The University of Virginia has been blessed with its fair share of Hall Of Fame coaches over the years. That club just got a little more crowded.
Previous Cavalier coaches to get a hall call include George Welsh, Debbie Ryan, Dom Starsia, and Bruce Arena. The College Football Hall Of Fame inducted Welsh in 2004, while Starsia and Ryan earned recognition in 2008 from the Women’s Basketball Hall Of Fame and the National Lacrosse Hall Of Fame respectively. Arena received his honor from the National Soccer Hall Of Fame in 2010. Each of those coaches have a clear legacy at UVA plus they led the way to lots and lots of wins.
The same can be said of current Virginia baseball coach Brian O’Connor, who led his program to its sixth College World Series appearance this season and the Hoos won the 2015 National Championship. Five O’Connor teams have claimed 50 or more victories in the last 14 years and he surpassed the 800-win mark in March of this year.
The American Baseball Coaches Association announced Wednesday that O’Connor would be inducted into its Hall Of Fame. The 10-member class will be officially welcomed at the 2024 ABCA Hall Of Fame Banquet on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. The ABCA Hall Of Fame began in 1966 and includes more than 350 members.
“I’m incredibly humbled by such a prestigious honor,” O’Connor said in a news release. “To enjoy the sustained success that we have had at the University of Virginia, it starts with great players. I’ve been fortunate enough to have not only great players, but tremendously loyal and dedicated assistant coaches. I can’t thank our former players, our past and present coaches enough. They all have been so integral in the success of this baseball program and I share this honor with every one of them.”
Sabre fans posted the following about O’Connor and his hall call (share your own in the thread here):
- hoorulestheacc: “Legend.”
- corky: “None more worthy.”
- TimoniumHoo: “Excellent. Well deserved.”
Meanwhile, a couple of threads on the football message board mentioned Welsh this week. The long-time coach won 134 games at Virginia and 189 total games when pulling in his years at Navy. When he retired, he was the ACC’s all-time winningest coach. Fans have not forgotten. This thread discussed some of Welsh’s accomplishments with Brother Griswold posting “He was an unbelievably good coach. RIP.” as part of the conversation.
Another thread that brought up Welsh was more on the humorous side as poster stubbyhoo found an old poster that appeared in The Cavalier Daily from the first night game at Scott Stadium. Check it out and read the thread here.
It’s time for the other photos for the week. Go Hoos!
Fan(s) Of The Week
Speaking of legends …
Student Fan(s) Of The Week
Go Hoos!
Feature Photo Of The Week
Virginia lacrosse star Payton Cormier, who has 159 career goals at UVA, announced he is returning for a final year with the Hoos.
