On Tuesday, September 29, Francis Conners-Schmid announced his commitment to the Virginia Cavaliers. He became the highest-ranked recruit in Virginia's 2028 recruiting class after making the announcement on his social media accounts.

Conners-Schmid is ranked 21st in the 2028 high school class according to Perfect Game. He currently plays baseball for Salisbury High School in East Chatham, New York.

In his sophomore season, Conners-Schmid had a .500 batting average and a .554 on-base percentage in 17 games. He also finished the high school baseball season with a 1.375 OPS, eight extra-base hits, and seven stolen bases.

The outfielder, who is also a southpaw, showed off his pitching ability during his sophomore season as well. In 13 innings, he had 23 strikeouts while allowing no earned runs.

Virginia is building up strong future recruiting classes

Conners-Schmid is part of a strong foundation the Virginia Cavaliers are building within high school recruiting.

The New York native is part of a 2028 recruiting class for Virginia that ranks 12th in the country. The Cavaliers also have a strong 2027 recruiting class that ranks 14th in the country.

Virginia head coach Chris Pollard is making sure elite players roll into Charlottesville as he enters his second season with the team. The incoming freshmen for Virginia were part of a top-ten recruiting class during the 2026 cycle that ranked 8th overall.

Virginia 2026 season results

During Pollard's first season as the head coach, the Virginia Cavaliers finished with a 37-23 overall record and a 14-16 record in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play.

The Cavaliers got back to the NCAA Tournament after missing out on postseason action in 2025. They played in the Hattiesburg Regional and won a thrilling extra-innings game against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.

For more NCAA news: https://worldbaseball.com/news/category/ncaa