Cavaliers Now

Virginia Baseball: Griff O'Ferrall Named Top Shortstop, Wins Gold Glove

Matt Newton

Griff O'Ferrall signals during the Virginia baseball game vs. Kansas State in the 2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament at Disharoon Park.
Griff O'Ferrall signals during the Virginia baseball game vs. Kansas State in the 2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament at Disharoon Park. / Virginia Athletics

It's award day for Griff O'Ferrall.

The Virginia junior shortstop reeled in not one, but two major national college baseball awards on Thursday. Griff O'Ferrall was named one of nine members of the Division I 2024 ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Team and won the Brooks Wallace Award, presented annually to the top shortstop in college baseball.

O'Ferrall is just the third Cavalier to ever win a Gold Glove and is the first player in the history of the Virginia baseball program to receive the Brooks Wallace Award.

A three-year starter at shortstop for Virginia, O'Ferrall batted .324 with 52 RBI, five home runs, 20 doubles, and 92 hits this spring, becoming the second Cavalier and first since Ryan Zimmerman to eclipse 90 hits in consecutive seasons. Twice selected to the All-ACC First Team, O'Ferrall won the Brooks Wallace Award after being named a finalist for the award last season. The award, which is named for former Texas Tech shortstop Brooks Wallace, who died of leukemia at 27, has been presented annually by the College Baseball Foundation since 2010.

Brooks Wallace Award Winners
2024: Griff Oโ€™Ferrall โ€“ Virginia
2023: Matt Shaw โ€“ Maryland
2022: Brooks Lee โ€“ Cal Poly
2021: Cal Conley โ€“ Texas Tech
2019: Grae Kessinger โ€“ Ole Miss
2018: Cadyn Grenier โ€“ Oregon State
2017: Logan Warmoth โ€“ North Carolina
2016: Sheldon Neuse โ€“ Oklahoma
2015: Dansby Swanson โ€“ Vanderbilt
2014: Trea Turner โ€“ NC State
2013: Alex Bregman โ€“ Louisiana State
2012: Zach Vincej โ€“ Pepperdine
2011: Brad Miller โ€“ Clemson
2010: Jedd Gyorko โ€“ West Virginia

Virginia has had a Gold Glove winner in each of the last two seasons and three in program history: Jarrett Parker (2010), Ethan O'Donnell (2023), and Griff O'Ferrall (2024), who committed just four errors in 249 chances and posted a career-high .984 fielding percentage this season.

2024 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division I Gold Glove Team
C Ariel Armas, San Diego
1B Edgar Alvarez, Nicholls State
2B Nick Gooden, Morehead State
3B Wyatt Peifer, James Madison
SS Griff O'Ferrall, Virginia
OF Bryce Boettcher, Oregon
OF Vance Honeycutt, North Carolina
OF Ryley Johnson, East Carolina
P Derek Clark, West Virginia

Published
Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.