O’Ferrall Claims Brooks Wallace Award

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia junior Griff O’Ferrall is the 2024 recipient of the Brooks Wallace Award, annually given to the nation’s top shortstop. He is the first Cavalier ever to win the award.

O’Ferrall was a finalist for the prestigious honor in each of the past two seasons and is the first ACC shortstop to be to take home the honor since 2017. 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.

As a junior, O’Ferrall played in all 63 games for the Cavaliers at short and batted .324 (92-for-284) with 20 doubles, five homers and 52 RBI. He led UVA with 17 stolen bases on 21 attempts. O’Ferrall is a two-time First Team All-ACC selection, a two-time First Team ABCA All-Region honoree and won the ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Award for his defensive prowess this season. He made only four errors in 249 chance and boasted a .984 fielding percentage.

O’Ferrall joined Ryan Zimmerman as the only Cavaliers to produce back-to-back 90-hit seasons. He has the most hits (270) and runs scored (196) of any three-year player in program history. O’Ferrall has started every game for UVA at shortstop since arriving on grounds as a freshman in 2022.

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