No. 5 Virginia Baseball 2025 College Top 25 Preview

Image credit: Henry Godbout (Photo Courtesy of Virginia Athletics)

Last season: 46-17 (18-12 ACC); reached College World Series
Final 2024 ranking: No. 8
Coach (record at school): Brian O’Connor (885-370-2, 22nd season)

You can find our complete 2025 preseason Top 25 ranking here.

The Good News

An Omaha mainstay, Virginia has reached the College World Series three times in the last four years, including in 2024. The program returns the majority of its highly productive lineup from that season with six starters back in the fold, including leading hitter Henry Godbout, slugger Harrison Didawick, catcher Jacob Ference and freshman all-American Henry Ford, who will be changing positions. The Cavs also return starting pitchers Evan Blanco and Jay Woolfolk, both of whom will pitch on the weekends. While the Cavaliers’ core is built with players who joined the program as true freshmen, one of their potential breakout stars, two-way player Chris Arroyo, comes from the junior college ranks. Virginia should again have one of the top offenses in the nation backed by a deeper pitching staff to make its roster more well-rounded.

The Bad News

Virginia was held back at times in 2024 by inconsistency on the mound. While its staff seems better-suited to provide more steadiness in 2025, the group still lacks proven production. Things clicked for Blanco in the second-half of 2024, which solidified him as the Cavaliers’ 2025 ace. Woolfolk and Arroyo, who are expected to join Blanco in Virginia’s weekend rotation, have just seven combined Division I starts between them, meaning both will have to acclimate quickly to new roles for the Cavs to meet their very lofty standards. Virginia will also need multiple arms to emerge in its bullpen, which lost two key contributors from 2024, righty Chase Hungate (transfer to Mississippi State) and lefty Angelo Tonas (graduation).

Player To Know

Virginia’s lineup is well stocked with players to keep an eye on this year, especially from an draft standpoint, but it’s hard not to focus on two-way player Chris Arroyo considering his potential impact on his new team. A transfer from Pasco-Hernando State College, Arroyo began his college career as a reliever at Florida in 2023 before putting together an explosive 2024 campaign on both sides of the ball at the junior college level, where he batted .403 with 60 runs, 10 doubles, 19 home runs, 52 RBIs and nine stolen bases while pitching his way to a 3.53 ERA with 63 strikeouts in 62.2 innings. O’Connor told Baseball America that he expected Arroyo to be featured in the heart of his team’s batting order, as well as in its rotation.

Path To Omaha

Virginia rebounded aggressively from back-to-back tournament misses in 2018 and 2019 with three trips to Omaha in four years, including each of the last two. But the Cavaliers struggled once they got there, with losses in their last six College World Series games dating back to 2021. Virginia’s relentless offense should keep it in most games and give it a chance at another postseason run. How well its pitching staff performs will ultimately determine the depth of that tournament push, though.

Projected 2025 Lineup

Pos	Player	Year	AVG	OBP	SLG	AB	HR	RBI	Note
C	Jacob Ference	Sr.	.350	.465	.710	200	17	43
1B	Chris Arroyo*	Jr.	.403	.508	.824	159	19	52	Pasco-Hernando State
2B	Henry Godbout	Jr.	.372	.472	.645	172	9	47
3B	Luke Hanson	Jr.	.286	.387	.490	147	7	37
SS	Eric Becker	So.	.362	.468	.669	127	8	46
OF	Harrison Didawick	Jr.	.292	.414	.642	240	23	68
OF	Aidan Teel	Jr.	.400	.455	1.300	10	3	6
OF	Henry Ford	So.	.336	.409	.597	253	17	69
DH	James Nunnallee	Fr.							Lightridge HS – Aldie, Va.
Pos	Player	Year	GS	IP	ERA	WHIP	SO	BB	Note
SP	Evan Blanco	Jr.	18	99.1	3.62	1.29	99	27
SP	Jay Woolfolk	Sr.	7	62.1	5.92	1.68	67	40
SP	Chris Arroyo*	Jr.	12	63.2	3.53	1.37	62	21	Pasco-Hernando State
RP	Matt Augustin	So.	1	28.1	4.13	1.48	25	13
RP	Ryan Osinski	Jr.	0	30.0	4.80	1.60	13	14