When the legendary Brian O’Connor departed the Virginia Cavaliers baseball program for Mississippi State, and much of the roster left with him, many expected a multi-year rebuild to follow. However, just weeks into the offseason, new head coach Chris Pollard has managed to completely shift the mindset.
Between a top 20 group of incoming transfers per 64Analytics (with presumably more to come) and the sixth ranked incoming high school recruiting class on Perfect Game, the roster is being quickly replenished with top end ACC talent. Not only will this make the ‘Hoos competitive immediately, but D1Baseball insiders Aaron Fitt and Mike Rooney included Virginia in their Way Too Early Eight for Omaha for 2026.