2025 Hokies Baseball Season Preview

Over the past six seasons with head coach John Szefc leading the program, the Hokies have built a bit of a reputation around college baseball: they have an explosive offensive game, run with speed on the base paths, and celebrate with an infectious exuberance. But over the past few seasons, they’ve gained another reputation: faltering down the stretch. The Hokies are 10-16 in the month of May over the past two seasons, which has forced them to the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble in both years. If the program is to take the next step, they’ll have to learn to finish strong.

For Virginia Tech, the last two seasons felt like chasing the magic of the 2022 team, who hosted a Super Regional and were a game away from a trip to Omaha. Added pressure, maybe? It’s fair to point out that what felt like a “lightning in a bottle” roster was actually a pretty stacked lineup of guys who will be getting their first shots at the big leagues this season and a pitching staff that had the tools necessary to work around any lineup they faced. The first part, the stacked lineup, the Hokies have had. Tech finished 10th and 12th nationally, respectively, in OPS in 2023-24. The issue? The team ERA has severely risen. In 2022, the Hokies had a very solid team ERA of 4.41, good for 42nd nationally (keep in mind, there are over 300 D1 programs). The last two seasons have seen ERA’s of 5.71 and 5.48, good for 122nd and 94th, respectively. That won’t get it done.

Good news: Szefc feels much better about the 2025 rotation.

If the Hokies can remain consistent offensively and show some marked improvement on the mound, this team can finish in the top half of the ACC and make the NCAA Tournament.

Brett Renfrow is the staff ace as he pitched well beyond his years as a true freshman in 2024. Renfrow threw 78 strikeouts over 75 innings last season with an ERA of 4.94. There’s room for improvement, however, and Renfrow seems to have made the jump this offseason. His fastball is sitting comfortably above 95mph, and his mid-80’s breaking ball has shown improved location. The key pitch for Renfrow will be his changeup, which helped him force ground ball outs in the first half of last season but saw a slight decline in effectiveness down the stretch. Renfrow was 3rd Team All-ACC last season as well as being on the Freshman All-ACC team. He has the upside to be a first team All-ACC arm, and the Hokies will need it.

Madden Clement, Grant Manning, and a cast of younger arms will round out the starting rotation for the Hokies. Manning brings some great experience to the bunch, while Clement is a true sophomore along with Renfrow. Both Clement and Manning had really nice outings last season, but both struggled with walks at times. Szefc is big on not giving up free bases, so both will need to find the zone if they are to stay in those roles all season. 

The Hokies will have a deeper, more experienced bullpen in 2025 with the addition of McNeese State transfer Cameron LeJeune. LeJeune is a physically imposing pitcher who will occupy the late inning/closer role. Alongside him will be another transfer, Brendan Yagesh from Mount St. Mary’s. Yagesh has experience as both a starter and a reliever, and he was very impressive at the Mount with a 3.69 ERA in 15 appearances. They’ll combine with returnees Andrew Sentillinger, Jacob Exum, and Preston Crowl for a bulk of the innings.

A name to keep an eye on from the freshman class will be Jake Marciano. The lefty from New Jersey was ranked the #20 player in the state by Perfect Game and showed some real increased velocity over the past season. He’s part of a 2024 recruiting class that finished 26th in the nation, one of the best classes ever to come to Blacksburg.

On the whole, the pitching staff is deeper and more experienced than in 2023 and 2024. Finding succinct roles for players has been a challenge for this coaching staff, however, so some tough decisions will need to be made early in the season. Last year, the Hokies finished 7th in the ACC in opponent batting average in ACC games. I’d expect some slight improvement in 2025, with better results in the non-conference games from some exciting young arms.

The departure of Carson DeMartini is by far the biggest loss to the team, but the Hokies feel like they can replace his production both in the field and in the batter’s box with added depth. At DeMartini’s old post at third base, North Greenville transfer (by way of Clemson) David Lewis looks to add experience and power. Lewis hit 24 homers last year at North Greenville with an impressive 1.329 OPS. At short stop, returning starter Clay Grady remains a promising young player for the Hokies. Grady hit for a .333 average last season and was impressive in the field. What he lacks in power at the plate, he makes up for being one of the best base runners in the program. At second base is another transfer, Jared Davis. Davis played at JUCO Florida SouthWestern last season, where he stole a crazy 37 bases. The Hokies need some extra gas on the base paths with a less powerful lineup than in previous years, so Davis may be an X-factor as the season progresses. Alongside Davis, Ethan Gibson is another promising young infielder who could see starting action. He’s shown vast improvement over the past year he’s been a college ballplayer.

The real offseason victory for the Hokies may not be in a player they brought in but a guy they brought back. Garrett Michel was off to a scorching start last season, hitting .400 through 9 games, but a freak injury to his arm that required surgery ended his season. It’s not just a blimp of elite play, though. As a freshman, Michel hit .339 with 11 homers in the 51 games he started. Getting a healthy Garrett Michel could be the catalyst to a special season in Blacksburg if all the pieces fall into place.

The biggest question for this Hokies team may be in how they replace the steady production of Chris Cannizarro and Eddie Micheletti, Jr. in the outfield. Sam Tackett returns, and he’ll move to his more natural spot in either right field. Tackett is more of a defensive specialist, but it’s not uncommon for players to make a big leap at the plate late in their career. Joining him in the outfield grass (or turf, in Virginia Tech’s case) will be a slew of transfers. From 20 minutes down I-81, Radford transfer Cam Pittman is an experienced player who is a career .300+ batter with good speed. Mercer transfer Jackson Cherry is more of a power bat and could give the Hokies a left-handed heavy lineup to utilize vs certain righty pitchers. At center, Ole Miss (and formerly Mercer) transfer Treyson Hughes could be another X-factor if he puts it all together. Hughes was unable to match his exuberant first two seasons at Mercer while he was playing in the SEC, but his defense continued to be very strong. 

Ben Watson is the guy that might still surprise many around the country, even after he led the ACC in hitting with a video game like .417 average last season. The graduate student has a knack for hitting to all parts of the field, making him a really difficult matchup for any pitcher. If Watson even touches his 2024 production, the Hokies should feel good about their chances to score a lot of runs this season. The key will be finding some consistency in the middle of the order once Watson finds his way on base. Watson isn’t much of a power hitter, so the Hokies will need to implement some level of small ball to get the job done.

The Hokies certainly have some proven talent in the outfield, but getting everyone to put it all together this season will be a challenge. Don’t be surprised if the Hokies shuffle things around early in the season. It’s also important to note how difficult it can be to track the ball at English Field, a ballpark where the wind can play a pretty significant factor, especially in left-center. The Hokies will have to strike the right balance of offensive production and defensive reliability to be successful in 2025.

This is where things get tricky for the Hokies. You could say this is a top five hardest schedule in the country, and few would disagree. The Hokies will play a weekend series against six of the preseason top 15 in the nation. That doesn’t include perennially talented programs like Louisville and Georgia Tech. 

But the hand strikes and gives a flower. This schedule gives the Hokies ample opportunities for resume building wins and very few spots for bad losses. Also, the Hokies have an easier end to the season than they have in recent years. JMU, Pitt, Liberty, Mercer, and Marshall are all matchups that the Hokies should feel good about winning. That’s an eight game stretch where the Hokies have a chance to stack up some wins before the season finale against arch-rival and national title contenders, Virginia. 

Since the schedule is so brutal, not many are predicting the Hokies to hear their name called on Selection Sunday. Then again, they weren’t the preseason favorites in 2022 either when they finished top eight in the nation. The Hokies were picked 12th by the media in the ACC, but truth be told, you could pick teams out of a hat for slots 5-13 in the conference. There’s talent everywhere, and the ACC rarely plays out as planned. 

The Hokies have been on the wrong side of the bubble the past two seasons, mostly due to faltering down the stretch. Even though this roster doesn’t have the star power of years past, there’s more quality depth in the infield and pitching rotation to help protect against those late season collapses. There’s a lot of talk about the strength of the ACC, and with good reason. The conference has ten (10?!) 1st Team Preseason All-Americans and over half the preseason top 15 teams in the nation. But the schedule is always tough for the Hokies, and it gives them a lot of opportunities to build a resume. 

The key for getting in the tournament as an ACC team remains pretty simple: win 80% of your non-conference games and 50% of your ACC games. With this schedule, I think the Hokies could even finish a game below .500 and get in with the right combination of wins and losses. Considering the injuries this program has faced the last few seasons and the depth they’ve added in the offseason, a 15-15 ACC record is not a far fetched dream.

I think the Hokies figure out the rotation early, get a few big ACC series wins, and find their way on the right side of the NCAA tournament bubble. After that, who knows what can happen? The road to Omaha has to start somewhere, right?