The Virginia baseball season lives on as Chris Pollard will be taking his squad down to Hattiesburg in his first season at the helm. The Cavaliers will compete as the No. 2 seed alongside No. 1 Southern Miss, No. 3 Jacksonville State, and No. 4 Little Rock.
As a reminder, these regionals follow a standard double elimination format, making a 1-0 start pivotal. If sent to the losers bracket right off the bat, the ’Hoos would need to win four consecutive do-or-die contests in a three day stretch. Meanwhile,
three games could theoretically be enough to secure a spot in the supers in the winners bracket.
UVA will begin NCAA Tournament action on Friday at 7 p.m. ET against Jacksonville State, followed by meeting with Southern Miss or Little Rock on Saturday afternoon. The schedule and broadcast info for all of the regionals can be found here.
Meet the Opponents
Southern Miss
The Golden Eagles enter the field at 44-15 overall, having swept the Sun Belt regular season and tournament titles. Their resume features series wins over UC Santa Barbara and Troy as well as standalone victories against Oregon State, Alabama, and Ole Miss.
Southern Miss probably won’t have a selection in the first few rounds of the 2026 MLB Draft, but their team is deep and extremely well-coached. Christian Ostrander was promoted to the head skipper in 2023 and has managed to cement the program as one of the premier mid-majors, primarily through local talent.
As usual, this year’s team is known for pitching and run prevention. Southern Miss boasts a team ERA of 3.75, which ranks seventh in all of Division 1.
Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year Grayden Harris is the team’s workhorse. In 84.1 innings this season, Harris has managed a 3.20 ERA with 100 strikeouts compared to just 19 walks. Just imagine your factory-made southpaw sinker-baller with elite command.
It is unclear how Ostrander will solve the age old question of whether to go to his ace in the opener against the four seed or take the risk save him for the next game. The Golden Eagles do have right-handers Camden Sunstrom (77.1 IP, 2.79 ERA) and Colby Allen (70 IP, 2.57 ERA) in the stash so the Wahoos will be seeing a high quality arm regardless.
On the hitting side, the top half of the lineup is extremely capable, but like Virginia, there is a clear drop off as the order progresses. The primary name to watch is second baseman and three-hitter Kyle Morrison, who is tied atop the Sun Belt leaderboard with 17 home runs in the 2026 campaign.
Jacksonville State
If you thought 44 wins was a lot for the host, behind them lies a 46-win Jacksonville State team that, despite a weaker strength of schedule, feels that it was under-seeded and will play with a chip on their shoulder.
The Gamecocks are more known for a traditional offensive approach. While Jacksonville State only has 54 home runs as a team this season, they get on base at a clip of over .400, are known to steal bases efficiently, and will pressure the defense by looking to take the extra base. This can cause problems for the ‘Hoos, who are mistake-prone in the field.
On the mound, we are likely to see Steven Cash, a 6-foot-1 lefty in the midst of a breakout senior season. Cash has a deceptive delivery that can be especially difficult for left-handed hitters to pick up, and has helped propel him to a 2.94 season ERA and .199 batting average against.
Little Rock
The Hattiesburg regional is rounded out by a Trojans team that was headed in the wrong direction before running through the Ohio Valley Tournament as the No. 4 seed, securing their first appearance in the postseason field since 2011.
The big name to know on this roster is RHP Tag Andrews. The redshirt freshman delivered four relief appearances in five days of the conference tournament, striking out ten while not allowing a single run or walk in those 8.1 innings. It is pretty clear who head coach Chris Curry will rely on out of the bullpen this weekend.
Questions for Virginia
Can the starters go deep into games?
It is common practice for a manger to shrink his pitching staff and use only his best arms in the postseason. In Pollard’s case, piecing together 27 outs may not be so straightforward, though. If Virginia wants to go deep into this regional and have a shot at advancing, getting length from the starters is non negotiable.
Of course, the focal point will be Henry Zatkowski, who will more than likely take the ball on Friday. While the sophomore southpaw has sometimes struggled to keep the ball in the yard, he has shown the ability to pound the zone and remain efficient amidst gutsy outings. The best example of this is the opener of the Clemson series where Zatkowski got touched early, but still ended up pitching into the eighth and striking out ten batters.
John Paone and Kyle Johnson are more of the wild cards. Paone, who has been penciled into the SP2 role, tossed an impressive 7.2 frames earlier in the month against Cal, but followed it up with two early exits to cap off the year. Meanwhile, while Johnson has easily the best stuff of this group, the entire season has felt like a work from progress as he has recovered from injury.
Now that push has come to shove, these starting pitchers will need to be on their A-game to avoid digging into a taxed bullpen.
Who emerges out of the bullpen?
Griff McGarry. Jay Woolfolk. Matt Augustin. These are the pitchers that emerged unexpectedly in Virginia’s recent tournament runs to guide them to Omaha. Another thing they all have in common? They were electric arms that did not always have the best command, but trusted themselves when it mattered most.
This is exactly what UVA is going to need once again. This is not about Tyler Kapa or Lucas Hartman; we know they will get plenty of innings, and despite Hartman’s recent rut, are as reliable as they come.
Somebody else needs to step up.
Will it be Augustin again? There is always a possibility. There’s direct proof that the junior right-hander has it in the tank, but he has only pitched seven innings this year and none in the last two weeks.
The best candidate may be freshman Noah Yoder. The freshman from Mechanicsville was the number one recruit in the Commonwealth, and surpassed the MLB Draft to spend time developing a full arsenal alongside his high 90’s fastball. Yoder fits the exact mold that was aforementioned, with the capability of simply blowing hitters away or racking up walks.
Can the middle of the order provide some power?
The two big names in Virginia’s lineup have been A.J. Gracia and Eric Becker, and rightfully so. With that said, while these two can elevate a good offense, they cannot carry a subpar one. Because they implement such a patient approach, and are more than willing to take walks, the guys behind them will have the responsibility with taking the baton and driving in those runs.
For what it’s worth, Joe Tiroly has quietly delivered that pop all season, most recently out of the three hole. The true question lies in the hands of Harrison Didawick and Sam Harris, a pair of physical left-handers who have high slugging numbers, and also high swing and miss rates. A successful offensive performance (like the Georgia Tech ACC Tournament game) will entail the middle of the order providing the bang while the rest are able to keep the line moving.
As Pollard told his team, “why can’t it be us?” Ultimately, Virginia is the most talented team in this regional. It is now a matter of finally putting things together for multiple days at a time.
