Constantly consistent, Lucas Hartman has become Virginia’s mustached matador

“It’s time.”

The Virginia baseball social media team posts a simple picture with a simple catchphrase. It is a sort of Bat-Signal for graduate pitcher Lucas Hartman, right fist raised and facial expression exuding a collected confidence.

The grizzly mustached pitcher takes the mound, checking in at 5-foot-10. The Cavaliers know what is likely about to happen, although their opponent might not.

Virginia’s bullpen star then proceeds to mow down opposing hitters through an arsenal of potent swing-and-miss pitches, paired with a well-controlled fastball. That’s Hartman’s bread and butter. He does it well.

He does it so well that Hartman is the only Division I player — let alone relief pitcher — to be a semifinalist for both the National Pitcher of the Year Award and Stopper of the Year Award.

A cornerstone star, he boasts a 9-1 record with a high-quality 2.45 earned run average while also carrying a Stephen Schoch-esque charm of a calm, charismatic humor. Hartman has been called upon more often than any other Virginia pitcher.

“I like pitching, so whenever they want me to pitch, I mean, I'll do it,” Lucas Hartman said postgame after defeating Liberty April 22.

But this star was not born from the ACC or SEC ranks. In fact, Virginia is Hartman’s fifth team in five collegiate seasons — having played at Western Carolina, Florida Southwestern State, Florida Gulf Coast and Western Kentucky before landing in the ACC. Hartman knows he’s had a uniquely well-traveled college career. But regardless of how he got there, Hartman’s grit and determination eventually led him to national acclaim.

As a high school recruit from the state of Florida, he did not rank inside the top 500 recruits in the Class of 2021 according to Perfect Game. PG ranked him as the 368th-best right-handed pitcher that year. That ranking did not reflect one of Hartman’s best attributes — his grit, a factor which eventually caught the attention of Coach Chris Pollard and Recruiting Coordinator Derek Simmons at Virginia.

Someone familiar with that grit is Hartman’s father, Joel, who has been coaching for decades.

“[Lucas is] just a fierce competitor, ever since [he was] little, he's always wanted the ball right?” Joel Hartman said in an interview with The Cavalier Daily. “If someone had an opportunity to do something, he's like, ‘let me do it.’ So he always wanted to be that guy, and whether it was his team winning 10 to zero, or his team losing 10 to zero, he was always the same player, always the same competitor, and just wanted the ball, wanted a chance to go out there and perform.”

Limited national attention aside, Hartman was able to earn a spot at Western Carolina — a small program in the Southern Conference. But he was not ready for that level of competition yet. Hartman did make 15 appearances, but at 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds, the freshman Hartman was hit. Hard.

Hartman produced a paltry 14.09 ERA. He could not find success in one of the less-coveted conferences in Division I. So Hartman chose to move down a level in the transfer portal after his 2022 freshman season, leaving Division I baseball for a junior college — Florida Southwestern State.

Back in his native state of Florida, Hartman dominated the lower level of competition. In 21 appearances, he went 5-1 with a 1.19 ERA. He recorded more strikeouts than innings pitched.

“I trusted him in his thought process and what he was trying to do and where he was trying to go with his career,” Joel Hartman said. “I mean, if you look at the numbers coming from Western Carolina and then going to Florida Southwestern, it was a completely new player.”

During that year at a junior college, Hartman caught the attention of Division I baseball — including Schoch, a former Virginia pitcher and current college baseball influencer.

The Florida Southwestern stint was more than enough to vault Hartman back into Division I, where he spent the 2024 season at Florida Gulf Coast — still a lower-tier league in the Atlantic Sun Conference, but far superior to the junior college level. Hartman’s performance there was pedestrian, as he finished 2024 with a 5.72 ERA and a 6-4 record in 19 appearances. But he still demonstrated high-quality strikeout material, while mitigating walks and carrying a healthy workload of 50-plus innings.

Then Hartman moved up to his highest tier yet in 2025 — Conference USA, playing for Western Kentucky. Facing better hitters than ever before, Hartman delivered time and time again. He went 5-1 with a 2.70 ERA across 22 appearances. It would have been an admirable college encore.

But because he spent that 2023 season at the junior college level, Hartman had one more year of eligibility as a graduate student.

Hartman then became one of the best relief options in the transfer portal. In his final college season, he could move into one of the premier conferences in college baseball. Hartman chose Virginia.

“[The recruitment process] was pretty quick,” Hartman said. “It was towards the end of the summer, and Coach Simmons reached out to me. Had a couple couple weeks until the portal flows. So quick turnaround, quick decision. And I enjoyed my time here and my visit and the coaches.”

The Cavaliers are certainly glad he did.

Their star reliever has already recorded a career-high 28 appearances, often throwing several times each week. He has only gotten streaks of five-plus rest days thrice all season.

Hartman is prepared to handle a massive workload, though. With over four years of college pitching experience, he has become a steady presence to relieve the stable of underclassmen Cavaliers who often start on the mound.

“[The experience] definitely helps a lot,” Hartman said. “It helps me not get sped up, because sometimes I feel like a couple years ago, [I] would definitely be sped up, and it helps having that experience.”

That experience has helped Hartman cruise through the highs and lows of a grueling ACC campaign. The country has taken notice — Hartman earned PG second team Midseason All-American honors for his work. According to his father, though, Hartman has not made any drastic changes to his game. Instead, Joel Hartman says accolades are a reflection of teammates’ work and Hartman’s lengthy baseball background.

“[Lucas] was constantly hanging out with [former MLB players], playing for them in the summer or in travel ball and just learning and understanding,” Joel Hartman said. “Each level that he's progressed, from tee ball all the way to where he is now, he's constantly pushed himself. He's constantly expected himself to be the best that he can be. Never taken anything for granted.”

It would be easy to look ahead towards postseason aspirations, or perhaps national awards at the end of the regular season. But for Hartman, his attention is locked onto the immediate future.

“We're not focused on the next game,” Hartman said. “We're focused on the task at hand, and focused on ‘how do we get that win?’”

Hartman provides veteran focus for Virginia — as well as a silent killer instinct on the mound. After years of trusting his talent and keeping calm, he has become a game-wrecker. And the Cavaliers need one.

“I just think that he's been able to stick with what has got him here, and that's kind of what our mentality and philosophy has been his entire life,” Joel Hartman said. “That you got to keep doing what you're doing, and it's gotten you where you're at, and you can't change what you're doing and expect to get better results, right?”

Constantly consistent, Lucas Hartman has become Virginia’s mustached matador

He is called upon time and time again. He delivers, because he has been there before

Local Savings

Virginia bulldozes North Carolina for first ACC Tournament title since 2019

Virginia lacrosse’s ‘peaceful warrior’ emerges from the wings

U.Va. one of approximately 9,000 schools affected by cybersecurity breach on Canvas

University professors weigh in on birthright citizenship

No. 5 seed Virginia hosting Georgetown in NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament opener