Cavalier Corner is the publication just for UVa sports fans!
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/686376
ACES APLENTY Since 2004 when head coach Brian O'Connor and pitching coach Karl Kuhn took over the reins of the UVA baseball program, the Cavaliers' hurlers have achieved unparalleled success. Virginia had posted a cumulative 3.08 earned run average from 2004 to mid-May this year — the second lowest figure in the nation during that timespan. Kuhn's staff has ranked among the top 20 teams nationally in ERA nine of the last 12 years, including a No. 1 national ranking in 2011 (2.24) and a No. 2 standing in 2014 (2.23, the best mark at UVA in 40 years). During that stretch, 34 UVA hurlers have been selected in the MLB Draft, including 18 in the top 10 rounds and three in the first round. Five of Kuhn's UVA pitchers have gone on to reach the major league level, and Connor Jones is potentially the next. Through May 24, the third-year right-hander ranked second among active ACC pitchers with 22 career wins, and fourth with 218 strikeouts and 262 2 ⁄3 innings. Those numbers are clearly enough to place Jones of among the top pitchers during the O'Connor era. Danny Hultzen (2009-11) remains the top Cavalier pitcher of O'Connor's tenure, ending his career as the all-time UVA leader in wins (32) and strikeouts (395), while ranking second in starts (51) and innings pitched (320), third in ERA (2.08) and fourth in winning percentage (.865). Jacob Thompson (2006-08) is tied for second with Tyler Wilson (2008-11) in career victories with 27, and also is fifth in career starts (47) and innings pitched (296), and sixth in strike- outs (248). Wilson, who served as a reliever early in his career, is fourth in school history in appearances (91) and fourth in strikeouts (267). Brandon Waddell (2013-15), who was an ironman in the 2015 College World Series, made a program-record 53 career starts, is tied for fifth in victories (21) and ranks seventh in strikeouts (246). But what sets Waddell apart from any other Cavalier pitcher is that he rates first with 11 career NCAA Tournament starts, first with six NCAA Tournament wins and first in innings and strikeouts. He owns an impressive 6-1 tournament record with a 2.34 ERA, and in his five College World Series career starts the Hoos went 5-0. With a couple starts remaining, Jones has established him- self among the O'Connor era greats. Through May 24, he was tied for fourth in career wins and ranked eighth in winning percentage (.808), and was just four and one-third innings away from moving up to eighth in career innings pitched, and was 15 strikeouts away from joining the top 10 in that category. — Greg Waters Jones had 22 career wins — tied for fourth on UVA's all‑time list — heading into postsea‑ son play at the end of May. PHOTO BY MATT RILEY/COURTESY UVA