The 2026 VCU Rams baseball team will represent Virginia Commonwealth University during the 2026 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Rams will their home games at The Diamond as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They will be led by second-year head coach Sean Thompson.
This was to be VCU's first season at CarMax Park, but in December 2025, a disagreement between the university and the Richmond Flying Squirrels saw the program remain at The Diamond for the foreseeable future. Originally, the Rams were going to play at the Diamond for February and March home games and then at CarMax Park for April and May home games.
Previous season
The Rams are coming off a 17–37 (10–20) season, which was Sean Thompson's first season managing the program. They will be looking to return to both the Atlantic 10 Conference baseball tournament and the NCAA Division I baseball tournament. Sean Thompson's entire coaching staff will be returning, along with the addition of Campbell Ellis who will join as the Director of Pitching Development.
Preseason Preseason Atlantic 10 awards and honors Preseason awards will be announced in February 2026.
Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Team Player No. Position Team Class
Coaches poll The coaches poll was released on February 13, 2026. VCU was selected to finish eighth.
Coaches' Poll 1 Rhode Island 136 (5) 2 George Mason 122 (4) T−3 Saint Joseph's 98 (1) Saint Louis 98 T−5 Dayton 83 (1) Richmond 83 7 Davidson 77 8 VCU 71 (1) 9 George Washington 68 10 Fordham 56 11 St. Bonaventure 24 12 La Salle 20
Personnel
Starters LineupPos. No.Player. Year C 11 Teige Lethert Graduate 1B 3 Nate Kirkpatrick Junior 2B 24 Alec Warden RS Freshman 3B 6 Nick Flores Sophomore SS 8 Dante DeFranco Graduate LF 10 Ethan Acevedo Junior CF 1 Michael Petite Junior RF 9 Trent Adelman Junior DH 37 Jacob Lee Sophomore
Weekend pitching rotation Day No.Player. Year Friday 25 Hunter Gotschall Junior Saturday 35 Patrick Steitz RS Senior Sunday 19 Nick Frers Junior
Roster
Coaching staff
2026 VCU Rams baseball coaching staff Name Position Seasons atVCU Alma mater Sean Thompson Head coach 3 Virginia Commonwealth University (2018) JoJo Howie Assistant coach 2 Virginia Commonwealth University (2015) Andrew Llewellyn Assistant coach 6 Wingate University (2020) Chris O'Neill Pitching coach 2 King's College (NC) (2012)
Offseason Departures Offseason departuresNameNo.Pos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotes 8 OF Austin, TX Graduated 11 INF Westlake Village, CA Graduated 13 C Westlake Village, CA Graduated 16 RHP Charlotte, NC Graduated 18 RHP Stone Mountain, GA Graduated 24 RHP Norfolk, VA Graduated 27 INF Chicago, IL Graduated 28 INF Chandler, AZ Graduated 29 LHP Richmond, VA Graduated 30 C Galesburg, IL Did not return 31 RHP McVeytown, PA Graduated 32 RHP Williamsburg, VA Graduated 33 RHP Kennewick, WA Did not return 38 LHP Mechanicsville, VA Graduated 41 OF West Lawn, PA Graduated 45 RHP McLean, VA Graduated 50 RHP Montreal, QC Graduated 55 INF Indianapolis, IN Graduated
Outgoing transfers Outgoing transfersNameNumberPos.HeightWeightHometownYearNew schoolSource 1 INF Lilburn, GA Charlotte 4 INF Valrico, FL Florida Southwestern 10 INF/LHP Chester, VA Florida Southwestern 12 OF Chapel Hill, NC Pitt (NC) 17 OF/1B West Linn, OR LSU–Shreveport 21 RHP Milford, CT Eastern Connecticut 22 INF/OF Williamsburg, VA Wallace 35 RHP Palmyra, VA Longwood 44 RHP Centennial, CO Metro State Denver
2025 MLB draft
No players were selected in the 2025 MLB draft.
Acquisitions Incoming transfers Incoming transfersNameNo.Pos.HeightWeightHometownYearPrevious schoolSource 1 OF Melbourne, FL Miami Dade 4 INF Saline, MI Iowa Western 8 UTL Hillsborough, NC Charlotte 10 OF Monroe, NY Indian Hills 11 C Woodbury, MN Milwaukee 12 OF Omaha, NE Iowa Western 17 INF Sarasota, FL SCF–Sarasota 21 RHP Bradenton, FL Hillsborough 24 SS Pittsburgh, PA Penn State 25 RHP Peyton, CO Salt Lake 26 RHP Beaverton, OR Pierce (WA) 27 RHP Chesapeake, VA Virginia Wesleyan 28 C Mustang, OK Northern Oklahoma 29 RHP Benson, UT Southern Idaho 31 UTL Colorado Springs, CO Hutchinson 32 LHP Great Bridge, VA Coastal Carolina 33 LHP Sanford, FL Eastern Florida State 35 RHP Peoria, AZ Kansas 38 RHP Spotsylvania, VA Marshall 42 RHP Sherwood, OR Coastal Carolina
Incoming recruits
2025 VCU RecruitsName Number B/T Pos. Height Weight Hometown High School Source 2 R/R INF Hooksett, NH Pinkerton 16 L/L OF/LHP Rogers, AR Bentonville 22 R/R OF/RHP Trinity, FL A3 Academy 41 R/R OF/RHP Seminole, FL Northside Christian (SC)
Game log 2026 VCU Rams baseball game log (38–25) Regular season: 32–22 (Home: 21–7; Away: 10–14; Neutral: 1–1) February: 4–6 (Home: 3–0; Away: 0–5; Neutral: 1–1) Date TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall A-10 February 13 ESPN+ * The DiamondRichmond, VA W 2–1 Peters (1–0) Lenahan (0–1) None 124 1–0 — February 14 Holy Cross* The Diamond W 14–17 Gotschall (1–0) Volz (0–1) None 214 2–0 — February 14 Holy Cross* The Diamond W 19–7 Stietz (1–0) Leon (0–1) None 3–0 — February 20 vs. * Springs Brooks StadiumConway, SC L 4–9 Plumley (1–1) Glover (0–1) None 2,039 3–1 — February 20 ESPN+ at No. 6 Coastal Carolina* Springs Brooks Stadium L 2–138 Bosch (1–0) Weygendt (0–1) None 4,011 3–2 — February 21 vs. Illinois* Springs Brooks Stadium W 3–2 Stietz (2–0) Flinn (0–1) Newman (1) 2,267 4–2 — February 22 ESPN+ at No. 6 Coastal Carolina* Springs Brooks Stadium L 3–6 Horn (2–0) Gotschall (1–1) None 2,623 4–3 — February 25 ACCNX at No. 8 North Carolina* Boshamer StadiumChapel Hill, NC L 3–137 Rose (1–0) DiGiacomo (0–1) None 2,438 4–4 — February 27 ACCNX at No. 22 Virginia* Davenport FieldCharlottesville, VA L 3–5 Zatkowski (1–0) Peters (1–1) Kapa (1) 3,358 4–5 — February 28 ACCNX at No. 22 Virginia* Davenport Field L 6–711 Kapa (1–1) Campbell (0–1) None 3,859 4–6 — March: 13–5 (Home: 11–3; Away: 2–2; Neutral: 0–0) Date TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall A-10 March 1 ESPN+ No. 22 Virginia* The Diamond L 3–5 Paone (1–0) DiGiacomo (0–2) None 1,413 4–7 — March 3 ESPN+ * The Diamond W 9–2 Gotschall (2–1) Calveric (0–1) None 152 5–7 — March 4 ESPN+ * The Diamond L 10–12 Matela (1–0) Newman (0–1) None 167 5–8 — March 6 ESPN+ * The Diamond W 4–310 Leyboldt (1–0) Penswick (0–3) None 198 6–8 — March 7 ESPN+ Army* The Diamond W 11–3 Steitz (3–0) Reavy (0–2) Vaughan (1) 651 7–8 — March 8 ESPN+ Army* The Diamond W 11–3 Holbert (1–0) Ramirez (1–1) None 396 8–8 — March 13 ESPN+ CarMax Park W 6–2 Frers (1–0) Brown (0–2) Newman (2) 184 9–8 1–0 March 14 ESPN+ La Salle The Diamond W 4–3 Peters (2–0) Shay (1–1) None 437 10–8 2–0 March 15 ESPN+ La Salle The Diamond W 8–4 Campbell (1–1) Beck (1–1) None 419 11–8 3–0 March 17 at Virginia Tech* English FieldBlacksburg, VA L 8–11 Roe (2–0) Nystrom (0–1) Crowl (3) 633 11–9 — March 20 at Woerner FieldDayton, OH W 17–7 Holbert (2–0) Jensen (2–2) None 232 12–9 4–0 March 21 at Dayton Woerner Field W 5–210 Peters (3–1) McNabb (2–1) Campbell (1) 227 13–9 5–0 March 22 at Dayton Woerner Field L 12–14 Malecha (1–0) Frers (1–1) Fortes (2) 212 13–10 5–1 March 24 ESPN+ * The Diamond L 3–5 Mitchell (1–1) Leyboldt (1–1) Samboy (3) 216 13–11 — March 27 ESPN+ The Diamond W 4–2 Newman (1–1) James (0–4) Peters (1) 171 14–11 6–1 March 28 ESPN+ St. Bonaventure The Diamond W 13–3 Steitz (4–0) Feidt (2–3) Dressler (1) 410 15–11 7–1 March 29 ESPN+ St. Bonaventure The Diamond W 6–5 Vaughan (1–0) Paulino (2–5) Peters (2) 380 16–11 8–1 March 31 ESPN+ * The Diamond W 6–1 Weygandt (1–0) Hoover (2–3) None 308 17–11 — April: 6–10 (Home: 1–4; Away: 5–6; Neutral: 0–0) Date TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall A-10 April 3 ESPN+ at Bill Beck FieldKingston, RI L 1–5 Sabbath (2–4) Gotschall (2–2) Houchens (2) 116 17–12 8–2 April 4 ESPN+ at Rhode Island Bill Beck Field L 2–4 Cullen (2–3) Steitz (4–1) Santos (2) 112 17–13 8–3 April 5 ESPN+ at Rhode Island Bill Beck Field L 5–710 Lavigueur (2–0) Leyboldt (1–2) None 103 17–14 8–4 April 7 ESPN+ at Longwood* Bolding StadiumFarmville, VA W 6–410 Campbell (2–1) Fordham (1–3) None 433 18–14 — April 10 at Jack Coffey FieldNew York City, NY W 5–3 Newman (2–1) Elson (3–4) Peters (3) 217 19–14 9–4 April 11 at Fordham Jack Coffey Field W 13–1 Steitz (5–1) Dowd (1–3) None 249 20–14 10–4 April 12 at Fordham Jack Coffey Field W 7–6 Vaughan (2–0) Hanawalt (1–5) Peters (4) 223 21–14 11–4 April 14 ESPN+ No. 9 Virginia* The Diamond W 6–2 Newman (3–1) Yeager (0–2) None 982 22–14 — April 17 ESPN+ The Diamond L 3–4 Haug (2–5) Clover (0–2) Bruno (3) 226 22–15 11–5 April 18 ESPN+ George Washington The Diamond L 7–8 Cutler (5–0) Steitz (5–2) Bruno (4) 211 22–16 11–6 April 19 ESPN+ George Washington The Diamond L 3–9 Wywoda (2–3) Vaughan (2–1) Miller (1) 169 22–17 11–7 April 21 ESPN+ Virginia Tech* The Diamond L 6–8 Robertson (1–0) Clover (0–3) Roe (1) 384 22–18 — April 24 MASN2 at Richmond Malcolm U. Pitt FieldTuckahoe, VA L 1–2 Topolski (4–3) Holbert (2–1) Ruggiero (2) 356 22–19 11–8 April 25 ESPN+ at Richmond Malcolm U. Pitt Field L 4–8 Giordano (10–0) Steitz (5–3) None 413 22–20 11–9 April 26 ESPN+ at Richmond Malcolm U. Pitt Field W 2–1 Newman (4–1) Hinchliffe (3–5) Peters (5) 248 23–20 12–9 April 28 at Old Dominion* Bud Metheny BallparkNorfolk, VA L 6–7 Maddox (1–1) Frers (1–2) None 260 23–21 — May: 9–1 (Home: 6–0; Away: 3–1; Neutral: 0–0) Date TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall A-10 May 1 ESPN+ The Diamond W 12–1 Steitz (6–3) Cherico (3–6) None 237 24–21 13–9 May 1 ESPN+ Saint Louis The Diamond W 5–1 Holbert (3–1) Georger (1–1) None 237 25–21 14–9 May 3 Saint Louis ESPN+ The Diamond W 10–7 Peters (4–1) Earing (2–3) None 216 26–21 15–9 May 5 at Norfolk State* Marty L. Miller FieldNorfolk, VA W 14–37 Clover (1–3) Harrison (0–1) None 135 27–21 — May 8 ESPN+ at Saint Joseph's Smithson FieldMerion Station, PA W 9–6 Campbell (3–1) Greer (3–2) Peters (6) 185 28–21 16–9 May 8 ESPN+ at Saint Joseph's Smithson Field L 4–6 Speicher (6–0) Frers (1–3) Gaines (10) 185 28–22 16–10 May 10 ESPN+ at Saint Joseph's Smithson Field W 19–57 Clover (2–3) Parise (6–2) None 301 29–22 17–10 May 14 The Diamond W 10–0 Steitz (7–3) Perkins (1–3) Campbell (2) 207 30–22 18–10 May 15 ESPN+ Davidson The Diamond W 9–7 Peters (5–1) Marenghi (4–2) None 284 31–22 19–10 May 16 ESPN+ Davidson The Diamond W 12–9 Gotschall (3–1) Taggart (1–3) None 255 32–22 20–10 Postseason: 6–3 (Home: 0–0; Away: 0–2; Neutral: 6–1) : 5–1 (Home: 0–0; Away: 0–0; Neutral: 5–1) Date TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall A10T Record Source May 20 ESPN+ vs. (6) Davidson (3) Capital One ParkTysons, VA W 7–4 Peters (6–1) Yochum (7–1) None 603 33–22 1–0 Report May 21 ESPN+ vs. (2) Richmond (3) Capital One Park W 7–4 Peters (7–1) Gay (0–4) None 809 34–22 2–0 Report May 22 ESPN+ vs. (5) Rhode Island (3) Capital One Park L 4–5 Sabbath (4–5) Campbell (3–2) None 834 34–23 2–1 Report May 22 ESPN+ vs. (1) Saint Joseph's (3) Capital One Park W 13–3 Peters (8–1) Gaines (3–3) None 816 35–23 3–1 Report May 23 ESPN+ vs. (5) Rhode Island (3) Capital One Park W 18–16 Campbell (4–2) Santos (2–2) None 1,045 36–23 4–1 Report May 24 ESPN+ vs. (5) Rhode Island (3) Capital One Park W 9–1 Newman (5–1) Cullen (3–5) Campbell (3) 1,129 37–23 5–1 : 1–2 (Home: 0–0; Away: 0–1; Neutral: 1–1) Date TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall NCAAT Record Source May 29 ESPN+ at (1) No. 4 North Carolina* (4) Boshamer Stadium L 0–8 Lynch (5–4) Steitz (7–4) None 3,982 37–24 0–1 Report May 30 ESPN vs. (2) No. 23 Tennessee* (4) Boshamer Stadium W 5–4 Holbert (4–1) Kuhns (5–5) Peters (7) 3,715 38–24 1–1 Report May 31 ESPN+ vs. (3) East Carolina* (4) Boshamer Stadium L 0–10 Rose (4–2) Vaughan (2–2) None 3,626 38–25 1–2 Report Legend: = Win = Loss = CanceledBold = VCU team memberRankings are based on the team's current ranking in the D1Baseball poll.
Schedule Notes
Tournaments Atlantic 10 tournament