Highlight Hoos 2021-2022: Jake Gelof | UVA Baseball

Recapping the sensational sophomore campaign of Jake Gelof, who broke the UVA single-season RBI record

Author:
Matt Newton
Publish date:
Jul 27, 2022 11:10 AM EDT

Jake Gelof, Virginia Cavaliers baseball third baseman — Jake Gelof broke the UVA single-season RBI record in 2022.
Courtesy of Olivia Taylor/Virginia Athletics

With the 2021-2022 Virginia athletics season officially completed, we enter the college sports offseason optimistic for things to come for the Cavaliers next season. But with the fall seasons still a month away, we have time to take a look back at some of the incredible athletic accomplishments achieved by UVA student athletes during the 2021-2022 sports year in a series called Highlight Hoos.

So far, we've covered Diana Ordóñez (Virginia women's soccer), Mia Barnett (Virginia cross country and track & field), Leo Afonso (Virginia men's soccer), Brooklyn Borum (Virginia volleyball), Amber Ezechiels (Virginia field hockey), Alex Walsh and Kate Douglass (Virginia swimming), Dontayvion Wicks (Virginia football), Jay Aiello (Virginia wrestling), Jayden Gardner (Virginia men's basketball), Rachel Clark (Virginia women's lacrosse), Matt Moore (Virginia men's lacrosse), and Leah Boggs (Virginia softball).

Today, we recap the sensational sophomore campaign of Jake Gelof, who put together one of the most prolific hitting seasons in the history of the Virginia baseball program.

Gelof was the most feared batter in the UVA lineup this season, which is significant considering that the Cavaliers boasted one of the most dangerous top-to-bottom batting orders in all of college baseball. That blistering offense, led by Gelof in the cleanup spot, powered Virginia to a 22-1 start, the best start to a season in program history.

In the most dazzling display of Virginia's firepower, the Cavaliers swept a late-February series against Cornell and outscored the Big Red 60-12 over the three games. In game 3, a 19-1 win for UVA, Jake Gelof became the first Cavalier to hit for the cycle since Hunter Wyant accomplished the feat in 2001. D1Baseball.com and Perfect Game named Gelof as the Midseason Player of the Year.

Gelof's season-long batting statistics simply jump off the page. In 58 games played and 212 total at-bats, Gelof amassed 80 hits, 65 runs, 15 doubles, 2 triples, 21 home runs, 81 RBI, 41 walks and 162 total bases. He registered a .377 batting average, a .477 on-base percentage, and a .764 slugging percentage.

Gelof led the Cavaliers in batting average, runs, home runs, RBI, slugging, on-base percentage, and total bases. He was tied for first in walks and was second on the team in hits, trailing only Alex Tappen (83). Gelof was sixth in the country in RBI and fourth in average RBI with 1.40 runs batted in per game. His .377 batting average was second-best in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Gelof's 2022 season is now etched in the Virginia baseball all-time record books in several hitting categories. In UVA's final game of the season, Gelof broke the program's single-season record for most RBI. He recorded five RBI on two home runs, which were also UVA single-game NCAA Tournament records, giving Gelof 81 RBI for the season, surpassing Pavin Smith's mark of 77 RBI in the 2017 season.

Gelof's 21 home runs were the second-most all-time at Virginia, falling just one short of Brian Buchanan's record of 22 homers. His .764 slugging percentage is third-highest all-time. He had the fifth-most runs in program history with 65 and his 162 total bases are fourth-most in a single-season at Virginia.

Naturally, Gelof racked up the accolades for his record-breaking season. He was a semifinalist for both the Golden Spikes Award (best amateur baseball player) and the Dick Howser Trophy (national college baseball player of the year). The American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings and Perfect Game selected Gelof as a Second-Team All-American and he was voted a Third-Team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, Baseball America, and D1Baseball.com. Gelof was also selected to the All-ACC First Team and the Greenville All-Regional Team.

The best part? He's not going anywhere yet. UVA fans can see Jake Gelof suit up for Virginia again and watch him hit many more home runs at Disharoon Park next spring as he returns for his junior season.

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