The first thing that I noticed, as I pieced together the UVA Baseball roster for 2026 that is still under construction by the new coach, Chris Pollard, is, I count 36 guys, and under the new rules, you can only have 34.
Second thing: I’m only seeing one catcher, and that guy is an incoming freshman, Thomas O’Connell.
You need at least three catchers on the roster, and it wouldn’t hurt to have a fourth guy who can catch, and maybe play first or outfield.
I also count 17 pitchers, including seven incoming freshmen, assuming Noah Yoder and Jayden Stroman, both projected fourth- or fifth-round draft picks, end up matriculating.
There’s a question about the status of recruit Nicky Becker, a shortstop who I’m seeing projected to go in the second or third round of the draft.
What I’m getting at: there’s going to be more movement, because there has to be.
Foundational pieces
- CF AJ Gracia hit .293 with a 1.007 OPS, 15 homers, 54 RBIs and eight stolen bases as a sophomore at Duke in 2025.
- SS Eric Becker hit .368 with an OPS at 1.070, with nine homers, 31 extra-base hits and 52 RBIs as a sophomore at Virginia in 2025.
- 2B Joe Tiroly hit .367 with a 1.198 OPS, 17 homers and 64 RBIs as a sophomore at Rider in 2025.
- 1B/DH Sam Harris hit .297 with a .948 OPS, nine homers and 42 RBIs as a sophomore at Duke in 2025.
- LHP Henry Zatkowski was 5-2 with a 4.83 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 8.7 Ks/9 in 21 appearances, including 11 starts, as a freshman at Duke in 2025.
The working 2026 UVA Baseball roster
- OF Jett Bristow*, Lamar Edwards*, Griffin Ennis*, AJ Gracia#, Aiden Harris, Zach Jackson#, Kyle Johnson#, Will Mahala*, Bryce Neely* (9)
- INF Eric Becker, Nicky Becker*, Luke Hanson, Sam Harris#, RJ Holmes*, Will Huggins*, Noah Murray#, Antonio Perratta, Joe Tiroly## (9)
- C Thomas O’Connell* (1)
- P Matt Augustin, Kevin Jaxel, Tyler Kapa##, Drew Koenen, Christian Lucarelli*, Charlie Oschell, John Paone*, Ryan Prior*, Tommy Roldan, Ben Schulman*, Max Stammel#, Thomas Stewart*, Jayden Stroman*, Chris Worley*, Frank Wilius##, Noah Yoder*, Henry Zatkowski# (17)
* Prep recruit
# Duke transfer
## Transfer
Bold Virginia returnee
Support AFP
Share
Chris Graham
