UVA Baseball lost a fair amount to the 2024 MLB Draft – shortstop Griff O’Ferrall and catcher/DH Ethan Anderson were taken by the Baltimore Orioles, rightfielder Casey Saucke went to the Chicago White Sox, reserve outfielder Anthony Stephan is headed to the Cincinnati Reds system, and four incoming recruits from the top-five-rated Class of 2024 were drafted and ended up signing pro contracts.
But Brian O’Connor still has plenty to work with heading into 2025, as the program eyes a third straight trip to the College World Series.
Harrison Didawick, who tied the program’s single-season record in homers, and was a projected second- to third-round pick in last month’s draft, is back, as is Jay Woolfolk, a projected Day 2 pick who we can hope builds on the stellar end to his junior season, and Jacob Ference, a breakout star at catcher in 2024 after four years in D3 ball, who is getting a sixth year at the college level due to the NCAA’s helpful COVID redshirt policy.
Those guys are three incredibly nice building blocks for O’Connor heading into the fall.
Roster analysis: Everyday lineup
I’m wondering if there’s thought being given to moving Henry Godbout (.372/.472/.645, 9 HRs, 47 RBIs in 2024) from second base to shortstop, to compensate for the loss of O’Ferrall, and the two incoming shortstop recruits, Caleb Bonemer and Luke Dickerson, who were both taken in the second round in last month’s draft and signed lucrative MLB minor-league deals.
Godbout was a high-school shortstop, so he’s got background there, and a fall schedule to get reps.
If Godbout can shift over to short, O’Connor could then fan out his third-base platoon that was so effective in 2024, Eric Becker (.362/.468/.669, 8 HRs, 46 RBIs) and Luke Hanson (.286/.387/.490, 7 HRs, 37 RBIs), probably shifting Becker to second, and going with Hanson at third.
Or, who knows, maybe one or the other of Becker and Hanson is better at short.
There are other options at those spots – in the form of 6’4”, 230-pound third baseman Aiden Harris (Midlothian, Va.), the top-ranked player in Virginia and top third baseman nationally, per Perfect Game, shortstop Jackson Sirois (Leesburg, Va.), the #6 player in Virginia in the Class of 2024, and middle infielder Drew Pozny (Fayetteville, Ga.), who’s a bit more of a reach as a prospect (#82 in Georgia, #500 nationally in 2024, per Perfect Game).
The building blocks for the everyday lineup are Didawick (.292/.414/.642, 23 HRs, 68 RBIs, 14 SBs in 2024) out in left or center, Ference (.350/.465/.710, 17 HRs, 43 RBIs) at catcher, and Henry Ford (.336/.409/.597, 17 HRs, 69 RBIs) at first base.
Between those three, and wherever O’Connor ends up putting Godbout, Becker and Hanson, you’ve got six guys with solid bats to start with when you’re writing out the everyday lineup on the lineup card.
The only holes are the two other outfield spots. It wouldn’t surprise me to see O’Connor shift Didawick to center, which could allow for Harris to slide into one of the corner outfield spots when he’s not DH’ing.
Also in the mix in the outfield would be incoming recruit James Nunnallee (Aldie, Va.), who was taken in the 14th round by Milwaukee, but didn’t sign; rising sophomore Walker Buchanan, who only got nine ABs in 2024, and, yes, he’s the son of former UVA Baseball great Brian Buchanan; and Aiden Teel, who pitched 24.0 innings out of the bullpen, but also had three homers in 10 ABs as an outfielder, and yes, he’s the brother of 2023 first-round draft pick Kyle Teel.
Roster analysis: Pitching staff
The return of Woolfolk (4-2, 5.92 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, 67Ks/40BBs in 62.1 IP), who was 2-1, with wins over Mississippi State and Kansas State, in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, is huge.
Woolfolk would figure to factor into the weekend rotation alongside the #1 guy from 2024, lefty Evan Blanco (8-3, 3.62 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 99Ks/27BBs in 99.1 IP).
O’Connor and pitching coach Drew Dickinson were busy on the transfer portal trying to find pitchers, and they landed some interesting arms, starting with right-hander Joey Colucci, who pitched in six games for Maryland in 2023, then transferred to Harford Community College for the 2024 season, where he was 8-1 with a 1.86 ERA/0.92 WHIP, with 83 Ks and 18 walks in 63.0 innings.
Lefty Wesley Arrington, a D3 grad transfer from Lynchburg University, has 17 wins as a starter over the past two seasons, including a 10-2 mark in 16 starts in 2024, with a 3.86 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and 103Ks/37BBs in 100.1 innings pitched.
Arrington saved his best for last, going 4-0 in his four postseason starts, with three complete games, including a nine-strikeout no-hitter in the 5-0 win over Randolph-Macon on May 9, and 12-strikeout effort in the opening game of the D3 College World Series, a 7-2 win over Endicott on May 31.
In that stretch, Arrington pitched to a 1.03 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 31Ks/11BBs in 35.0 innings pitched.
I’m figuring Colucci and Arrington get a look at a rotation spot, and there’s the wild-card status of two guys who started games for Virginia in 2024, Jack O’Connor (0-1, 7.50 ERA, 1.83 WHIP, 24Ks/7BBs in 18.0 IP) and Kevin Jaxel (4-1, 10.38 ERA, 2.08 WHIP, 21Ks/18BBs in 26.0 IP), both of whom had their 2024 seasons cut short by injury.
I’m expecting Matt Augustin (2-0, 4.13 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 25Ks/13BBs in 28.1 IP) to begin next season as the closer, with Teel (2-2, 7.88 ERA, 1.79 WHIP, 32Ks/16BBs in 24.0 IP), who was the closer at the outset of the 2024 season, as another back-end bullpen option.
Two other portal pickups could work their way into being leverage guys – Alex Markus (1-4, 5.70 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, and 46Ks/33BBs in 42.2 innings at William & Mary in 2024), and Drew Koenen (1-2, 4.38 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 23Ks/7BBs in 24.2 IP at Dartmouth in 2024).
And then, three more names from the 2024 staff who are in line to get innings out of the pen – 6’6” righty Ryan Osinski (4-1, 4.80 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 13Ks/14BBs in 30.0 IP), senior lefty Blake Barker (2-1, 7.31 ERA, 1.94 WHIP, 26Ks/18BBs in 28.1 IP), and another senior lefty, Dean Kampschror (2-0, 3.48 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 10Ks/8BBs in 10.1 IP).
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Chris Graham
