Jay Woolfolk leaving Virginia football team to concentrate on baseball

Virginia’s two-sport athlete has picked his future. On Thursday, Cavaliers relief pitcher and quarterback Jay Woolfolk announced he’ll step away from the football team to concentrate on baseball. “I wish the very best to the football program and my teammates,” Woolfolk said in a statement. “You could not ask to be part of a better group of individuals. I’ll always be their biggest supporter.” This past spring, the right-hander was excellent for the Hoos on the mound, logging a 2.91 ERA with nine saves and 38 strikeouts over 34 innings. He parlayed his strong campaign into an opportunity over the last few weeks to pitch for Team USA’s Collegiate National Team and the hard-thrower, who can reach into the mid-to-upper 90s with his fastball, found more success against Chinese Taipei and Japan. Opposing hitters batted only .125 against him during the international competition. And this past February, D1Baseball ranked Woolfolk as the 50th best prospect for the 2024 MLB Draft. Virginia's Jay Woolfolk mimics a throw during the men's College World Series open practice in Omaha, Nebraska, last month. “It’s been a been a pleasure and an honor to work with Jay over the last year and a half from a football perspective,” Hoos football coach Tony Elliott said. “He’s an extremely talented young man with a skill set in both sports. At this point in his career, he believes he needs to make a decision long term and unfortunately for us, it’s not going to involve football. “I fully support and respect his decision. He desires to go chase that dream and play Major League Baseball, and I don’t fault him for it.” After this past fall, it was expected Woolfolk would compete for the starting quarterback job following the departure of ex-starter Brennan Armstrong, and Woolfolk juggled both spring practice with his baseball responsibilities in March and April but was limited during his sessions on the gridiron. Woolfolk could only make 40 throws during the football practices he participated in because he needed to be able to keep his arm healthy in order to pitch, giving way for Monmouth transfer signal-caller Tony Muskett to emerge as the favorite to win the top job just because he’d been around the team on a daily basis. However, this past spring, Elliott and offensive coordinator Des Kitchings said that no decision would be made until Woolfolk had a chance to fairly compete for the role. That will not happen now, though, given the decision Woolfolk made. “Coach Elliott has done so much for me starting with his first day on Grounds,” Woolfolk said. “His ways of teaching how, not only to be a player, but how to be a man, will always stick with me. It’s been an amazing year with him. I’ve reached a point where at this time it’s best for me to focus on my future in the sport of baseball.” Woolfolk, a Richmond native and product of Benedictine College Preparatory, saw his most extensive action as a football player during the 2021 season against No. 7 Notre Dame when he became the first true freshman quarterback to start a game at UVa since 1977. He threw for 245 yards and rushed for 104. This past fall, he was used some in a do-it-all role, lining up as a running back and receiver during games in the second half of the year.