2026 VMI Keydets baseball team

2026 VMI Keydets baseball
2026 VMI Keydets baseball
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	27–23 (3–15 SoCon)
Head coach	Sam Roberts (4th season);
Assistant coaches	Trey Lyons (1st season); Jonathan Perry;
Hitting coach	Ryan Smoot (2nd season)
Pitching coach	Alex Crosby (3rd season)
Home stadium	Gray–Minor Stadium

2026 Southern Conference baseball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Mercer ‍†‍‍	15	–	6	.714	44	–	15	.746
Western Carolina ‍‍‍	14	–	7	.667	36	–	23	.610
Samford ‍‍‍	12	–	9	.571	31	–	25	.554
Wofford ‍‍‍	12	–	9	.571	34	–	22	.607
The Citadel ‍‍‡‍^y	11	–	10	.524	36	–	26	.581
East Tennessee State ‍‍‍	10	–	11	.476	30	–	23	.566
UNC Greensboro ‍‍‍	7	–	14	.333	23	–	33	.411
VMI ‍‍‍	3	–	18	.143	28	–	27	.509

† – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of May 31, 2026^[1] Rankings from D1Baseball

The 2026 VMI Keydets baseball team represents Virginia Military Institute during the 2026 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Keydets play their home games at Gray–Minor Stadium as a member of the Southern Conference. They are be led by fourth-year head coach Sam Roberts.

Previous season

The 2025 season saw the Keydets finish the season with a 27–26 record, marking their first winning season since 2014. In the 2025 Southern Conference baseball tournament, VMI lost in the preliminary round against Western Carolina. VMI's Bradley Garner lead the SoCon with the highest batting average of .389.

Preseason

Coaches poll

The coaches poll was released on February 5, 2026. VMI was selected to finish seventh in the conference.^[2]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
SoCon coaches poll
1	Samford	45 (4)
2	Mercer	44 (3)
3	ETSU	38 (1)
4	The Citadel	30
5	Western Carolina	24
6	UNCG	16
7	VMI	14
8	Wofford	13

Awards and honors

Preseason SoCon awards and honors

Player	No.	Position	Class	Designation
Preseason All-SoCon Team^[2]
Grayson Fitzwater	20	1B	Senior	First Team
Bradley Garner	23	OF	Junior	First Team
Owen Prince	2	OF	Senior	Second Team

Personnel

Starters

Lineup
Pos.	No.	Player.	Year
C	19	Cole Raile	Junior
1B	20	Grayson Fitzwater	Senior
2B	43	Kazuya Jordan	Senior
3B	1	Ayden Schnarrs	Sophomore
SS	3	Seth Buchanan	Junior
LF	24	Cole Cook	Sophomore
CF	2	Owen Prince	Senior
RF	23	Bradley Garner	Junior
DH	9	Gabe Jenkins	Freshman

Weekend pitching rotation
Day	No.	Player.	Year
Friday	33	Clark Driscoll	Senior
Saturday	28	Roberto Velasquez	Graduate
Sunday	29	Peyton Dhein	Sophomore

Roster

2026 VMI Keydets baseball team

Players

Coaches

#	Pos.	Name	B/T	Height	Weight	Year	Home town
1	INF	Ayden Schnarrs	R/R	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	Mosley, VA
2	UTL	Owen Prince	L/R	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Sr	Roanoke, VA
3	INF	Seth Buchanan	R/R	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jr	Lebanon, VA
5	C	Will Slater	R/R	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	So	Richmond, VA
6	INF	JW Kohlmeyer	R/R	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Bristow, VA
7	INF	Easton Ogle	R/R	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Fr	Glen Allen, VA
8	OF	Thomas Conrad	R/R	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Fr	Chesapeake, VA
9	UTL	Gabe Jenkins	R/R	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Fr	Mechanicsville, VA
10	OF	Kealo Smith	R/R	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	RS Fr	Fishersville, VA
11	C	Brycen Hamilton	R/R	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	So	Norfolk, VA
12	INF	Max Perry	R/R	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	Charlotte, NC
13	LHP	Hunter Sipe	L/L	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	Vinton, VA
14	RHP	Owen Riley	R/R	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Jr	Midlothian, VA
16	RHP	Carson Taylor	R/R	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	Virginia Beach, VA
17	LHP	Trace Monroe	R/L	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	Moneta, VA
18	RHP	Tyler Basset	R/R	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	RS Fr	Manassas, VA
19	UTL	Cole Raile	R/R	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jr	Radnor, OH
20	INF	Grayson Fitzwater	L/L	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Sr	Suffolk, VA
21	LHP	Gavin Biernot	L/L	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	RS Fr	Chesapeake, VA
22	RHP	Justin Spiegel	R/R	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	RS So	Chester, VA
23	UTL	Bradley Garner	R/R	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jr	Richmond, VA
24	OF	Cole Cook	R/R	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	Allentown, PA
25	OF	Ayden Albright	R/R	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Fredericksburg, VA
26	C	Benjamin Cardone	R/R	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Bristow, VA
27	UTL	Eli Tyndall	L/R	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	Poquoson, VA
28	RHP	Roberto Velasquez	R/R	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Gr	Chesapeake, VA
29	LHP	Peyton Dhein	L/L	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	So	Fort Mill, SC
30	RHP	Noah LaFine	R/R	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	Uniontown, OH
32	RHP	Andrew Jones	R/R	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Sr	Midlothian, VA
33	RHP	Clark Driscoll	R/R	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sr	Midlothian, VA
34	LHP	Miles Melescu	L/L	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	Chesapeake, VA
35	RHP	George Chevalier	R/R	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Fr	Virginia Beach, VA
36	LHP	Gary Ahrens	L/L	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	Great Falls, VA
37	LHP	Buddy Baker	L/L	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Suffolk, VA
38	LHP	Nolan Williamson	R/L	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Jr	Hanover, VA
39	LHP	Jim Douthat	L/L	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	RS Fr	Richmond, VA
43	INF	Kazuya Jordan	R/R	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Sr	Fredericksburg, VA

Head coach

Sam Roberts

Assistant coach(es)

Ryan Smoot
Alex Crosby
Jonathan Perry
Trey Lyons

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: April 8, 2026

Schedule

2026 VMI Keydets baseball game log (27–23)

Regular season: 27–23 (Home: 21–6; Away: 6–17; Neutral: 0–0)

February: 9–2 (Home: 9–1; Away: 0–1; Neutral: 0–0)
Date	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall	SoCon
February 13^[a]	ESPN+	Delaware State*		Gray–Minor Stadium Lexington, VA	W 10–0⁷	Dhein (1–0)	Lane (0–1)	None	225	1–0	—
February 13^[a]	ESPN+	Delaware State*		Gray–Minor Stadium	W 24–4⁷	Sipe (1–0)	Valle-Zay (0–1)	None	225	2–0	—
February 14^[a]	ESPN+	Delaware State*		Gray–Minor Stadium	W 24–4⁷	Jones (1–0)	Carter (0–1)	Baker (1)	162	3–0	—
February 14^[a]	ESPN+	Delaware State*		Gray–Minor Stadium	W 9–4	Monroe (1–0)	Vidmar (0–1)	None	162	4–0	—
February 17	ACCNX	at No. 24 Virginia*		Davenport Field Charlottesville, VA	L 2–5	Jaxel (1–0)	Driscoll (0–1)	Kapa (1)	3,202	4–1	—
February 20	ESPN+	Maryland Eastern Shore*		Gray–Minor Stadium	W 13–3⁷	Dhein (2–0)	Stepner (0–1)	Taylor (1)	124	5–1	—
February 21	ESPN+	Maryland Eastern Shore*		Gray–Minor Stadium	W 7–3	Monroe (2–0)	Torres (0–1)	None	155	6–1	—
February 22	ESPN+	Maryland Eastern Shore*		Gray–Minor Stadium	W 14–4⁷	Baker (1–0)	Champey (0–1)	None	153	7–1	—
February 27	ESPN+	Stonehill*		Gray–Minor Stadium	W 8–2	Taylor (1–0)	Welsch (0–1)	None	105	8–1	—
February 28^[a]	ESPN+	Stonehill*		Gray–Minor Stadium	W 3–0	Driscoll (1–1)	Douglas (0–3)	Sipe (1)	209	9–1	—
February 28^[a]	ESPN+	Stonehill*		Gray–Minor Stadium	L 5–16⁸	Basgaard (1–0)	Tyndall (0–1)	None	209	9–2	—

March: 13–4 (Home: 8–1; Away: 5–3; Neutral: 0–0)
Date	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall	SoCon
March 1^[a]	ESPN+	Stonehill*		Gray–Minor Stadium	W 7–0	Velasquez (1–0)	Curley (0–1)	None	139	10–2	—
March 3		at Mount St. Mary's*		Straw Family Stadium Emmitsburg, MD	Canceled (inclement weather)
March 6^[a]	ESPN+	Western Illinois*		Gray–Minor Stadium	W 8–7⁷	Baker (2–0)	Dubois (0–2)	None	119	11–2	—
March 6^[a]	ESPN+	Western Illinois*		Gray–Minor Stadium	W 10–7⁷	Bassett (1–0)	Humphrey (0–2)	None	119	12–2	—
March 7	ESPN+	Western Illinois*		Gray–Minor Stadium	W 16–6	Tyndall (1–1)	Steinhoff (0–1)	None	174	13–2	—
March 8	ESPN+	Western Illinois*		Gray–Minor Stadium	W 9–8	Baker (3–0)	Humphrey (0–3)	None	122	14–2	—
March 11	ESPN+	at Norfolk State*		Marty L. Miller Field Norfolk, VA	W 15–10	Sipe (2–0)	Snoh (0–1)	None	332	15–2	—
March 14^[a]	ESPN+	Cornell*		Gray–Minor Stadium	L 4–7	Mayfield (1–3)	Dhein (2–1)	Foster (2)	256	15–3	—
March 14^[a]	ESPN+	Cornell*		Gray–Minor Stadium	W 8–0	Driscoll (2–1)	Holcombe (0–3)	None	256	16–3	—
March 15	ESPN+	Cornell*		Gray–Minor Stadium	W 7–4	Baker (4–0)	Foster (0–1)	None	301	17–3	—
March 20	ESPN+	at Radford*		Carter Memorial Stadium Radford, VA	L 4–9	Ladd (1–0)	Dhein (2–2)	None	152	17–4	—
March 21	ESPN+	Radford*		Gray–Minor Stadium	W 11–6	Driscoll (3–1)	Costello (0–3)	None	350	18–4	—
March 22	ESPN+	at Radford*		Carter Memorial Stadium	W 9–1	Sipe (3–0)	Nace (0–2)	None	208	19–4	—
March 25	ESPN+	at George Washington*		Barcroft Park Arlington, VA	W 8–5	Sipe (4–0)	Marks (0–2)	Baker (2)	67	20–4	—
March 27	ESPN+	at ETSU		Thomas Stadium Johnson City, TN	L 5–6	Oliff (2–0)	Sipe (4–1)	Costarelli (3)	251	20–5	0–1
March 28	ESPN+	at ETSU		Thomas Stadium	L 3–4	Harpster (4–1)	Velasquez (1–1)	Scott (1)	634	20–6	0–2
March 29	ESPN+	at ETSU		Thomas Stadium	W 5–4	Baker (5–0)	Scott (2–1)	None	933	21–6	1–2
March 31	ESPN+	at William & Mary*		Plumeri Park Williamsburg, VA	W 10–3	Monroe (3–0)	Weight (1–1)	None	691	22–6	—

April: 5–11 (Home: 4–6; Away: 1–5; Neutral: 0–0)
Date	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall	SoCon
April 2	ESPN+	Wofford		Gray–Minor Stadium	L 5–16⁷	Condon (3–1)	Velasquez (1–2)	None	153	22–7	1–3
April 3	ESPN+	Wofford		Gray–Minor Stadium	L 2–9	Bouchard (5–2)	Spiegel (0–1)	None	161	22–8	1–4
April 4	ESPN+	Wofford		Gray–Minor Stadium	W 13–12¹⁰	Velasquez (2–2)	Fitzpatrick (1–3)	None	209	23–8	2–4
April 7	ESPN+	George Washington*		Gray–Minor Stadium	W 10–7	Tyndall (2–1)	Murphy (0–2)	None	97	24–8	—
April 10	ESPN+	at Samford		Joe Lee Griffin Stadium Birmingham, AL	L 4–10	Whitney (2–0)	Spiegel (0–2)	None	379	24–9	2–5
April 11	ESPN+	at Samford		Joe Lee Griffin Stadium	L 3–8	Blasche (2–5)	Velasquez (2–3)	None	391	24–10	2–6
April 12	ESPN+	at Samford		Joe Lee Griffin Stadium	L 3–5	Berry (3–1)	Dhein (2–3)	Tommasini (1)	123	24–11	2–7
April 14	ESPN+	at Norfolk State*		Marty L. Miller Field	W 8–4	Monroe (4–0)	Whitfield (0–2)	Sipe (2)	173	25–11	—
April 17	ESPN+	Western Carolina		Gray–Minor Stadium	W 10–8	Spiegel (1–2)	Burnette (2–5)	None	222	26–11	3–7
April 18	ESPN+	Western Carolina		Gray–Minor Stadium	L 5–18⁷	Snyder (5–0)	Tyndall (2–2)	None	195	26–12	3–8
April 19	ESPN+	Western Carolina		Gray–Minor Stadium	L 3–4¹⁰	Fordham (4–2)	Sipe (4–2)	Fuller (2)	187	26–13	3–9
April 21	ESPN+	at Longwood*		Bolding Stadium Farmville, VA	L 4–10	Castrichini (2–2)	Tyndall (2–3)	None	183	26–14	—
April 24	ESPN+	at High Point*		George S. Erath Field High Point, NC	L 5–7	Walton (5–2)	Spiegel (1–3)	Story (7)	248	26–15	—
April 25	ESPN+	at High Point*		George S. Erath Field	L 6–12	Brachbill (9–1)	Jones (1–1)	Story (8)	250	26–16	—
April 26	ESPN+	at High Point*		George S. Erath Field	L 2–5	Paul (4–1)	Baker (5–1)	None	275	26–17	—
April 28	ESPN+	Longwood*		Gray–Minor Stadium	W 3–0	Sipe (5–2)	Nash (2–2)	Bassett (1)	600	27–17	—

May: 1–6 (Home: 1–0; Away: 0–6; Neutral: 0–0)
Date	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall	SoCon
May 1	ESPN+	at UNCG		UNCG Baseball Stadium Greensboro, NC	L 6–7	Chapman (3–6)	Sipe (5–3)	Horton (2)	350	27–18	3–10
May 2	ESPN+	at UNCG		UNCG Baseball Stadium	L 6–9	Dear (1–2)	Baker (5–2)	Horton (3)	450	27–19	3–11
May 3	ESPN+	at UNCG		UNCG Baseball Stadium	L 4–7	Shuey (2–5)	Driscoll (3–2)	Horton (4)	381	27–20	3–12
May 8	ESPN+	at Mercer		Claude Smith Field Macon, GA	L 2–13⁽⁷⁾	Lambert (5–0)	Spiegel (1–4)	None	875	27–21	3–13
May 9	ESPN+	at Mercer		Claude Smith Field	L 2–5	Hugas (9–2)	Driscoll (3–3)	None	545	27–22	3–14
May 10	ESPN+	at Mercer		Claude Smith Field	L 1–11⁽⁸⁾	Ackerman (3–2)	Jones (1–2)	None	419	27–23	3–15
May 12	ESPN+	Norfolk State*		Gray–Minor Stadium	W 15–5	Dhein (3–3)	Harrison (0–2)	None	125	28–23	—
May 14	ESPN+	The Citadel		Gray–Minor Stadium
May 15	ESPN+	The Citadel		Gray–Minor Stadium
May 16	ESPN+	The Citadel		Gray–Minor Stadium

Postseason: 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Away: 0–0; Neutral: 0–0)

SoCon tournament: 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Away: 0–0; Neutral: 0–0)
Date	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance	Overall	SCT Record
May 20–23		vs. TBD		Flour Field Greenville, SC

Legend: = Win = Loss = Canceled
Bold = VMI team member
Rankings are based on the team's current ranking in the D1Baseball poll.^[3]

Schedule Notes

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Part of a doubleheader.

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final
Coaches'^[4]	—	—*	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Baseball America^[5]	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
NCBWA†^[6]	—	—	RV	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—
D1Baseball^[7]	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Perfect Game^[8]	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

† NCBWA ranks 30 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 25 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

↑ "SoCon Baseball 2026 Standings". SoConSports.com. Retrieved June 1, 2026.
1 2 "Samford Picked to Win 2026 SoCon Baseball Title". soconsports.com. February 5, 2026. Retrieved April 15, 2026.
↑ "2026 Baseball Schedule". vmikeydets.com. Retrieved April 15, 2026.
↑ "NCAA Baseball Coaches Poll | USA Today Sports". USA TODAY. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
↑ "College Baseball Top 25 Rankings". www.baseballamerica.com. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
↑ "NCBWA > News > Top 30 Poll". www.sportswriters.net. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
↑ "Rankings Archives • D1Baseball". d1baseball.com. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
↑ "Rankings | Perfect Game USA". perfectgame.org. Retrieved January 26, 2025.

[Doubleheader-3] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Part of a doubleheader.

[SoConBSBStandings-1] "SoCon Baseball 2026 Standings". SoConSports.com. Retrieved June 1, 2026.

[SoCon_preseason-2] 1 2 "Samford Picked to Win 2026 SoCon Baseball Title". soconsports.com. February 5, 2026. Retrieved April 15, 2026.

[4] "2026 Baseball Schedule". vmikeydets.com. Retrieved April 15, 2026.

[5] "NCAA Baseball Coaches Poll | USA Today Sports". USA TODAY. Retrieved January 26, 2025.

[6] "College Baseball Top 25 Rankings". www.baseballamerica.com. Retrieved January 26, 2025.

[7] "NCBWA > News > Top 30 Poll". www.sportswriters.net. Retrieved January 26, 2025.

[8] "Rankings Archives • D1Baseball". d1baseball.com. Retrieved January 26, 2025.

[perfect_game-9] "Rankings | Perfect Game USA". perfectgame.org. Retrieved January 26, 2025.

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VMI Keydets baseball
Venues	Old Patchin Field (1960s–1987) Patchin Field (1988–2006) Gray–Minor Stadium (2007–present)
Culture & lore	Brother Rat Brother Rat and a Baby
Seasons	1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026