University of Virginia-Main Campus Baseball

With less than a month left in the regular season, No. 10 Virginia (29-13, 12-9) has three ACC series remaining. The first is this weekend at Pitt (25-14, 7-11).

Brian Sakowski was named Director of Recruiting by Chris Pollard on June 14, 2025. Sakowski comes to UVA after spending two seasons with Pollard at Duke in the same role. Sakowski joined the Blue Devils staff in January of 2024 as the Director of Recruiting, Analytics and Player Development. Before joining the Duke staff, Sakowski spent the previous six years with Perfect Game as a National Crosschecker and National Scouting Supervisor. While with the Perfect Game staff, Sakowski coached with the Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep Academy in Orchard Lake, Mich. During his time as the varsity assistant coach, Orchard Lake won the 2019 and 2021 MHSAA State Championships and committed over 20-plus NCAA Division I recruits, as well as 30-plus overall players to colleges across the country. He received a degree in Political and Social Sciences from Central Michigan University in 2014.

John Natoli was named director of player development by Chris Pollard on June 14, 2025. Natoli comes to UVA after spending one season with Pollard at Duke as the director of baseball operations and pitching development. Natoli, a former right-hander for Duke in 2022, was a part of the 2024 squad’s run to the program’s second ACC Tournament championship. At Duke, the Fairfield, Conn., native assisted with coordinating all on-campus recruiting visits, serves as the Duke Baseball Camp Director and managed all day-to-day duties of the baseball program. His role in Durham included the handling of team travel, meals and the daily operation of all baseball technology. Following his time as a player for Duke, Natoli spent a year and a half with the Glacier Range Riders of the Pioneer League. With the Riders, Natoli posted a 4-0 record, tallied three saves and struck out 50 batters in 42 appearances across two seasons. Before he arrived in Durham, Natoli enjoyed a four-year career at Cornell where he was named a unanimous selection as the lone relief pitcher on the All-Ivy League First Team in 2019. He posted a 5-2 record with a team-best 1.72 ERA. He held opponents to a .178 batting average and allowed just two of his 18 inherited runners to score.

2025 Went 1-0 with a 4.25 ERA in 25 appearances out of the bullpen. Struck out 27 batters in 31.1 innings pitched against 19 walks. Ranked 15th in the ACC with 25 relief appearances. Made his Virginia debut against Oregon State (2/21). Fanned a season-high three batters against Oregon State (2/21), Liberty (4/15) and Georgia Tech (4/25). Threw a season-long three innings against Liberty (4/15). PRIOR TO VIRGINIA (UNIVERSITY OF LYNCHBURG) 2024 Help lead Lynchburg to a DIII National Championship appearance Went 10-2 with a 3.86 ERA in 16 starts Struck out 103 batters in 100.1 innings of work Ranked ninth nationally with 103 strikeouts in DIII Ranked sixth nationally in wins with 10 in DIII Threw three complete games in the postseason, including a no-hitter against Randolph-Macon (5/9) in the ODAC Tournament Struck out a career-high 13 batters against Averett (4/13) 2024 Academic All-District Member 2023 Member of the 2024 Lynchburg DIII National Championship team Went 7-2 with a 3.95 ERA in 17 appearances and 13 starts Struck out 83 batters in 79.2 innings of work Lone save of the season came in the National Championship Game against Johns Hopkins Fanned a season-high 11 batters against Eastern Mennonite (4/2) Tossed a complete game against East Texas Baptist (6/5) 2023 Academic All-District 2022 Went 3-2 with a 4.50 ERA in nine appearances and eight starts Struck out 30 batters in 36 innings of work Fanned a season-high six batters on three occasions (Most recent: William Peac