Virginia Baseball: UVA Lands Commitment From All-Conference Pitcher

Jun 16, 2024; Omaha, NE, USA; The Virginia Cavaliers meet on the field after the loss against the Florida State Seminoles at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

Chris Pollard and Virginia Baseball have added another quality arm to their pitching staff. This afternoon, Western Kentucky transfer pitcher Lucas Hartman announced on social media that he was going to be taking his talents to Charlottesville and playing for new Virginia head coach Chris Pollard.

UVA lands a commitment from Western Kentucky transfer RHP Lucas Hartman.

Hartman earned First Team All-Conference USA honors last season and was on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List.

Grad transfer had a 2.70 ERA, striking out 62 in 53.1 innings. https://t.co/j71D77HDCO

— Preston Willett (@PrestonWillett) July 4, 2025

Last season for the Hilltoppers, Hartman was 5-1 with a 2.87 ERA in 53.1 IP. He held opponents to a .180 batting average, striking out 62 batters and walking 22. He will give the Cavaliers another quality arm for Pollard to use as Virginia looks to bounce back next season and make another run for Omaha.

Hartman's announcement is important because UVA has lost two quality arms to the portal in recent weeks.

One of them was pitcher Evan Blanco, and earlier this week, it was reported by Kendall Rogers at D1Baseball that Blanco was going to be transferring to Tennessee, one of the top baseball programs in the country and in the SEC.

NEW COMMIT: @Vol_Baseball has landed former Virginia LHP Evan Blanco. Blanco had and up and down 2025 campaign, but recorded 99 strikeouts two seasons ago for Virginia. Blanco is definitely amateur high upside guy for PC Frank Anderson.

Profile: https://t.co/yl63V2tzoS

Portal:… pic.twitter.com/ZIEwH6Or3u

— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) July 2, 2025

Blanco's most efficent season came in 2023 for the Cavaliers. In 24 appearances, Blanco was 1-0 in 23.2 IP with 26 strikeouts and 10 walks while allowing opposing hitters to bat .200. In 2024, Blanco pitched 99.1 innings and finished 8-3 with 99 strikeouts and 27 walks. This past season in Charlottesville, Blanco pitched 39 innings and was 3-5 with a 6.23 ERA. He will now get a chance to compete in the SEC and get the Volunteers to Omaha.

Recently, UVA pitcher Joe Colucci entered the transfer portal. Our own Alex Plonski broke down what that means for the UVA program:

"The 6-foot-5 sophomore, who opened eyes with a lively fastball in 2024 JUCO ball and arrived in Charlottesville as a potential high-leverage arm, will explore options with two seasons of eligibility — and the July MLB Draft — still in play.

Colucci’s debut ACC season never quite clicked. In 15 outings, the sophomore had a 0-3 record and a 9.17 ERA, striking out 17 and issuing seven walks over 17.6 innings. Yet beneath some rough statistics, there was promise. He logged scoreless late-inning relief against Dartmouth, Duke, VCU, and Towson. Colucci was a late-inning weapon waiting to be refined.

Pitching this month for the Bourne Braves, Colucci has posted a 2.61 ERA with no home runs allowed—a wood-bat turnaround that has mid-round draft chatter percolating among scouts stationed in Falmouth and Cotuit.

New head coach Chris Pollard, hired on June 18 after Brian O’Connor’s surprise departure, was counting on Colucci to push for seventh- or eighth-inning work in 2026. Instead, the Cavaliers have watched a string of arms walk out the door:

With Colucci gone, Pollard’s returning staff is anchored by veteran Jay Woolfolk and a handful of untested sophomores. Expect UVA to be aggressive in the second transfer-portal window as it tries to rebuild late-inning depth before fall practice."

Hartman is going to replace some of the quality that has gone in the transfer portal and the roster for Pollard's first season in Charlottesville is starting to take shape.