Last season was not a bad one by any means for the Virginia Tech Hokies. VaTech went deep in the ACC tourney, picked up an at-large berth, and hung in during the Los Angeles Regional. What’s even better is, for 2027, a large chunk of their lineup from last season is back.
The Returnees
The top two bats for the Virginia Tech Hokies returned for 2026. Those would be Sam Grube and Ethan Ball.
Grube, a transfer from Mount St. Mary’s, wound up leading the Virginia Tech Hokies in total base hits with 66. He also hit home runs in his sophomore campaign. As for Ball, he batted .310 and led Virginia Tech in both home runs (17) and RBI (52).
In fact, aside from those two, the Hokies also retained Nick Locurto, Pete Daniel, Hudson Lutterman, and Ethan Gibson, meaning the top six in terms of total hits are back for 2027. Given how much change goes on yearly, the Virginia Tech Hokies will be one of the few ACC teams with significant consistency between 2026 and the upcoming campaign.
The pitching is where things will change a bit for the Hokies. Brett Renfrow, the staff ace, went pro and was taken by the Twins, while Griffin Steig is now a Pittsburgh Pirate. Logan Eisenreich is on the 2027 roster, though.
Eisenreich finished second on the Hokies in strikeouts last season with 58. It’s a fastball that ran into the mid-90s last season, and there’s enough secondary stuff for him to be an interesting pitcher at the pro level once that time comes.
Ethan Grim, who struck out 49 as a freshman last year, is also back. Grim worked as both a reliever and a starter in 2026.
The Newcomers
A lot of new pitchers for the Hokies in 2027.
Nick Bennett (Niagara), Mike Staiano (Elon), Kaden Hillburger (Bryant), Talan McConnell (Gaston College), Drake Purvis (Gaston College), and Nic Abraham (Tennessee) are among the new faces.
Abraham is one of two players from Tennessee to join the Virginia Tech Hokies. Evan Hankins, who had just six at-bats as a freshman last season, was the other. As for Abraham himself, he posted a 4.15 ERA and struck out 20 over 32 innings, working mostly as a reliever. Not a hard thrower.
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