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June 21, 2004
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – University of Virginia first baseman/pitcher Joe Koshansky and UVa head baseball coach Brian O’Connor earned top honors on the 2004 University Division All-State Baseball team chosen by the Virginia College Sports Information Directors (VaSID). Koshansky was named the 2004 VaSID Player of the Year and O’Connor was named the VaSID Division I Baseball Coach of the Year after directing the Cavaliers to a 44-15 season including a trip to the NCAA Regional. UVa’s Andrew Dobies and Ryan Zimmerman were also named to the 2004 University Division All-State VaSID Baseball Team as honorable mention selections.
Koshansky, who was recently drafted in the sixth round of the 2004 MLB Draft by the Colorado Rockies, enjoyed a banner season in 2004 and was selected the ACC Player of the Year and was named a First Team All-ACC choice. Koshansky’s selection as the ACC Player of the Year made him the first Cavalier to ever receive the honor. He was also named a Second Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball, was one of ten finalists for the Dick Howser Trophy and was selected to the Charlottesville Regional All-Tournament Team. Koshansky was named the ACC Player of the Week twice in 2004 after being recognized on February 16th and March 15th. He was also named the ACC Pitcher of the Week on April 26th.
In 2004, Koshansky started all 59 games for Virginia as either a pitcher of first baseman and served as one of UVa’s weekend starters in the pitching rotation. He made 15 starts on the mound and pitched 102.2 innings en route to posting a record of 8-3 with a 2.98 ERA. Koshansky struck out 80 batters (second on the team) and held opposing batters to a .227 batting average. He pitched two complete game in UVa’s victories over #4 Miami in Coral Gables, Fla. on April 25th and against George Mason in the NCAA Tournament on June 5th at the Charlottesville Regional.
Koshansky also batted .302 (second on the team) with 67 hits including a team-high 16 home runs, a team-high 17 doubles and also had one triple. He led the team with 67 RBI, scored 50 runs and racked up a team-high 134 total bases. Koshansky was successful in 8-of-9 stolen base attempts.
For his career, Koshansky set a new UVa single season school-record with his 67 RBI in 2004. He also ranks in several of Virginia’s top-ten single season categories by finishing: third in home runs with 16, tied for third in most pitching starts with 15, fourth in most innings pitched with 102.2, tied for fourth with most pitching wins with eight, tied for fifth with 134 total bases and tied for eighth in doubles with 17.
Koshansky also ranks highly in several of Virginia’s top-ten career categories by finishing: tied for first in pitching victories with 21, tied for first in games started as a pitcher with 49, second in most innings pitched with 317.2, fifth in strikeouts with 229 and seventh in home runs with 27.
In his first season as the head coach at Virginia, O’Connor guided the Cavaliers to one of their finest seasons ever in the history of the UVa baseball program. He became only the second Virginia head baseball coach ever to be named the ACC Coach of the Year after winning the award in 2004. Under O’Connor’s guidance, Virginia finished a close second place in the 2004 ACC regular season standings after going 44-15 overall, 18-6 in the conference. The Cavaliers were picked seventh in the 2004 ACC Preseason Coaches Poll. UVa’s 44 overall victories in 2004 tied the school-record for most wins (the 1996 squad went 44-21) and Virginia’s 18 ACC victories were seven more conference wins than the previous UVa school-record of 11 reached three times before in 2003, 1996 and 1988.
Under O’Connor’s tutelage, UVa set several school-records and accomplished new feats such as: hosting an NCAA Regional for the first time ever, setting a school-record for best winning percentage in a single season (.746), setting a school-record with 14 consecutive wins (from March 30 – April 21), recording the most home wins in a single season (25), posting the most road wins in a single season (19), recording the highest national ranking in school history (#7), sweeping five ACC three-game series for the first time ever (defeating Georgia Tech, Clemson, Wake Forest, Maryland and Duke), sweeping Georgia Tech in a three-game ACC series for the first time ever, winning 17 comeback victories when trailing or tied after seven innings, setting a school record for best fielding percentage in a single season (.973), recorded the best regular season record ever (42-11), setting an all-time total home season attendance figure (45,000), setting a stadium attendance record (2,530) and averaging an all-time high for attendance per game (1,363).
O’Connor was instrumental in Joe Koshansky’s development into becoming the 2004 ACC Player of the Year and a Second Team All-American selection. O’Connor’s Cavaliers also earned four ACC Pitcher of the Week and two ACC Player of the Week selections in 2004 while five Cavaliers were also named to the 2004 Charlottesville Regional All-Tournament Team under O’Connor’s guidance.
Several individual school-records were also established in 2004 under O’Connor’s watchful eye. Ryan Zimmerman set the single season school-record for hits (90) and at-bats (249), Koshansky set the single season school-record for most RBI (67), Mark Reynolds tied the single season school-record for most runs scored (60), first-year pitcher Casey Lambert tied the single season school-record for most saves (8) and Andrew Dobies tied the single season school-record for most games started as a pitcher (16).
Here is a look at the 2004 University Division All-State Baseball Team:
2004 University Division All-State Baseball Team
Name Position SchoolWyatt Toregas Catcher Virginia TechJoe Koshansky First Base VirginiaWill Rhymes Second Base William & MaryJeff Polumbo Shortstop George MasonAnthony Granato Third Base Virginia CommonwealthJeremiah Boles Outfield LibertyMike Butia Outfield James MadisonChris Rahl Outfield William & MaryJed English Designated Hitter Virginia TechStacen Gant Pitcher George MasonJoe Koshansky Pitcher VirginiaJustin Verlander Pitcher Old Dominion
Player of the Year: Joe KoshanskyCoach of the Year: Brian O'Connor
VaSID All-State Honorable Mention: Bill Bray (W&M), Darryl Chever (NSU), Andrew Dobies (UVa), Jim Fasano (UR), Mark Fleisher (RU), Adam Innerst (GMU),Chris Looze (GMU), Thomas Martin (UR), Sean O'Brien (VT), Justin Orenduff (VCU),Matt Prendergast (VCU), Juan Serrano (NSU), Nick Shimer (GMU), Donnie Smith (ODU),Chris Stanton (VT), Kelly Sweppenhiser (VMI), Ryan Zimmerman (UVa).
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