Charlottesville, VA (cvillerightnow.com): The spring sports season is looking bright already on Grounds come the beginning of February.   Last week, Virginia Baseball was named as the third best squad in the country by Perfect Game USA.  Henry Godbout and Henry Ford were also named preseason all-Americans by PGUSA in advance of what look to be stellar seasons for the Wahoo Stars.  

As the preseason publications continue to release, both Baseball and Softball have received several accolades at the national level.    

Softball America ranked the Hoos just inside the Top 25 on Monday, coming in at #24.  Despite several stellar campaigns in recent years, this is the first time Joanna Hardin’s squad has been ranked in preseason polls.  Coach Hardin has lost little from her 2024 team that finished 34-20 and made the Knoxville regional title game, retaining much of its strength, including righthander Eden Bingham and shortstop Jade Hylton.  Bingham and Hilton were named by D1 Softball to their top 100 players in the nation list.  Bingham, who finished 16-8 last season while striking out 182, earned the #39 spot on the list.  Hylton, ranked at #53, hit .335 in 2024 with 14 homeruns and 41 rbi’s.   Virginia Softball opens their season at the Gamecock Invitational in South Carolina.  First pitch is Thursday February 6th at 6:00 PM. 

Meanwhile, UVA Baseball once again cracked the top three on a preseason poll, when D1 Baseball ranked the Hoos as the second-best team in the nation, behind only Texas A&M.  Like the Perfect Game poll, seven ACC teams made the list, including Florida State at #9, Duke at #11, and NC State at #13.    The Hoos open their season at the Puerto Rico Challenge in Ponce, Puerto Rico, against the Michigan Wolverines.  First pitch is at 1:00pm on February 14th.