Virginia Baseball Reloading Roster With Transfer Portal Additions

Brian O'Connor and the Cavaliers have added four transfers to their roster so far this offseason

Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics

As is usually the case with any college baseball team that reaches the College World Series, Virginia has faced some significant roster depletion since the end of the season. 

Three of UVA's top four batters in the starting batting order - catcher Kyle Teel, third baseman Jake Gelof, and center fielder Ethan O'Donnell - heard their names called at the MLB Draft, as did starting pitcher Connelly Early. The Cavaliers are also losing Nick Parker, Brian Edgington, and Angelo Tonas to graduation as well as closer Jake Berry, who signed with the Cleveland Guardians as an undrafted free agent this week. 

Virginia has a lot of solid returning pieces - with six of the nine starters in the batting order set to return as well as an array of quality and experienced arms in the bullpen. However, the Cavaliers could use some reinforcements - in particular in the area of starting pitching - and Brian O'Connor has successfully utilized the transfer portal in the last couple of seasons to do just that. 

So far, this offseason has continued that trend with O'Connor and the Cavaliers securing commitments from four players (that we know of so far) out of the transfer portal. Here's a breakdown of the newest transfers joining the Virginia baseball program this offseason:

Owen Coady, Penn

A graduate left-handed pitcher, Owen Coady heads to Virginia to play his final season of college baseball. In 34 appearances and 143.1 innings pitched over the last four seasons, Coady has turned in a 2.83 career ERA and a 12-4 record in 16 starts. Coady was an All-Ivy League honorable mention as a reliever in 2022, as he led Ivies in ERA at 2.80 and opponent batting average at .200, was tied for first in wins with seven, and fourth in strikeouts with 74. Moving into the full-time starting rotation this spring, Coady earned an All-Ivy League Second Team selection after posting a 5-3 record in 13 starts, a 2.98 ERA, and 79 strikeouts to 43 walks in 66.1 innings pitched. With Virginia losing each of its three postseason starting pitchers, Coady has a good chance of earning a starting spot as a Cavalier.

Joe Savino, Elon

With all the success Brian Edgington had in his lone season at Virginia, you can't fault Brian O'Connor for checking the Elon well again to see if he can grab another productive arm from the Phoenix. A redshirt senior righty from Ronkonkoma, New York, Savino has played in 50 games, including 18 starts over the course of his career. Savino has a career 3.94 ERA in 169.0 innings. He started nine games in each of his first two seasons at Elon, before shifting to the bullpen in 2023. This spring, Savino registered a 5-1 record in 22 appearances and recorded a 3.86 ERA with 72 strikeouts to 12 walks in 53.2 innings pitched. Savino was credited with three saves and was an All-CAA honorable mention in his final season at Elon. With his abundance of experience both as a reliever and as a starter, Savino could fill multiple roles for Drew Dickinson's pitching staff. 

Hayden Snelsire, Randolph-Macon

Another experienced pitcher, Hayden Snelsire comes to UVA as a graduate transfer righty with nearly 200 career innings pitched. Over the last four seasons at Randolph-Macon, a Division III baseball program, Snelsire appeared in 39 games, including 33 starts, and turned in a 21-7 overall record as well as a career 3.67 ERA and 1.27 WHIP. In the 2023 season, Snelsire went 8-2 in 11 starts and pitched two complete games. Snelsire recorded a career-best 2.99 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP, struck out 107 batters and surrendered only 18 walks, and averaged just under 14 strikeouts per nine innings. If Snelsire can adjust to the leap in competition going from Division III to major-conference DI baseball, this could be a massive pickup for the Cavalier pitching staff. 

It should be noted that Snelsire was selected in the 2023 MLB Draft, getting drafted with the No. 213 overall pick in the 17th round by the Tampa Bay Rays. So, there's a chance that Snelsire could sign a deal with the Rays and turn pro, but it's more likely that he'll stick in college for another season and try to raise his draft stock in his one season playing for and developing in the UVA baseball program, which is known for producing strong pitching prospects. 

Bobby Whalen, Indiana

The lone position player Virginia has picked up in the transfer portal so far, Bobby Whalen looks to follow in the footsteps of Ethan O'Donnell, who transferred to UVA as a Big Ten center fielder, earned an All-ACC selection in his lone season as a Cavalier, and was picked in the sixth round of the MLB Draft last week. Brian O'Connor and company are certainly hopeful that they'll have similar success with Whalen, a redshirt senior center fielder from Indiana. Whalen has played in 130 games in his career, starting in 125 of them. He has a career .274 batting average with 72 RBI and a .358 on-base percentage. In 2023, Whalen batted .277 with 70 hits, 39 RBI, three home runs, 16 doubles, and 58 runs scored. In the field, Whalen recorded 147 putouts and five outfield assists and committed just one error. Whalen will try to fill the shoes of O'Donnell, who was an All-ACC First-Team honoree and won a Rawlings Gold Glove Award in 2023. 

With Brian O'Connor's recent offseason history, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Cavaliers continue to be active in the transfer portal this summer. 

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