offensive sea- sons in program history and broke the pro- gram's single-season RBI record, driving in 81 runs in 2022. He batted .377 and belted 21 home runs, the second most in a season in school history. Gelof will team up with catcher Kyle Teel in the middle of the Cavalier lineup. After catching all 58 games last season, he spent his summer competing for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team for the second straight year. Teel is ranked as the No. 28 draft prospect according to MLB.com while Gelof checks in at No. 38. The Cavaliers will return six of their start- ing position players but the roster as a whole — especially on the pitching staff — will include a number of new faces. "We're all in an interesting time in college athletics because of the transfer portal," O'Connor said. "A lot of athletic programs have new players and have additional play- ers because of the portal and we're the same. We have 21 new players, the most we've ever had in my time here." UVA lost nearly 70 percent of its innings pitched to the MLB Draft and graduation, so the portal served as a tool to help supple- ment its incoming group of first-year pitch- ers. Of the 21 newcomers, 13 will compete for starting pitching and relief roles. Among the returning arms on the mound is 6-foot-10 pitcher Jake Berry, who spent the majority of the 2022 season on the weekend rotation. The imposing third-year left-hander went 3-0 with 2.93 ERA in five starts for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the Cape Cod League this past summer. Two-sport athlete Jay Woolfolk, who earned Freshman All-America honors last season, is in line to compete for the team's closer role. After playing quarterback for the football team in the fall of 2021, Woolfolk made an immediate impact out of the bullpen as a true first-year last spring. He fanned 55 batters in 37 2 ⁄3 innings with an ERA of 2.87 while lighting up radar guns in stadiums around the country. The 21 newcomers are comprised of 12 true first-years, six graduate transfers and three transfers from four-year institu- tions. D1Baseball ranked outfielder Ethan O'Donnell (Northwestern) and left-handed pitcher Connelly Early (Army) No. 15 and No. 32, respectively, on its "Top 100 Trans- fers" list. Right-handed pitcher Brian Edg- ington, a graduate transfer from Elon, was ranked No. 94. The emphasis on developing players has been and will always be at a premium un- der O'Connor. His track record is remarkable — 29 former players have reached the big leagues and 94 have selected in the MLB draft in the past 19 years. The Cavaliers' 2023 campaign begins in Wilmington, N.C., at the Hughes Bros. Chal- lenge hosted by UNC Wilmington. The Cava- liers will play host UNCW, Navy and Ohio on opening weekend before returning home on Feb. 21 against Longwood. The home opener will kick-start a 10-game homestand at Disharoon Park. Home ACC series will feature weekend bouts with Florida State, Miami, Pitt, Duke and Louisville. The Cavaliers are looking to build on their tremendous home-field advantage created during the 2022 season. Virginia posted a 29-5 mark at home and finished in the top 20 nationally in attendance for 11th time in the last 13 seasons. New-Look Cavaliers Reload For Another Run At The CWS 2023 SEASON PREVIEW BASEBALL All-America third baseman Jake Gelof, who hit .377 with 21 home runs and a school-record 81 RBI last year, will spearhead a potent UVA offense. (Photo courtesy UVA)