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
2021 Atlantic 10 Conference baseball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L T PCTW L T PCT
North
Rhode Island  x 1460 .70028261 .518
Saint Joseph's   1590 .62521190 .525
La Salle   1590 .62532210 .604
Fordham   1190 .55024190 .558
St. Bonaventure   6140 .3007240 .226
UMass   3160 .15813290 .310
South
VCU  xy 1330 .81338160 .704
Dayton   1240 .75025270 .481
George Washington   14100 .58326190 .578
Davidson   11130 .45827240 .529
Saint Louis   6100 .37517310 .354
Richmond   5110 .31319170 .528
George Mason   7170 .29214290 .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

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

Departures

VCU Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Michael Dailey30RHP5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)170RS-Sr.Troy, VirginiaGraduated
Paul Witt2INF5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)170Sr.Harpers Ferry, West VirginiaGraduated
Brett Willett3INF6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)190Sr.Middletown, DelawareGraduated


Transfers

Incoming Transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Greg Ryan13INF6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)200So.Bensley, VirginiaPitt

Signing Day Recruits

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

Coaches Poll

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
1VCU151 (4)
2Fordham149 (4)
3Dayton146 (4)
4Davidson117
5Saint Louis114 (1)
6Richmond109
7Rhode Island103
8George Washington74
9Saint Joseph's71
10George Mason46
11La Salle40
12St. Bonaventure32
13UMass31

Personnel

Roster

2021 VCU Rams baseball roster[4]
 

Pitchers

  • 9 Nick Evangelista - Junior
  • 10 Edwin Serrano - Junior
  • 18 Justin Sorokowski - Redshirt 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 - Redshirt 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 - Redshirt Freshman
  • 28 - Tyler Locklear - Freshman
  • 40 - Will Carlone - Freshman
 

Outfielders

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

Utility

  • 8 - Hogan Brown - Junior
 

Coaching Staff

2021 VCU Rams baseball coaching staff
NamePositionSeasons at
VCU
Alma Mater
Shawn StifflerHead Coach9George Mason University (2001)
Mike McRaeAssistant Coach4Niagara University (1993)
Rich WittenAssistant Coach4Coastal Carolina University (2012)
Josh TutwilerAssistant Coach6Old Dominion University (2012)

Game log

Legend
 VCU win
 VCU loss
 Postponement/cancellation
(10)Extra innings
*Non-conference game
BoldVCU 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

Atlantic 10 Tournament

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

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

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 ranks 40 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
* 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

References

  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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