The baseball field at Justice High School in Falls Church, Va. is special for a couple reasons. For one, it is a turf field, which is not common among high school baseball fields. Second, the “thwack,” of a baseball being hit rings out audibly across neighboring streets because the field sits high above adjacent roads. It is a lovely place for baseball.
That field was the home field of Dean Kampschror, who graduated in 2021 after four seasons and is now a senior pitcher at Virginia. It has been a long journey over the past few years to get to a promising 2025 season, but Kampschror has overcome adversity and is ready to use his experience to help lead the Cavaliers to a successful campaign.
In his days at Justice, the 6-foot-5 lefty was utterly dominant. He committed to Virginia during his freshman season of high school baseball, and was ranked as the fourth-best 2021 left-handed pitching recruit in the state. His father, John Kampschror — who pitched for the Cavaliers from 1981-1984 — even coached Dean and the Wolves for a few seasons as the pitching coach.
Dean Kampschror did it all, according to third-year College student Eli Bardash, who played with Kampschror on the Wolves and also played youth baseball in the Mason District Little League while Kampschror was there.
“[Kampschror] was one of those pitchers that would make headlines around the district because of how good he was and how good you knew he was going to be,” Bardash said.
But during Kampschror’s sophomore year of high school, an unfortunate twist of fate caught up to him. He started dealing with significant pain in his throwing arm, and then the pandemic hit at the start of his junior season.
The pain persisted throughout his senior campaign, but he powered through it, and the Wolves won five of their final six games to clinch a playoff berth. Unfortunately, Kampschror’s high school career ended with a loss as Justice was ousted 9-2 by Lake Braddock Secondary in the first round of the Regional.
Then things got worse as he started his time in Charlottesville. Kampschror had played through the pain for too long and had to sit out his freshman season. He then underwent an ulnar nerve transposition surgery on his left elbow in May of his freshman season at Virginia.
“It was a long road dealing with those injuries,” Kampschror said. “It was incredibly frustrating.”
Things continued to get even more frustrating. Kampschror got shoulder labrum surgery during the fall of 2022 and had to sit out the entire 2023 season. Missing his sophomore campaign was especially frustrating, as the Cavaliers advanced to the 2023 College World Series. For Virginia’s historic victory against Duke in the Super Regional, Kampschror watched from the stands. He had gone from Justice’s superstar to a spectator on his own Cavalier team as he recovered.
“I’ve seen him on the way up, and obviously, you know, it was a terrible injury, but one of the things about Dean is that he just keeps working,” Bardash said. “And I think you saw that with his recovery from the injury.”
Throughout every trying moment, Kampschror never gave up. He finally made his Virginia debut in 2024 — and even picked up his first collegiate win against then-No. 7 Wake Forest.
Kampschror finished the 2024 campaign with a 3.48 earned run average in 18 appearances as a relief pitcher. In contrast, Virginia arms surrendered 5.39 runs per game last year. In fact, Kampschror’s 2024 ERA ranked first on the team among any Cavalier with double-digit appearances.
“I was able to push through everything with the help of my teammates and then get back on the mound,” Kampschror said. “And being able to actually finally help the team was really a great feeling.”
While Kampschror did not see game action at the 2024 College World Series, he was on the roster and got to experience the wonders of “the greatest show on turf” in uniform. He also experienced the bitter taste of defeat as Virginia was the first team eliminated.
Fast forward to the dawn of the 2025 season, and the Cavaliers are once again favored to return to the College World Series. It is business as usual for a national powerhouse, entering the season ranked No. 2 nationally. But this year is different for Kampschror. This year is going to be the brightest chapter of a journey defined by resilience and overcoming adversity.
With the injuries now in the rearview mirror, Kampschror is one of just three seniors on the team. Besides him, the only other player that has spent more than three years on this roster is senior pitcher Jay Woolfolk. Clearly, Kampschror’s experience with the program stands out — and can help Virginia.
“Four years is a long time to learn about the U.Va. baseball program, and the culture, and the values and everything that goes into that,” Kampschror said. “So just having the experience, [I am] trying to lead by example and be a vocal leader. Bring the energy for the new guys coming in, for sure.”
If he can continue to remain healthy and build upon a successful 2024 season, then this team could win the national championship. The bats are there. The starting pitching is mostly there. With Kampschror anchoring down the bullpen, Virginia features a complete roster of players worthy of All-ACC consideration.
As Virginia prepares to begin its season opener Feb. 14 against Michigan in Puerto Rico, there is certainly a lot to discuss about the 2025 Cavaliers.
“We're just excited to take this thing one day at a time,” Kampschror said. “We're getting ready, practicing every day, and we'll start in Puerto Rico in a couple weeks. And we just can't wait to get this thing going.”
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