Aaron Whitley was D-III football player. He's now UR's 'uber-talented' outfielder. (2024)

The University of Richmond led VCU 10-9 Thursday afternoon at Pitt Field, but the Spiders had pulled into shaky town after allowing almost all of a six-run advantage to evaporate.

A short fly into right-center during the eighth inning appeared as though it would further fuel VCU’s fire.

Aaron Whitley extinguished that. The UR center fielder sprinted diagonally and then went airborne, head-first, making the catch as he landed on the artificial surface. The Spiders won 12-10.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever coached a better center fielder in my life,” said first-year UR coach Mik Aoki, the former coach at Boston College, Notre Dame, Morehead State and Columbia. “It is absolutely elite, the ground he covers, the jumps that he gets.

“That play that he made (Thursday) was unbelievable. Very few center fielders in the country are making that play.”

Also Thursday, Whitley reached base twice and scored twice. Entering Friday’s VCU-at-UR doubleheader, Whitley had an on-base percentage of .497 and was batting .389, which ranked second in the A-10.

Nobody is saying Whitley will be a first-round MLB draft choice, as brother Garrett (also an outfielder) was in 2015, when Tampa Bay selected him 13th overall. But Whitley’s speed, defensive ability and on-base percentage as a Spider must capture some scouts’ attention.

“He’s an uber-talented player,” Aoki said. “He can really run. He’s got good bat-to-ball skills. I think he’s got a little power, sneaky power that people don’t anticipate ... As he goes, sort of our offense goes. He can go from first to home in the blink of an eye, it seems like.”

This is a 5-foot-11, 185-pound leadoff man who started his college career as a receiver. Not a catcher, but a football receiver, at Division III University of Rochester. Whitley, a graduate transfer from Niskayuna, New York, did not plan to play college baseball.

Whitley, who played both sports in high school, said during his freshman year as a football player at Rochester, he met the baseball coach.

“He kind of convinced me to join the team, and I just tried out and made it, and went from there,” Whitley said.

He played football and baseball at Rochester for two years, and then focused on baseball during his final two years at the school. In three full seasons at Rochester, Whitley batted .475, .347 and .377, with a 118-game on-base percentage of .493.

Garrett Whitley — injuries affected his seven-year pro career that topped out at Triple-A — assisted his younger brother’s baseball advancement.

“He’s really kind of meticulous with his hitting approach and his mechanics and everything like that, and I’m kind of the opposite end of it,” Whitley said.

“But if I need help with, say I wanted to work on driving the ball the opposite way, I can always talk with him, work with him, and he can help me out.

“Or, getting reads in the outfield, (he’ll) give me tips on that. Especially because he’s played at such a high level, he knows what he’s talking about, so he’s been an awesome resource.”

UR assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Nate Mulberg had connections with the Rochester staff. Whitley was invited to visit Richmond.

“Loved it,” said Whitley, a Rochester graduate who went from UR to UR. “And here I am.”

With Thursday’s win, the Spiders (24-28, 13-9 A-10) clinched a spot in the seven-team A-10 tournament, which will be held Tuesday through Saturday at Capital One Park in Tysons.

“That’s step one, right? Get to the postseason,” Aoki said.