Virginia Baseball Player Profile: Duke Transfer Kyle Johnson

Originally posted on Virginia Cavaliers on SI
By Henry Pallatroni | Last updated Jun 19, 2025 4:28 PM ET

The race to build the 2025-2026 Virginia Baseball roster is in full swing with the announcement of former Duke Blue Devils Head Coach Chris Pollard as the new skipper for the Cavaliers. Thus far, all six transfers added to the Virginia roster are former Duke Players following Pollard to Charlottesville. Among those six transfers is Kyle Johnson, a two-way player with two years of eligibility remaining.

To keep it simple, Virginia fans should be more than excited to have Johnson's two-way talent on the roster. His freshman campaign at Duke in 2024 yielded an All-ACC freshman team and Freshman All-American nod after posting a 4-1 (49.1 IP) season on the mound and a .253 average as a hitter. Prior to the 2025 season, he was recognized on the preseason Golden Spikes watchlist.

The 6-1, 205 pound southpaw will surely serve as a key pitching piece for Pollard and Co. Across two seasons in Durham, Johnson turned in decent numbers as a starter; he finished 4-4 across 11 starts and 41 innings pitched last season, and 4-1 with nearly 50 innings of work in his 2024 season. He's struck out 96 batters across 90.2 career innings, while holding opponents to a .250 batting average. He posts a relatively high career era at 5.56, but will look to make a leap on the mound in his first season on the bump in Charlottesville.

His recent career-best performance in the regional round of the NCAA Tournament (5 IP, 3 H, 6 K) in a win against Georgia to send Duke to the super regional is hopefully a sign of things to come. Johnson has yet to have an elite year on the bump, but with big game experience and two years of ACC work under his belt, look for him to be a key factor for Virginia pitching next season.

Offensively, Johnson will likely have to earn his way into consistent at bats for the 'Hoos. He appeared in 44 games in the field (27 starts), and hit just .222 across those appearances, finishing with 12 hits, 3 HR, and 17 RBI. The offensive firepower is undeniable with 3 HR and 17 RBI via just 12 hits, but Johnson will need to improve offensively to make his mark as a true two-way player in Charlottesville. For context, the worst average among everyday players in the 2025 Cavalier lineup was .248 from 3B Luke Hanson. Johnson's freshman season at the plate was a better sign of his offensive prowess, when he hit .253 to go along with 3 HR and 11 RBIs.

Despite room for improvement, Johnson's already a strong two-way talent who's shown flashes of developing into an even greater threat on both sides of the ball. He followed up his strong regional pitching performance last month against Georgia with a 4 hit, 5-RBI game in the Durham Super Regional against Murray State. Much like Pollard, who grew up in Central Virginia, Johnson's transfer to UVA also represents a homecoming– there's a lot of upside around the two-way talent from Leesburg, Virginia.

This article first appeared on Virginia Cavaliers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: