2021 VCU Rams baseball team

The 2021 VCU Rams baseball team represented Virginia Commonwealth University during the 2021 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Rams played their home games at The Diamond as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They were led by head coach Shawn Stiffler, in his 9th season at VCU.

2021 VCU Rams baseball
Atlantic 10 regular season champion
Atlantic 10 Southern Division champion
Atlantic 10 tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Starkville Regional
ConferenceAtlantic 10 Conference
CBNo. 27
Record38–16 (13–3 A-10)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Mike McRae (4th season)
  • Rich Witten (4th season)
  • Josh Tutwiler (6th season)
Home stadiumThe Diamond
Seasons
← 2020
2022 →
2021 Atlantic 10 Conference baseball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT
North
Rhode Island  x‍‍‍ 14 6 0   .700 28 26 1   .518
Saint Joseph's  ‍‍‍ 15 9 0   .625 21 19 0   .525
La Salle  ‍‍‍ 15 9 0   .625 32 21 0   .604
Fordham  ‍‍‍ 11 9 0   .550 24 19 0   .558
St. Bonaventure  ‍‍‍ 6 14 0   .300 7 24 0   .226
UMass  ‍‍‍ 3 16 0   .158 13 29 0   .310
South
VCU  x‍‍y 13 3 0   .813 38 16 0   .704
Dayton  ‍‍‍ 12 4 0   .750 25 27 0   .481
George Washington  ‍‍‍ 14 10 0   .583 26 19 0   .578
Davidson  ‍‍‍ 11 13 0   .458 27 24 0   .529
Saint Louis  ‍‍‍ 6 10 0   .375 17 31 0   .354
Richmond  ‍‍‍ 5 11 0   .313 19 17 0   .528
George Mason  ‍‍‍ 7 17 0   .292 14 29 0   .326
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of June 5, 2021[1]
Rankings from D1Baseball

VCU qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2015, and received their highest seeding (2) since 2001. They were eliminated in the Regional, with a final record of 38–16, including a program record 22-game win streak.

Previous season

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The 2020 VCU Rams baseball team notched a 9–8 (0–0) regular season record. The season prematurely ended on March 12, 2020, due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.

Player movement

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Departures

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VCU Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Michael Dailey 30 RHP 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 170 RS-Sr. Troy, Virginia Graduated
Paul Witt 2 INF 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 170 Sr. Harpers Ferry, West Virginia Graduated
Brett Willett 3 INF 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 Sr. Middletown, Delaware Graduated


Transfers

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Incoming Transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Greg Ryan 13 INF 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 200 So. Bensley, Virginia Pitt

Signing Day Recruits

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The following players signed National Letter of Intents to play for VCU in 2021.[2]

Player Hometown Previous Team
Pitchers
Tyler Davis Yorktown, Virginia Menchville HS
Campbell Ellis Georgetown, Ontario Christ the King SS
Trent Goodman Ashland, Virginia Homeschooled
Braedin Hunt Old Bridge, New Jersey Christian Brothers Academy
Justin Humenay Beaconsfield, Quebec Taft School
Hitters
Griffin Boone Montclair, Virginia Forest Park HS
Tyler Coy Williamsville, New York Canisius HS
Jared Glinski Lynchburg, Virginia Brookville HS
Connor Hujsak Goffstown, New Hampshire Goffstown HS

Preseason

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Coaches Poll

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The Atlantic 10 baseball coaches' poll was released on February 18, 2021. VCU was picked to win the Atlantic 10 regular season championship.[3]

Coaches' Poll
Predicted finish Team Points
1 VCU 151 (4)
2 Fordham 149 (4)
3 Dayton 146 (4)
4 Davidson 117
5 Saint Louis 114 (1)
6 Richmond 109
7 Rhode Island 103
8 George Washington 74
9 Saint Joseph's 71
10 George Mason 46
11 La Salle 40
12 St. Bonaventure 32
13 UMass 31

Personnel

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Roster

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2021 VCU Rams baseball roster[4]
 

Pitchers

  • 9 Nick Evangelista - Junior
  • 10 Edwin Serrano - Junior
  • 18 Justin Sorokowski -   Junior
  • 19 Jack Schroeder - Junior
  • 20 Jaden Griffin - Sophomore
  • 23 Devin Dunn - Junior
  • 24 Maddison Furman - Sophomore
  • 25 Jack Masloff - Freshman
  • 30 Michael Dailey - Senior
  • 33 Mason Delane - Freshman
  • 34 Bradford Webb - Graduate
  • 36 Andrew Ward - Freshman
  • 38 Danny Watson - Sophomore
  • 39 Evan Chenier - Sophomore
  • 41 Cameron Goble - Freshman
  • 43 Caleb Plummer - Sophomore
  • 45 Tyler Davis - Freshman
  • 46 Campbell Ellis - Freshman
  • 50 Justin Humenay - Freshman
  • 55 Braedin Hunt - Freshman
 

Catchers

  • 15 - Hunter Vay - Junior
  • 17 - Josh Simon - Senior
  • 21 - Logan Amiss - Freshman
  • 31 - Connor Hicks -   Freshman
  • 37 - Nic Ericsson - Freshman
  • 44 - Tyler Coy - Freshman

Infielders

  • 1 - Steven Carpenter - Senior
  • 2 - Michael Haydak - Sophomore
  • 3 - Connor Hujsak - Freshman
  • 4 - Aidan Healy - Freshman
  • 6 - Griffin Boone - Freshman
  • 13 - Greg Ryan - Sophomore
  • 16 - Liam Hibbits - Junior
  • 22 - Andrew Puglielli - Senior
  • 27 - Brett Young -   Freshman
  • 28 - Tyler Locklear - Freshman
  • 40 - Will Carlone - Freshman
 

Outfielders

  • 12 - Brandon Henson - Senior
  • 26 - Cooper Benzin -   Freshman
  • 32 - Devan Barnett - Freshman
  • 42 - Ryan Shavers - Sophomore

Utility

  • 8 - Hogan Brown - Junior
 

Coaching Staff

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2021 VCU Rams baseball coaching staff
Name Position Seasons at
VCU
Alma Mater
Shawn Stiffler Head Coach 9 George Mason University (2001)
Mike McRae Assistant Coach 4 Niagara University (1993)
Rich Witten Assistant Coach 4 Coastal Carolina University (2012)
Josh Tutwiler Assistant Coach 6 Old Dominion University (2012)

Game log

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Legend
  VCU win
  VCU loss
  Postponement/cancellation
(10) Extra innings
* Non-conference game
Bold VCU team member
Make-Up Game
2021 VCU Rams baseball game log (38–16)
Regular season (34–14)
Post-season (4–2)

*Denotes non–conference game • Schedule source • Rankings based on the teams' current ranking in the Collegiate Baseball poll • (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Tournaments

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Atlantic 10 Tournament

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Atlantic 10 Tournament Teams
(1) VCU Rams (2) Dayton Flyers (3) Rhode Island Rams (4) Saint Joseph's Hawks
Thursday, May 27 Friday, May 28 Saturday, May 29
          
1 VCU 15
4 St. Joseph's 4
1 VCU 10
Winner's bracket
3 Rhode Island 4
3 Rhode Island 8
2 Dayton 2
1 VCU 7
2 Dayton 6
4 St. Joseph's 5
2 Dayton 11
2 Dayton 3
Loser's bracket
3 Rhode Island 1

NCAA Starkville Regional

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Starkville Regional Teams
(1) Mississippi State Bulldogs (2) VCU Rams (3) Campbell Fighting Camels (4) Samford Bulldogs
First round Semi-Finals Finals
          
1 Mississippi State 8
4 Samford 4
1 Mississippi State 16
Winner's bracket
2 VCU 4
3 Campbell 4
2 VCU 19
1 Mississippi State 6
3 Campbell 5
4 Samford 13
3 Campbell 16
3 Campbell 19
Loser's bracket
2 VCU 10

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314151617Final
Coaches'[5]—*RVRVRVRVRVRVRV
Baseball America[6]
Collegiate Baseball^[7]RVRVRVRV282827RVRVRV
NCBWA[8]RVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV
D1Baseball[9]

^ Collegiate Baseball ranked 40 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranked 30 teams weekly during the season.
NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
* A new poll was not released for this week, so for comparison purposes, the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.

Awards and honors

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References

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  1. ^ "2021 Baseball Standings". atlantic10.com. Atlantic 10 Conference. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  2. ^ "VCU - Perfect Game Player College Commitments". perfectgame.org. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  3. ^ "Fordham Picked Second in Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll". fordhamsports.com. February 18, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  4. ^ "Official Baseball Roster". VCU Rams. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  5. ^ Baseball Coaches Poll
  6. ^ Baseball America College: Top 25
  7. ^ NCAA DIV I Baseball Polls-Collegiate Baseball Newspaper
  8. ^ NCBWA Division I poll
  9. ^ D1 Baseball
  10. ^ "Ulliana Named A-10 Baseball Player of the Week; Mikulski Earns Pitcher; Kopack Rookie Honors". Atlantic10.com. Atlantic 10 Conference. April 26, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  11. ^ "#A10BASE Weekly Awards Announced". Atlantic10.com. Atlantic 10 Conference. May 3, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  12. ^ "Locklear, Mikulski, Miller, Win Major A-10 Awards; 41 Players Selected for Baseball Honors". Atlantic10.com. Atlantic 10 Conference. May 26, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
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