The history of Virginia baseball is one of especially recent success, but in the two decades of Coach Brian O’Connor’s tenure, the program has produced a wealth of MLB ballplayers. Washington Nationals legend Ryan Zimmerman, a three-year starting third baseman for the Cavaliers and World Series-winning MLB starter, recently spoke at Final Exercises. Utility player Chris Taylor and relief pitcher-turned-pitching advisor Sean Doolittle both played critical roles in bringing World Series titles to Los Angeles in 2020 and Washington, D.C. in 2019, respectively.
The newest generation of Virginia draftees has come much more consistently — rarely a year goes by where at least one Cavalier is not selected in the annual MLB Draft. Kyle Teel, Andrew Abbott and Zack Gelof have all put themselves within striking distance of long, successful MLB careers, just like many other recent Cavaliers now playing in the big leagues. However, amidst all this recent success, few players have left a legacy like that of Griff O’Ferrall, the junior shortstop and three-year starter for Virginia baseball.
In baseball, five-tool players are hard to come by. These are players who hit for power and have a high average, play strong defense, exhibit top-tier speed and throw well defensively. O’Ferrall arrived on Grounds just one tool short, lacking power but flashing the other four tools from the start. A highly touted prospect, O’Ferrall was the 2020-21 Gatorade Player of the Year — not only did he boast a .449 average his senior year at St. Christopher’s High School in Richmond, but he also set school records for hits, runs scored and stolen bases that still stand today.
His athleticism was on full display as the team captain for both the baseball and football teams, an especially fascinating tidbit considering he shared two other awards with future teammate and junior pitcher Jay Woolfolk, who went on to play for Virginia football for two seasons prior to 2024.
It was no surprise, then, that O’Ferrall’s outrageous athleticism shined from the very beginning of his time with Virginia. As just one of four Opening Day true freshman starting shortstops since 2002 for the Cavaliers, O’Ferrall hit .308 and led the team in stolen bases.
He was also one of six freshmen named to the Brooks Wallace Award watch list for the best shortstop in the nation in 2022, a list he would continue to find himself on in each of his three years at Virginia. He garnered a NCBWA First-Team nod as well as Perfect Game Second-Team Freshman All-American honors, and he was also named to ACC All-Freshman and All-Academic teams. Most importantly, O’Ferrall established himself as the beating heart of Virginia baseball, a high-flying freshman that led off every game he played in his first season with the Cavaliers.
If O’Ferrall’s 2022 performance repeated itself over the next two seasons, he still would have been remembered as a speedy, high-average hitter that played premium defense at a high-value position. Instead, O’Ferrall shifted into even higher gear, rising to a jaw-dropping .396 batting average. He became the first Brooks Wallace Award finalist in Virginia history, a Third-Team All-American and earned a First-Team All-ACC selection, in addition to receiving a slew of other awards and titles too extensive to name.
Somehow, O’Ferrall’s performance flew under the radar in comparison to the otherworldly performance of his teammate, catcher Kyle Teel in 2023. Teel led the nation with a batting average of .414, but he was followed closely by O’Ferrall’s .404. O’Ferrall started all 65 games for the Cavaliers and led off in all but one, and Teel also started all 65 games at catcher — the only non-pitching position more valuable than shortstop.
It is impossible to overstate the importance of both players to that 2023 squad, but O’Ferrall’s performance has gone underappreciated despite recording gaudy numbers in every category. O’Ferrall only hit one home run in 2023, but he increased his slugging percentage from .366 to .495 in 2023, racking up 20 doubles — 15 more than in 2022. Every time O’Ferrall stepped up to the plate — the first at-bat of nearly every single game — he threatened to put himself in scoring position and give an often-dangerous lineup the chance to record an early run. O’Ferrall had found the power he lacked his freshman year in 2023, rounding out his five-tool skillset.
With the departure of Teel and Jake Gelof, two key contributors in 2023, O’Ferrall became one of the figureheads of a program with major expectations heading into this season.
As usual, O’Ferrall delivered a stellar performance in 2024, featuring another excellent slashline bolstered by a significant increase in run production — .324 this season — with four more home runs and 10 more RBI than in 2023. O’Ferall also became an even more significant run producer on a Virginia team that was positively brimming with offense. This came at an especially important time, as the Cavaliers continually struggled to find consistent pitching and relied on the offense to post ridiculous run totals day in and day out. O’Ferrall did his part, leading a deadly lineup to a College World Series berth.
Unfortunately, Virginia fell in just two games, a repeat of 2023’s postseason. Thus ended O’Ferrall’s playing career at Virginia, but his award accumulation certainly wasn’t over. O’Ferrall was named an ABCA Rawlings Gold Glove recipient for world-class defense — one of just nine college recipients annually and just the third Cavalier to receive the award. He was also the first Cavalier to receive the Brooks Wallace Award, crowning him as the best shortstop in the nation and joining the likes of MLB players Alex Bregman, Dansby Swanson, Jedd Gyorko and Trea Turner. O’Ferrall also received ABCA Second-Team All-American Honors.
O’Ferrall now departs Virginia with the single-season records for runs and hits, and he holds the all-time record for hits by a three-year Cavalier. These metrics are the marks of a successful leadoff hitter, so it is safe to say that O’Ferrall far exceeded expectations in that role throughout his three seasons at Virginia. However, the largest part of O’Ferrall’s legacy was his ability to set the tone for the team — to be the heartbeat, the pacemaker and the spark plug the Cavaliers needed.
When the first day of the MLB Draft rolls around July 14, O’Ferrall will almost certainly be selected within the first two rounds. While Virginia will lose a true leader on and off the field, one lucky MLB team will get a five-tool player and a defensive shortstop that also wields a dangerous bat. More importantly, they will get a proven leader with experience on college baseball’s biggest stage. O’Ferrall never got to hoist an ACC or NCAA Championship trophy during his time in Charlottesville, but nevertheless, his legacy as a Cavalier is one of overachievement. His shoes will be difficult to fill, but O’Ferrall’s mark will endure on Grounds as the model shortstop. To Griff O’Ferrall — the reigning hit king, the double play machine, the beating heart of Virginia baseball — thank you.
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