2024 Virginia Tech Hokies Baseball Preview (2-2-24)

By: Joey Raymond

All Photo Credit: Katie Lovell-LMS Network

Coming into the 2024 season, Virginia Tech baseball has a lot of question marks. While the stadium does have a new surface and other new toys for the teams to grow and develop the questions surrounding this team loom large. The Virginia Tech Hokies are coming off their best two-year stretch since the team joined the ACC. Two years ago the Hokies went as far as to be able to have the luxury of hosting a super regional but last year? Things kind of fell apart by the end of the year. The Hokies lost a ton of players to the injury bug and ended up falling short in the ACC tournament. So that begs the question, can the “hammering Hokies” get back to their winning ways and be as good as the team from two years ago?

The Hokies are returning six of their eight starting position players from last season but on media day head coach John Szefc made it very clear that no starting spot is safe. Between the talented freshman and transfers that this program brought in this past offseason, the Hokies could look very interesting come opening day. A recurring theme throughout media day was that the team feels that they have more depth on all sides of the ball this year. However, there is a big emphasis on the team’s pitching depth. The Hokies are going to rely on that depth to make a run at Omaha. Every single player on the roster wants to get past the Super Regional and make it to the College World Series.

The Hokies have a lot of promise this year and could make it far if the team stays healthy. They’ll have to overcome several challenges, as every team does throughout the long grueling season that is baseball season. This year the pitchers and batters will also have the pitch clock to handle, which has proven to speed up games in minor league baseball. With the lofty expectations, it’ll be interesting to see what this team is truly capable of. They’ve already been selected to play on a national stage four times this season which will add to the pressure throughout the season. More exposure is a good thing on the recruiting trail but also opens a team up to more criticism. They have the talent to go far this year and the comradery of the team is visible. I think between the veteran leadership of guys like Carson DeMartini and Brady Kritner leading this group, along with the several talented freshmen this team holds its destiny in its hands.