O’Ferrall Named a Finalist for Brooks Wallace Award

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – For the second-straight season, Virginia junior Griff O’Ferrall is one of five finalists for the Brooks Wallace Award, annually bestowed on the nation’s top shortstop. O’Ferrall is the only shortstop in program history to be a finalist for the award.

2024 Brooks Wallace Award Finalists
Name, School, Conference

• Jon Jon Gazdar, Austin Peay, Atlantic Sun
• Michael Hallquist, Ball State, Mid-American
• Josh Kuroda-Grauer, Rutgers, Big Ten
• David Mershon, Mississippi State, SEC
• Griff O’Ferrall, Virginia, ACC

The award will be presented by the College Baseball Foundation later this year. It is named for former Texas Tech shortstop Brooks Wallace, who played for the Red Raiders from 1977 to 1980. Wallace died of leukemia at the age of 27.

O’Ferrall has been the staple of consistency up the middle for the Cavaliers over the past three seasons, starting every game at shortstop and has been at the top of the UVA lineup in all but one game. His 267 career hits and 197 career runs scored are the most by any three-year player in program history. Last season he broke Virginia’s single-season record for hits in a season with 108 and this year is one hit shy of joining Ryan Zimmerman as the only two players in UVA history with multiple 90-hit seasons.

In 2024, O’Ferrall is batting .331 (89-for-269) with 19 doubles, a triple, career highs in home runs (5) and RBI (49). Statistically he’s the toughest player in the ACC to strike out, going down on strikes once aver 12.2 at bats. His 89 hits are the third-most in the ACC and he co-leads the league in sacrifice flies (9). He garnered First Team All-ACC honors at shortstop for the second year in-a-row.