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Baseball
O’Connor Named VaSID Coach of the Year
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia Association of Sports Information Directors (VaSID) named Brian O’Connor the state’s Baseball Coach of the Year for the second-straight season. Four Cavaliers – Andrew Abbott (Republican Grove, Va.), Blake Bales (Schoolcraft, Mich.), Zack Gelof (Rehoboth Beach, Del.) and Stephen Schoch (Laurel, Md.) garnered All-State honors.
O’Connor collected his 11th VaSID Coach of the Year award in 18 seasons at Virginia and won back-to-back awards for the fourth time. Virginia was one of the country’s hottest teas down the stretch, winning 14 of its last 20 regular season games. The Cavaliers reached their fifth College World Series after going 6-0 in elimination games in the NCAA Regional and Super Regional rounds. O’Connor became the eight coach in ACC history to win his 300th conference game with a 9-3 series opening win over Duke on April 23.
VaSID Coach of the Year Awards for Brian O’Connor: 2021, 2020, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2011, 2009, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004
Abbott and Bales were first team all-state selections while Gelof and Schoch were listed on the second team.
Abbott was the 2018 VaSID Rookie of the Year and is recognized as an All-State selection for the third time in his career. The lefthander was a consensus All-American in 2021 after going 9-6 with a 2.87 ERA. His 162 strikeouts led the ACC, were the third most in the NCAA and were the second most ever in a single season by a UVA pitcher. Abbott was a second round draft pick of the Cincinnati Reds earlier this month.
Bales is recognized as an All-State honoree for the first time. The reliever appeared in 25 games and went 3-0 with a 0.71 ERA. Bales was a finalist for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award and was a First Team ABCA/Rawlings All-Region selection. The righthander struck out 54 batters in 38 innings pitched.
Gelof was an All-State selection in each of his three seasons at Virginia. The Cavalier third baseman led the ACC in hits with 81 and was a member of the All-College World Series team. Gelof played in all 63 games this season and batted .312 with nine home runs and 41 RBI. He was a second round draft pick of the Oakland Athletics in this summer’s MLB First Year Player Draft.
Schoch was honored as an All-State selection for the second-straight season. Virginia’s closer ranked third in the ACC with eight saves. Schoch appeared in 23 games and was 4-2 with a 3.00 ERA. He struck out 52 batters in 36 innings pitched. He earned the win after pitching 3.1 innings of the NCAA Regional Final against Old Dominion.
2021 VaSIDA All-State Team
Player of the Year
Kyle Battle, Old Dominion
Pitcher of the Year
Trevor Delaite, Liberty
Rookie of the Year
Tyler Locklear, VCU
Coach of the Year
Brian O’Connor, Virginia
First Team
Gray Betts, Catcher, Liberty
Justin Starke, First Base, VMI
Carter Trice, Second Base, Old Dominion
Tommy Bell, Shortstop, Old Dominion
Tyler Locklear, Third Base, VCU
Aaron Anderson, Outfield, Liberty
Kyle Battle, Outfield, Old Dominion
Gavin Cross, Outfield, Virginia Tech
Andy Garriola, Outfield, Old Dominion
Liam Hibbits, Designated Hitter, VCU
Danny Hosley, Utility, Norfolk State
Andrew Abbott, Starting Pitcher, Virginia
Trevor Delaite, Starting Pitcher, Liberty
Hunter Gregory, Starting Pitcher, Old Dominion
Blake Bales, Relief Pitcher, Virginia
Jason Hartline, Relief Pitcher, Old Dominion
Second Team
Drew Blakely, Catcher, Richmond
T.J. Rumfield, First Base, Virginia Tech
Will Wagner, Second Base, Liberty
Cam Locklear, Shortstop, Liberty
Matt McDermott, Shortstop, William & Mary
Zack Gelof, Third Base, Virginia
Dionte Brown, Outfield, Norfolk State
Chase DeLauter, Outfield, James Madison
Conor Hartigan, Outfield, James Madison
Wyatt Ulrich, Outfield, Richmond
Brady Gulakowski, Designated Hitter, Liberty
Jack Cone, Utility, William & Mary
Trey Gibson, Starting Pitcher, Liberty
Jared Lyons, Starting Pitcher, George Mason
Ryne Moore, Starting Pitcher, Old Dominion
Nolan Manzer, Relief Pitcher, Norfolk State
Stephen Schoch, Relief Pitcher, Virginia