Two more Blue Devils transfer to Virginia

By Jerry Ratcliffe

The influx of standout Duke players to Virginia’s program via the transfer portal, following Chris Pollard to Charlottesville, continued Thursday with two more Blue Devils joining the Cavaliers.

Virginia landed star outfielder A.J. Gracia, an outstanding slugger along with two-way talent Kyle Johnson, a standout pitcher for Duke. Both are coming off stellar sophomore campaigns for the Devils. Those announcements came on the heels of UVA flipping Duke high school commitment Jayden Stroman on Wednesday (see related story). Stroman is the younger brother of New York Yankees pitcher Marcus Stroman.

Gracia was a second-team All-ACC performer this past season and is projected as a first-round pick in the 2026 Major League Baseball Draft. Gracia belted 15 home runs and posted 54 RBI in ‘25.

Johnson, a 6-foot-1, southpaw pitcher, was 4-4 last season in 19 appearances and had a 7.19 ERA, 41.1 innings pitched with 26 walks and 43 strikeouts. Johnson blossomed during Duke’s appearance in the NCAA Tournament, which came up one game shy of qualifying for Omaha.