Five Elected to the Virginia Baseball Hall of Fame

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The five-member Virginia Baseball Hall of Fame class is set to be inducted at Step Up to the Plate, the program’s signature preseason event that will return for 2023. The ceremony will be part of the programming for Step Up to the Plate on January 21, 2023 at John Paul Jones Arena. Tickets and table sponsors are available now through the Virginia Athletics Foundation.

The 2023 class is comprised of INF Ernie Clement (2015-17), LHP Kyle Crockett (2011-13), OF/LHP Adam Haseley (2015-17), OF Joe Hicks (1951-53) and 1B/OF Pavin Smith (2015-17).

Established in the summer of 2017, The Virginia Baseball Hall of Fame has recognized 36 former student-athletes and coaches that span the 134 years of baseball at the University. Hall of Fame plaques are on permanent display at Disharoon Park on the right field line concourse.

In order to be considered for hall of fame induction, former student-athletes needed to be five years removed from exhaustion of college eligibility. Players and coaches were selected based on accolades earned as a player or coach while at Virginia, distinguishing careers in amateur or professional baseball and/or significant contributions through work or service made to the university.

“We have been very blessed to have both outstanding players, but more importantly, outstanding people throughout the history of the UVA Baseball program,” said head coach Brian O’Connor. “Recognizing the best of the best is always a special time of year for me and the rest of our staff. Coupled with bringing back Step Up to the Plate, an event that has been so important to our baseball program and our fans, I’m looking forward to this year’s event as much as any during the time I’ve spent at Virginia.  I know that our fans will feel the same way and I hope that they will show up in January to support Virginia Baseball – past and present.”

Tickets for Step Up to the Plate are on sale now and may be ordered in person at the UVA Athletics Ticket Office in Bryant Hall, by phone at 1-800-542-8821 or online at UVATix.com. Sponsored tables may be reserved by calling the Virginia Athletics Foundation at 800-626-8723. Fans are encouraged to purchase their tickets early as the event is expected to sell out.

For detailed information on Step to the Plate visit: https://virginiaathleticsfoundation.com/step-up-to-the-plate-2/

2023 VIRGINIA BASEBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS

INF – Ernie Clement (2015-17)

• Member of the 2015 National Championship Team
• Earned Third Team All-ACC honors as a second baseman in 2016 and a shortstop in 2017.
• Drafted in the fourth round (132^nd overall) by the Cleveland Indians in the 2017 MLB Draft
• Made his MLB debut with the Indians on June 13, 2021.
• As a sophomore at UVA in 2016 ranked third in the ACC in hits (92) and runs (62) and 14^th in batting (.351).
• The 92 hits are the third most in a single season in UVA history and the 62 runs scored that year were the fifth most in program history at the time.
• Struck out 31 times in 745 career at bats and was statistically the toughest to strikeout in the nation as a junior in 2016. Was the fourth toughest to strikeout in the country in 2016 and the fifth toughest to strikeout in 2015
• Sent UVA to the College World Series with a walk-off, two-run single in the Super Regionals against Maryland.
• Recorded the go-ahead hit in three of UVA’s 10 NCAA Tournament wins in 2015 and went 11-for-42 with seven RBI in the tournament.
• One of five Cavaliers named to the 2015 College World Series All-Tournament Team after batting .292 (7-for-24) in Omaha.

LHP – Kyle Crockett (2011-13)

• 2013 NCBWA Third Team All-American
• First Team All-ACC as a reliever in 2013
• Named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2013 Charlottesville Regional after saving two of the three Cavalier wins.
• Ranked fifth in appearances (88) and 10th saves (12) in UVA history upon completion of his collegiate career.
• Member of the 2011 College World Series team
• Saved 12 games during the 2013 season, the fifth-most in school history at the time.
• Finished his career with a 1.98 ERA, second lowest in UVA history and was 12-3 (.800) over the course of his career
• Drafted in the fourth round (111th overall) by the Cleveland Indians in the 2013 MLB Draft
• First player from the 2013 MLB Draft to reach the big leagues

OF/LHP – Adam Haseley (2015-17)

• Was the fifth UVA player ever to earn All-America honors in at least two seasons (2016 & 2017).
• Became the third player in program history to be a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award.
• Was a finalist for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award in 2017 after being a semifinalist in 2016.
• Part of the 2015 National Championship Team, starting all 68 games as a true freshman including five on the mound.
• Member of the 2015 Lake Elsinore and 2016 Charlottesville Regional All-Tournament Teams.
• Became only the second player in CWS history and first since 1958 to start on the mound and lead off. Pitched five innings in a combined shutout over Vanderbilt in the contest.
• Reached base four times in the game three of the College World Series final and scored the game-winning run in the fifth inning.
• Earned First Team All-ACC honors in 2017 as an outfielder and was included on the 2015 ACC All-Freshman Team.
• Selected in the first round (eighth overall) by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2017 MLB Draft and made his debut with the club on June 4, 2019.
• Scored 185 career runs as a Cavalier, the third most in program history.
• Finished his career ranked in the top-10 in program history in career triples (9^th – 10), walks (10^th – 111) and at bats (10^th – 746).
• As a junior in 2017, batted .390 with 14 home runs and 56 RBI, leading the ACC in batting average and on-base percentage. Also ranked second in runs (68), third in slugging (.659), fourth in hits (87) and walks (44), eighth in RBI (56) and ninth in home runs (14).

OF – Joe Hicks (1951-53)

• Played five seasons in the MLB with Chicago White Sox (1959-60), Washington Senators (1961-62) and New York Mets (1963).
• Professional baseball career spanned 11 seasons and was put on pause in 1956 and 1957 for military service in Germany.
• Became the 15^th Cavalier to reach the big leagues, debuting with the Chicago White Sox on September 18, 1959.
• Hit his first MLB home run of Hall of Famer Jim Bunning.
• Led the Cavaliers in batting with a .385 average in 1951 and also earned two wins on the mound in 27.2 innings pitched.
• Member of UVA’s 1951 and 1953 Virginia Big Six Championship team. UVA’s 1951 team was invited to play in the NCAA Tournament but declined due to injuries and graduation.
• Trailing 6-4 in the bottom of the ninth in a 1953 meeting against Virginia Tech, hit a walk-off, three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to help UVA improve to 3-0 in Big Six competition. Went 2-for-4 with a run scored and four RBI in the contest.
• Hit his first major league home run off of future Hall of Famer Jim Bunning at Griffith Stadium in 1961.

1B/OF – Pavin Smith (2013-15)

• Selected in the first round (7^th overall) by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2017 MLB Draft.
• Broke UVA single season RBI record as a junior in 2017 (has since been surpassed). The 77 RBI were the third most in the ACC and the fifth most in the country.
• Two-time All-ACC selection, a second team selection in 2016 and landed on the first team in 2017 as a first baseman. Earned ACC All-Freshman honors in 2015.
• Semifinalist for the 2017 Golden Spikes Award.
• Listed on the 2015 Lake Elsinore Regional and 2016 Charlottesville Regional All-Tournament teams.
• Earned Freshman All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball, D1Baseball.com (Second Team), Baseball America (Second Team).
• Drove in 178 career runs, four shy of tying the program’s all-time mark and hit 28 career home runs, tied for the sixth-most in program history.
• Established a program-record at the time with four postseason home runs, including a game-tying two-run shot in the game three of the CWS finals.
• Led the team and ranked fourth in the ACC with 83 hits, to become the first freshman to lead the team in hits since 1986 and the first freshman to lead a national championship team in hits since 2000.
• In his junior season had more home runs (13) than strikeouts (12).