The 2016 Hokies had what could best be described as a subpar season. Though they ended the season with one game over .500 for non-conference games (13-12), the Hokies didn’t find any sort of traction against other ACC opponents. The ACC is a premium league with very highly ranked programs, and competing with them has been difficult. Tech only managed six wins in the 30 total ACC games for the 2016 season. Competing in ACC Baseball is as difficult as competing in ACC Basketball.

The Hokies have started a serious program rebuild which includes major upgrades to the baseball venue (calling old English Field a stadium was a stretch). AD Whit Babcock has signed up Union Bank to sponsor the new ballpark upgrades that will make Virginia Tech a more attractive landing spot for high school baseball players looking to play in a premium college league. English Field at Union Park is going to be a serious facility for a program that is finally taking itself seriously.

The roster is a mixture of underclassmen with a few Redshirt Seniors and Seniors whose names we have seen in past games. Everyone will remember Junior Joe Freiday, Jr. behind the dish, but he’s backed by two true Freshmen Marcus White and Andrew Webb. This means two young players will really be expected to step up. The infield sees a return of Matt Dauby, Ryan Tufts, and Sam Fragale. Redshirt Sophomore Jack Owens will undoubtedly get some playing time. Steve Mangrum will play a utility role between the Outfield and Infield this season. Garret Hudson and Grant Maiorana round out the utility infield/outfield list with Maiorana occupying the only experienced backup catcher role.

2017 Hokie Infield

2017 Hokie Catchers

2017 Hokie Utility Players

Rahiem Cooper, Mac Caples, Nick Anderson, and Tom Stoffel all return to an outfield rotation this season. Each received quite a bit of playing time last season with Anderson and Stoffel showing up regularly. It will be interesting to see how Coach Mason uses them this season. Anderson and Stoffel have been team leaders, with Cooper and Caples right behind in their final seasons with Hokie baseball.

2017 Hokie Outfield

The pitching staff returns quite a few experienced players. Kit Sheetz and Packy Naughton both look to improve their starting pitcher records. Joey Sullivan, Connor Coward, Chris Monaco, Paul Hall, Jr., Nic Enright, and Cole Kragel all return to some part of either the rotation or the bull pen. We will see how the starting rotation starts out this season as the first pitch crosses the plate later today.

2017 Hokie Pitching Staff

We will be highlighting some players as the season progresses. The first pitch is at 4:00 pm today against the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg, SC. We haven’t played them since 2011, and it’s a three game weekend series. We will update everyone with the information that we have available.

GO HOKIES!!!