Arguably Virginia's best baseball player of all time is now a Tri-City Dust Devil. And quite happy about it.
Two weeks ago, graduate Joe Koshansky was drafted in the sixth round of the Major League Baseball amateur draft following his senior campaign at Virginia that earned him honors such as third-team All-American and ACC Player of the Year. After completing his degree from Virginia, Koshansky boarded a plane for Washington State where he joined the Class A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies.
In his senior year, Koshansky started all 59 games as either a pitcher or a first baseman for the Cavaliers. On the mound, Koshansky posted an 8-3 record with a 2.98 ERA including two complete games. At the plate, Koshansky wreaked havoc on opposing pitchers to the tune of a .302 batting average and a team-high 16 home runs. Such numbers earned Koshansky two ACC Player of the Week awards as well as ACC Pitcher of the Week on April 26.
"Joe is the type of player you don't find in college baseball very often," Coach Brian O'Connor said. "On the field, Joe was two separate players wrapped into one as well as one of our tri-captains. Those things made him critical to our success on and off the field."
Despite his accomplishments in both facets of the college game, Koshansky was drafted by the Rockies as a first baseman and will concentrate solely on that position for now.
Getting drafted wasn't always something Koshansky considered. Knowing he wouldn't be eligible for the draft until after his junior season with the Cavaliers, Koshansky spent his freshman and sophomore campaigns working with the Virginia coaching staff on ways to improve his overall game.
"All of the coaches have really helped me out a lot," Koshansky said. "They changed my mindset at the plate, making me more aggressive and focused on driving balls into the gaps."
Things began to change for Koshansky following his junior season in which he hit .320 with nine home runs. Professional scouts began attending Cavalier games and talking to the coaching staff about their extraordinary pitcher/first baseman.
"The first couple years, getting drafted wasn't really something I thought very much about," Koshansky said. "I focused more on adjusting to the college game which was so much faster than what I had been used to in high school. Even though I wasn't drafted junior year, I knew if I performed well this year that I would be."
Due to the extreme length of the Major League Baseball draft, it is not televised like with other professional sports' drafts. It is, however, broadcast over the Internet for anyone who wishes to tune in and listen.
"I really had not planned on listening to the draft at all," Koshansky said. "I had just gotten back from hanging out with some friends and happened to turn it on for like five minutes. That just happened to be the exact time my name was called by the Rockies."
His initial surprise at witnessing his draft number picked was less than that of being drafted by Colorado. Rockies' scouts had attended many of Virginia's games and conversed often with Coach O'Connor about Koshansky's game on and off the field.
"Part of our job as college coaches is to educate players on how to handle the pro draft," O'Connor said. "We often communicate with pro scouts about when certain guys are pitching and things like that. I knew the Rockies were interested but you never know if Joe would fall to them at the right pick or not."
In his four years at Virginia, Koshansky earned many awards and achievements. However, none were more meaningful than the success of this year's entire squad.
"Our first regional game this year will always be a great memory for me," Koshansky said. "It had always been a goal of mine to get that far. And then to get to host a regional series in front our home crowd, it was really exciting."
In only his fourth game with the Dust Devils, Koshansky led off the second inning of Monday night's game against the Eugene Emeralds with a monstrous blast over the fence in right field for his first professional home run. Koshansky is currently second on the team in runs, home runs, RBIs and walks after only a handful of games played.
No matter how successful Koshansky is at the next level, he will forever be remembered as the first-ever Cavalier to earn ACC Player of the Year honors. Replacing a player of Koshansky's abilities will be difficult, but that is exactly the task that awaits the Virginia coaching staff next season.
"On the mound, we have some options," O'Connor said. "Losing Joe will create some opportunities for some of a younger pitchers. This institution has seen a lot of great players. We will just have to move on and try and improve the overall team next season."
However tough it may be to replace a player like Koshansky in the Cavalier lineup, one can imagine the road from Class A to the major leagues is an equally difficult task. But if his collegiate and early professional performances are any indicator, Koshansky ought to do just fine.
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