UVA catcher Kyle Teel named ACC Player of the Year

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - UVA junior catcher Kyle Teel has been named the ACC Player of the Year. He is the first Virginia player to win that award since Sean Doolittle in 2006 and only the third UVa player ever.

Virginia had four guys named First-Team All-ACC. Third baseman, Jake Gelof, outfielder, Ethan O’Donnell, shortstop Griff O’Ferrall and Kyle Teel.

First baseman, Ethan Anderson, LHP Connelly Early and RHP Brian Edgington were named Third Team All-ACC. The seven overall All-ACC selections were Virginia’s most since having eight in 2014.

Virginia is the 2-seed for the upcoming ACC Baseball Tournament in Durham, North Carolina. The ‘Hoos will face 11-seed Georgia Tech on Wednesday at 3pm and face 7-seed North Carolina Thursday at 3pm.

Virginia has one of the most potent offenses in the country, thanks in part to catcher Kyle Teel.

Teel leads the ACC with a .414 batting average, and is tied with two of his teammates for most hits and doubles. He has blasted the ball all season, got two home runs this past weekend (for a total of 11 this season), and has started every game this year.

Monday, May 22, Teel was named the ACC Player of the Year.

“It’s an honor,” Teel said. “I’m so excited. Just want to thank my teammates and coaches and family.”

Coach Brian O’Connor gave Teel the news right before practice.

“The season that Kyle Teel has had for us is so rare in this league. To do it in the position that he plays behind the plate is really special,” the coach said.

“I don’t know many people who can do what he does behind the plate. He’s a spectacular player,” Jake Gelof, third baseman, said. “It’s been awesome to watch him over the last three years or so.”

Teel and his teammates have won nine straight, and now are trying to win an ACC Championship for the first time in 12 years.

“It would mean everything. It would be awesome to win an ACC Championship, and that’s definitely the goal,” Teel said.

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