Brian O’Connor, baseball coach at Virginia for the past 20 years, has been selected for induction into the American Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in ceremonies next January.
O’Connor led UVa to the College World Series championship in 2015 and has taken his teams to Omaha, Nebraska, for the College World Series on six occasions.
He went over 800 wins for his coaching career earlier this season and currently stands at 839-353-2 with a winning percentage of .704, the highest of any active D-I college baseball coach.
He is a three-time national coach of the year and has had five seasons with 50 wins or more.
UVa hires new women’s lacrosse coach
Virginia announced a new women’s lacrosse coach, Sonia LaMonica, replacing longtime coach Julie Myers. LaMonica comes from Towson, where she had been head coach for 14 seasons with a 139-91 record.
Recruiting
A look at the top boys’ basketball prospects for the 2024 class shows Dylan Harper from Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, New Jersey, as the No. 1 prospect and Duke as the leading candidate to land him.
Harper was a participant in the FIBA World Cup in Hungary, where he was scouted by Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell. Harper’s father, Ron, played in the NBA for Cleveland, Chicago, and both the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers. Ron Harper Jr., who played at Rutgers, is on a two-way contract with Toronto.
Duke’s prime rival for that class, as is frequently, is North Carolina and the Tar Heels’ head coach, Hubert Davis.
Carolina has commitments from a pair of top 15 recruits, Ian Jackson from Cardinal Hayes in the Bronx, New York, and Drake Powell from Pittsboro, North Carolina, who are ranked seventh and 14th.
Commitment
Christian Bliss, a 6-foot-4 guard from George School in Newtown, Pennsylvania, who averaged 20 points and 5.2 assists as a junior, committed to Virginia over the weekend. Villanova and Miami were among contenders for him.
UVa head coach and Wisconsin product Tony Bennett has also been linked with 6-6 small forward Kon Knueppel from Milwaukee. Knueppel was at the Duke-UVa game in Charlottesville this past season.
Sophomore transfer 6-6 Christian Rohde from St. Thomas in Minnesota, averaged 17.1 points this season and was the Summit League freshman of the year.