Virginia Recruiting Notes: Jay Woolfolk Flashes Considerable Baseball Ability

By: Chris Horne |

Benedictine (Richmond, VA) two-sport star Jay Woolfolk has committed to the University of Virginia football program, but he plans on playing football and baseball when he gets to Charlottesville. The 6’1”, 200-pound rising senior flashed his ability on the diamond – specifically from the pitching mound – in a recent clip from Twitter.

Although the 2020 season was canceled, Woolfolk was named the state of Virginia’s 2019-20 Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year. Given his talents and potential as a pitcher and an outfielder, Major League Baseball scouts may eye him for the 2021 MLB Draft. While next June’s event is worth remembering, for now the talented athlete plans on signing with UVA football and playing both sports in college.

“We’ve had a lot of great football players, and I think he’s maybe our best,” Benedictine head coach Greg Lilly said of Woolfolk in this EDGE article from March 24. “He’s a great player.”

“It’s nice to see a kid this talented who has a level of humility,” Lilly said, discussing Woolfolk’s character. “He’s incredibly unselfish. As a freshman he never wanted to push out the upperclassmen. He wanted to compete, but he always was very concerned with being a good teammate. It was nice to see him this year take the reins. This was his team. He became a little bit more of a leader. After he got hurt, it was nice to see him continue to lead. He does it in a natural, humble way. He’s hurt and he’s at all of the practices, doing stuff with us. His last two games he ran for five touchdowns and threw for three, but he was just happy to come back and be with his teammates. He’s not about lip service. He’s sincere. You know when guys are leaders. Kids react to them. That’s how [current Oakland Raiders defensive end Clelin Ferrell] was. That’s how [former Duke and now JMU wide receiver Scott Bracey] was. Jay definitely has got that natural leadership ability.”

Woolfolk has potential as a defensive back; however, Virginia is recruiting him as a dual-threat quarterback. 247Sports ranks him as the no. 14 rising senior dual-threat quarterback in the nation, while Rivals has him currently as the no. 19 prospect in his class at the same position.

Football Recruiting: Decisions

Five-star cornerback Tony Grimes, a rising senior out of Princess Anne (Virginia Beach, VA), is scheduled to announce his college commitment on Tuesday (June 30). Virginia made the top prospect’s top eight this spring but was eliminated when he narrowed his list to four.

North Carolina, whose recruiting efforts are spearheaded by cornerbacks coach Dre’ Bly, who starred in the Tidewater area before moving on to UNC and then the NFL, is the consensus favorite according to 247Sports. Georgia, Ohio State and Texas A&M round out the final four for Grimes.

Despite Grimes seemingly headed out of state, UVA is enjoying its best in-state recruiting haul since 2017, when eight prospects from state of Virginia high schools signed with the Hoos in Bronco Mendenhall’s first full recruiting class in Charlottesville. Virginia signed three prospects from the Commonwealth in 2018, three more in 2019, and inked one in 2020. To date, the Hoos boast four commitments from the home state in the class of 2021. The number is five if you count defensive end prospect Lorenz Terry, who committed to UVA as a senior out of Varina (VA) in the class of 2020 but did not sign.

Terry plans on attending Fork Union Military Academy (VA) this fall for postgraduate work with the hopes of enrolling on Grounds in January. A recent tweet reiterated the 6’4″, 260-pound prospect’s plans.

Another UVA defensive back target, Dacula (GA) safety Kaleb Edwards, plans on making his commitment on July 1. The 6’0”, 200-pound rising senior included Virginia in a top 10 he released on June 1. The list also included Duke, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Iowa, Louisville, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Stanford and Vanderbilt.

Georgia Tech is the consensus favorite according to 247Sports.

Additionally, a pair of UVA class of 2021 targets came off the board last week. Christ School (Arden, N.C.) tight end prospect Charlie Browder committed to Central Florida, while South Carolina wide receiver prospect O’Mega Blake pledged to South Carolina.

Basketball Recruiting: 247Sports Updates Top 150 For 2021

247Sports updated its Top 150 rankings for the class of 2021. Hamilton (Sussex, WI) 5-star forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. is the most highly ranked of UVA’s targets, coming in at no. 3 overall. Here are the rest of those uncommitted Cavalier targets with offers.

(Note: Not all of the prospects below are necessarily still being actively pursued by UVA.)

–Max Christie, Guard, Rolling Meadows (IL), 5-Star, No. 12
–Kendall Brown, Forward, Sunrise Christian (Wichita, KS), 5-Star, No. 14
–Trevor Keels, Guard, Paul VI (Fairfax, VA), 4-Star, No. 17
–Jalen Warley, Guard, Westtown (Norristown, PA), 4-Star, No. 22
–Efton Reid, Center, Steward School (Richmond, VA), 4-Star, No. 28
–Jordan Longino, Guard, Germantown Academy (Fort Washington, PA), 4-Star, No. 32
–Trey Kaufman, Power Forward, Silver Creek (Sellersburg, IN), 4-Star, No. 40
–DaRon Holmes II, Forward, Montverde Academy (FL), 4-Star, No. 48
–Carter Whitt, Point Guard, Leesville Road (Raleigh, N.C.), 4-Star, No. 81