Gracia named a preseason All-American for UVA baseball

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – AJ Gracia ended last season as the best player in college baseball, according to his coach.

Now, the Virginia center fielder is going into this year with similar hype.

Gracia was named a preseason first-team All-American by D1Baseball this week.

“From a mentality standpoint, he’s the most consistent human being that I’ve ever been around,” said new UVA coach Chris Pollard, who brought Gracia with him to UVA this offseason. “He was able to overcome a slow start last year and be, what I think was the best positional player in college baseball over the second half of the season.”

Gracia is one of five ACC players named to the first-team, joined by Florida State first baseman Myles Bailey, Miami third baseman Daniel Cuvet, Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress and Clemson starting pitcher Aidan Knaak.

Arkansas catcher Ryder Helfrick, Auburn second baseman Christopher Rembert, UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky, LSU outfielder Derek Curiel, Kansas designated hitter Brady Ballinger and Florida Gulf Coast utility player Evan Dempsey rounded out the first team.

The ACC also placed six players on the second team and six on the third team.

Gracia hit 12 of his 15 home runs in the Blue Devils’ final 20 games, a surge that helped Duke finish one victory shy of a spot in the College World Series in Omaha.

“I’m a pretty process-oriented person,” Gracia said. “The struggle I had last year, I think that’s something that really helped me get through that. And also pouring into teammates. I think that was definitely something that helped me a lot. A lot of times when you focus your energy on other people, that you kind of get out of your own head.”

Despite the slow start last season, he hit .293 and a drew a program-record 57 walks.

Now, he’s slated to be the centerpiece in a powerful and disciplined Virginia lineup. And the expectations are, he’ll produce in a big way again.