Connelly Early

2023
• Ranked No. 32 on D1Baseball.com’s Top 50 Impact Transfers prior to the 2023 season

PRIOR TO VIRGINIA (ARMY WEST POINT)
• Won back-to-back Patriot League Championships at Army
• NCAA Regional pitching experience in 2021 (Lubbock Regional) and 2022 (Hattiesburg Regional)
• Logged 122 innings, making 30 appearances and 16 starts in two seasons with the Black Knights. Struck out 127 batters while sporting a 2.95 career earned run average.
• His 88 strikeouts in 2022 were tied for the ninth-most in a single season by an Army pitcher.

2022
• Voted Patriot League Pitcher of the Year and was a First Team All-Patriot League selection as a starter.
• Selected to the ABCA/Rawlings All-Northeast Region Second Team.
• Presented with the Colonel Russell P. “Red” Reeder Baseball Award, presented annually to the most valuable player at USMA
• Moved into the weekend rotation as a sophomore, earning the Friday spot
• Made a team-best 14 starts in 16 total appearances as a sophomore and posted 7-4 record with a 3.26 ERA through 85.2 innings of work. He struck out 88 batters while limiting opponents to a .219 batting average.
• Led the Patriot League in strikeouts with 88 and averaged the fewest hits allowed per nine innings (7.25) in the league. His 3.26 ERA was the second lowest in the Patriot League and his seven wins were the second most in the conference.
• In the Hattiesburg Regional against host Southern Miss, tossed 6.0 innings, allowing just one earned run while fanning eight.
• Tossed his first complete game against Navy, throwing 7.0 innings to earn the win on April 23, 2022
• Fanned a career-high nine batters in back-to-back contests against Bucknell on April 30, 2022 and Lehigh May 7, 2022.

2021
• Second Team All-Patriot League selection.
• Appeared in 14 games while making two starts as a freshman.
• Was 4-2 with a 2.23 ERA (2nd lowest on staff) in 36.12 innings.
• Struck out 39 batters and held opponents to a team-best .185 batting average.
• His WHIP of 1.13 was the lowest on the team.
• Did not allow a run in a combined six innings pitched in the Patriot League Tournament, the 11th pitcher since 1994 to now surrender a run in a minimum of six innings in tournament play.

JAMES RIVER HIGH SCHOOL CENTER FOR LEADERSHIP AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
• All-State, All-Region and All-Metro pitcher in 2019.
• Perfect Game Preseason All-American.
• Perfect Game All-Tournament.
• Member of the National Honor Society.

PERSONAL
• Born in Richmond, Va.
• Son of Todd Early & Anne McNeil
• Has three siblings – Coleman, Cabell and Callum
• A Religious Studies Major