2023 VCU Rams baseball team

The 2023 VCU Rams baseball team represented Virginia Commonwealth University during the 2023 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 Bradley LeCroy, in his first season with the program.

2023 VCU Rams baseball
ConferenceAtlantic 10 Conference
Record25–30 (11–13 A-10)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Andrew Cox (1st season)
  • Tanner Gordon (1st season)
  • Andrew Llewellyn (3rd season)
Home stadiumThe Diamond
Seasons
← 2022
2024 →
2023 Atlantic 10 Conference baseball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT
Saint Joseph's ‍‍‍ 17 7 0   .708 28 24 1   .538
Davidson  ‍‍‍ 15 8 0   .652 30 24 0   .556
Saint Louis  ‍‍‍ 15 9 0   .625 33 23 0   .589
Dayton  ‍‍‍ 15 9 0   .625 26 34 0   .433
Richmond  ‍‍‍ 14 9 0   .609 27 28 0   .491
George Mason ‍‍y 13 10 0   .565 36 27 0   .571
Rhode Island  ‍‍‍ 13 11 0   .542 23 29 0   .442
George Washington  ‍‍‍ 11 12 0   .478 21 34 0   .382
VCU  ‍‍‍ 11 13 0   .458 25 30 0   .455
Fordham  ‍‍‍ 7 17 0   .292 19 36 0   .345
UMass  ‍‍‍ 6 18 0   .250 14 35 0   .286
St. Bonaventure  ‍‍‍ 5 19 0   .208 8 40 0   .167
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of June 25, 2023[1]
Rankings from D1Baseball

The Rams finished the season with a 25–30 record.

Previous season

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The 2022 VCU Rams baseball team notched a 42–20 (19–5) regular season record. VCU successfully defended their tournament championship, winning the 2022 Atlantic 10 Conference baseball tournament over Richmond, and qualified for the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row. They were seeded number three in the Chapel Hill Regional. There, they defeated Georgia and then North Carolina in the opening round,[2] before losing two straight to North Carolina. Upon the end of the season, VCU head coach, Shawn Stiffler resigned to become the head coach for Notre Dame.[3]

Preseason

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Preseason Atlantic 10 awards and honors

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Austin Younce was named the Atlantic 10 Preseason Freshman of the Year, while Will Carlone, and Campbell Ellis were named to the All-Atlantic 10 Preseason team.[4]

A-10 Preseason Freshman of the Year
Player No. Position Class
Austin Younce 18 C Freshman
Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Team
Player No. Position Class
Will Carlone 40 INF RS Junior
Campbell Ellis 46 LHP Junior

Coaches poll

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The Atlantic 10 baseball coaches' poll was released on February 7, 2023. VCU was picked to finish second the Atlantic 10.[5]

Coaches' Poll
Predicted finish Team Points
1 Davidson 130 (5)
2 VCU 125 (4)
3 Richmond 103 (1)
4 Saint Louis 103
5 Dayton 92 (1)
6 Rhode Island 85
7 Saint Joseph's 81
8 George Mason 70 (1)
9 Fordham 52
10 George Washington 51
11 UMass 27
12 St. Bonaventure 17

Personnel

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Starters

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Lineup
Pos. No. Player. Year
C 37 Nic Ericsson RS Junior
1B 3 Brandon Eike Sophomore
2B 4 Ethan Brooks Freshman
3B 8 Harrison Long Sophomore
SS 10 William Bean Junior
LF 26 Cooper Benzin RS Junior
CF 13 A.J. Mathis RS Senior
RF 21 Logan Amiss RS Senior
DH 40 Will Carlone RS Junior
Weekend Pitching Rotation
Day No. Player. Year
Friday 46 Campbell Ellis Junior
Saturday 1 Christian Gordon Junior
Sunday 33 Mason Delane RS Junior

Roster

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2023 VCU Rams baseball team
Players Coaches
# Pos. Name B/T Height Weight Year Home town
1 LHP Christian Gordon L/L 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Amherst, VA
2 INF Brandon Eike R/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Powhatan, VA
4 INF Ethan Brooks R/R 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Fr Glen Allen, VA
6 INF Griffin Boone R/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS So Montclair, VA
8 INF Harrison Long R/R 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Sarasota, FL
9 OF Scottie O'Bryan R/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Jr Jamesville, NY
10 INF William Bean R/R 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Great Falls, VA
12 OF Jesse Robinson Jr. R/R 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Short Pump, VA
13 OF AJ Maths L/L 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) RS Sr Tampa, FL
15 C Jacob Selden L/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Gr Charleston, SC
16 OF Gavyn Boyle L/R 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Gasport, NY
17 C Casey Gibbs S/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Olney, MD
18 C Austin Younce R/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Chesapeake, VA
19 OF John Lucas R/R 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Fr Midlothian, VA
20 INF Macho Santiago L/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Richmond, VA
21 OF Logan Amiss L/R 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Sr Powhatan, VA
22 OF Aden Hill L/R 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Mechanicsville, MD
24 RHP James Gladden R/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Baltimore, MD
25 INF Jake Thilges R/R 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 212 lb (96 kg) RS So Johnston, IA
26 OF Cooper Benzin R/R 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Jr Ashland, VA
27 RHP Nick Frazier R/R 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Vienna, VA
28 LHP Devan Zirwas L/L 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Imperial, PA
30 RHP Justin Walton R/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Gr Glen Allen, VA
31 RHP Evan Bert R/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Harrisonburg, VA
32 OF Devan Barnett L/L 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 212 lb (96 kg) Jr Pittsburgh, PA
33 RHP Mason Delane R/R 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Jr Colonial Beach, VA
34 INF Ethan Serrano R/R 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Mechanicsville, VA
36 RHP Brendan Erka R/R 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Allison Park, PA
37 C Nic Ericsson R/R 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Jr Dale City, VA
38 LHP Jack Goleski L/L 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Atlee, VA
39 RHP Zachary Peters R/R 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Pawling, NY
40 INF Will Carlone R/R 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Jr West Seneca, NY
41 RHP Brian Curley R/R 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Midlothian, VA
43 LHP Cade Dressler L/L 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Mifflinburg, PA
44 Cam Nuckols R/R 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Chesterfield, VA
45 INF Art Schoenstadt L/R 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Gr Sammamish, WA
46 LHP Campbell Ellis L/L 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Georgetown, ON
50 RHP Justin Humenay R/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Montreal, QC
55 RHP Maison Martinez R/R 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Lake Worth, FL
Head coach

Bradley LeCroy

Assistant coach(es)

Andrew Cox
Tanner Gordon
Andrew Llewellyn


Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: February 5, 2023

Coaching staff

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2022 VCU Rams baseball coaching staff
Name Position Seasons at
VCU
Alma Mater
Bradley LeCroy Head Coach 1 Clemson University (2000)
Andrew Cox Assistant Coach 1 Clemson University (2017)
Tanner Gordon Assistant Coach 1 Trevecca Nazarene University (2019)
Andrew Llewellyn Assistant Coach 3 Wingate University (2020)

Offseason

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Departures

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VCU Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Marcus O'Malley 1 INF 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 161 Fr. Naples, Florida Transferred to FIU
Michael Haydak 2 INF 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 190 RS-Jr. Tampa, Florida Transferred to Southeastern
Connor Hujsak 3 INF 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 So. Goffstown, New Hampshire Transferred to Mississippi State
Ryan Recio 4 INF 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 184 Fr. Boca Raton, Florida Did not return
Aaron Barber 8 INF 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 190 RS-So. Seattle, Washington Transferred to Pacific Lutheran
Edwin Serrano 10 RHP 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 165 RS-Sr. Haines City, Florida Graduated
Brendan Roney 14 C 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 185 RS-Fr. Cudjoe Key, Florida Transferred to FIU
Joey Perkins 16 LHP 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 215 RS-Jr. Lebanon, Ohio Did not return
Brendan Wilkinson 18 RHP 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 Fr. West Milton, Ohio Did not return
Jaden Griffin 20 LHP 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 205 RS-Jr. Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia Did not return
Zach Boswell 22 RHP 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 185 RS-Jr. Snohomish, Washington Did not return
Ethan Mishra 23 RHP 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 Fr. Washington, D.C. Transferred to Tulane
Maddison Furman 24 LHP 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 185 RS-Jr. Richmond, Virginia Graduated
Jack Masloff 25 LHP 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 RS-So. Charlottesville, Virginia Signed by Detroit Tigers
Tyler Locklear 28 INF 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 RS-So. Abingdon, Maryland Drafted by Seattle Mariners
Virot Siharath 30 INF 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 Fr. Keswick, Ontario Did not return
Ben Nippolt 34 INF 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 RS-So. St. Paul, Minnesota Transferred to LSU
Nolan Wilson 38 RHP 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 215 Gr. Atlanta, Georgia Graduated
Evan Chenier 39 RHP 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 RS-Jr. Georgetown, Ontario Transferred to FIU
Chase Hungate 41 INF 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 Fr. Abingdon, Virginia Transferred to Virginia
Tyler Coy 44 C 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 230 So. Williamsville, New York Did not return
Tyler Davis 45 LHP 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 230 RS-So. Newport News, Virginia Transferred to Mississippi State
Braedin Hunt 55 RHP 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 210 RS-Fr. Old Bridge, New Jersey Did not return

Transfers

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Incoming Transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Christian Gordon 1 LHP 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 Jr. Agricola, Virginia Liberty
Brandon Eike 2 INF 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 220 So. Powhatan, Virginia North Carolina
Harrison Long 8 INF 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 So. Sarasota, Florida Jacksonville
William Bean 10 INF 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 180 Jr. Great Falls, Virginia West Virginia
Jake Thilges 25 3B 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 165 RS-So. Johnston, Iowa Des Moines Area CC
Justin Walton 30 RHP 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 Gr. Glen Allen, Virginia Norfolk State
Brendan Erka 36 RHP 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 RS-So. Allison Park, Pennsylvania Harford CC
Jack Goleski 38 LHP 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 So. Mechanicsville, Virginia Pitt CC

Signing Day Recruits

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The following players signed National Letter of Intents to play for VCU in 2023.

Player Hometown High School
Pitchers
Evan Bert Harrisonburg, Virginia Harrisonburg (VA)
Brian Curley Midlothian, Virginia Trinity Episcopal (VA)
James Gladden Baltimore, Maryland Archbishop Curley
Maison Martinez Lake Worth, Florida Park Vista
Cam Nuckols Chesterfield, Virginia St. Christopher's (VA)
Zachary Peters Pawling, New York Trinity-Pawling
Ethan Serrano Mechanicsville, Virginia Mechanicsville (VA)
Devan Zirwas Imperial, Pennsylvania West Allegheny
Hitters
Gavyn Boyle Gasport, New York P27 Academy
Ethan Brooks Glen Allen, Virginia Glen Allen
Aden Hill Mechanicsville, Maryland P27 Academy
Macho Santiago Richmond, Virginia Douglas S. Freeman
Austin Younce Chesapeake, Virginia Greenbrier Christian

2022 MLB Draft

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Round Pick Player Position MLB Team
#2 #58 Tyler Locklear 3B Seattle Mariners[6]

Game log

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2023 VCU Rams Baseball Game Log (25–30)
Regular Season (25–30)
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Canceled
Bold =VCU team member
Rankings are based on the team's current ranking in the D1Baseball poll.

[8]

Schedule Notes

  1. ^ The Fairfield game on March 5 became a doubleheader due to the March 3 game being canceled due to inclement weather.
  2. ^ a b The George Washington game on April 22 was suspended in the 7th inning due to inclement weather, the game resumed at 12:00 p.m. on April 23. VCU was leading 11–3 at the time of suspension. The April 23 game originally scheduled for 12:00 p.m. was postponed to 3:30 p.m.[7]

Statistics

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Team batting

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Team AB Avg. H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB
VCU 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Opponents 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Team pitching

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Team IP H R ER BB SO SV ERA
VCU 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Opponents 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00

Individual batting

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Note: leaders must meet the minimum requirement of 2 PA/G and 75% of games played

Player GP AB Avg. H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB
Brandon Eike 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ethan Brooks 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Griffin Boone 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Harrison Long 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
William Bean 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jesse Robinson Jr. 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
AJ Mathis 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gavyn Boyle 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Austin Younce 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
John Lucas 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Macho Santiago 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Logan Amiss 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Aden Hill 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jake Thilges 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Cooper Benzin 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Devan Barnett 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Individual pitching

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Note: leaders must meet the minimum requirement of 1 IP/G

Player GP GS W L IP H R ER BB SO SV ERA
Christian Gordon 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
James Gladden 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Nick Frazier 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Devan Zirwas 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Justin Walton 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Evan Bert 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Mason Delane 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Brendan Erka 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Jack Goleski 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Zachary Peters 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Brian Curley 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Cade Dressler 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Cam Nuckols 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Campbell Ellis 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Justin Humenay 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Maison Martinez 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Legend
  GP  Games played   GS  Games started  AB  At-bats
  H  Hits  Avg.  Batting average  2B  Doubles
 3B  Triples  HR  Home runs  RBI  Runs batted in
  IP  Innings pitched   W Wins  L  Losses
 ERA  Earned run average  SO  Strikeouts  BB  Base on balls
 SV  Saves  SB  Stolen bases  High  Team high

Source:[9]

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
Coaches'[10]—*
Baseball America[11]
Collegiate Baseball^[12]RV
NCBWA[13]RV
D1Baseball[14]

^ 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.

References

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  1. ^ "2023 Baseball Standings". atlantic10.com. Atlantic 10 Conference. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  2. ^ Swanson, Shelby (June 5, 2022). "No. 1 seed UNC baseball downs No. 3 seed VCU, 19-8, to force regional winner-take-all". The Daily Tar Heel. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  3. ^ Stires, Sean (July 12, 2022). "It's Official: Notre Dame Hires Shawn Stiffler As Its New Baseball Coach". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  4. ^ Sutherland, Troy (February 2, 2023). "Conference Preview: Atlantic 10". Perfect Game USA. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  5. ^ "Reigning Regular-Season Champion Davidson Earns First-Time Selection as A-10 Baseball Preseason Favorite". atlantic10.com. February 7, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  6. ^ Epps, Wayne (July 18, 2022). "VCU's Tyler Locklear selected by Mariners in second round of MLB draft, becoming Rams' highest pick in 18 years". richmond.com. Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  7. ^ @VCUBaseball (April 22, 2023). "Due to the inclement weather today's game at George Washington has been suspended. Play will pick up tomorrow (Apr. 23) at 12 p.m. Sunday's originally scheduled game will start 30 minutes after the finish of today's game" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ "2023 Baseball Schedule". vcuathletics.com. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  9. ^ "2023 Baseball Cumulative Statistics". VCU Athletics. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  10. ^ "NCAA Baseball - Coaches Poll". USA Today. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  11. ^ "College Top 25". Baseball America. January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  12. ^ "2022 Collegiate Baseball Polls". baseballnews.com.
  13. ^ "NCBWA Top 30 Polls". sportswriters.net. Archived from the original on July 24, 2009. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  14. ^ "D1 Baseball: Rankings". d1baseball.com. Retrieved January 14, 2022.