Indiana baseball's starting centerfielder for the past two seasons, redshirt junior Bobby Whalen, announced he is transferring to the University of Virginia Wednesday evening, per his social media. D1Baseball reported Whalen was in the transfer portal on July 5.
Whalen played at Indiana for three seasons, only appearing in eight games in 2021. He then started 121 games combined in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, collecting 140 hits in 500 at-bats (.280 batting average). Whalen's arm strength in center also improved between seasons.
Head coach Jeff Mercer cited Whalen as one of the team's vocal veterans in the clubhouse this past season. Whalen was the No. 16 recruit out of Pennsylvania, according to Perfect Game, which matched his uniform number at Indiana. In high school, Whalen helped raise $300,000 in support of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis research (ALS) in honor of his uncle.
[Related: ‘I'll do another rep because of him’: A bond that motivates Indiana baseball’s Bobby Whalen]
Virginia, Whalen's new destination, reached the 2023 Men's College World Series. The Cavaliers went 50-15 this past season and four of the program's players were selected in this year's MLB Draft. According to Whalen's tweet, next year will be his last college season.
