2022 VCU Rams baseball team

The 2022 VCU Rams baseball team will represent Virginia Commonwealth University during the 2022 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 10th season at VCU.

2022 VCU Rams baseball
ConferenceAtlantic 10 Conference
2022 record25–17 (10–5 A-10)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Rich Witten (5th season)
  • Seth Cutler-Voltz (3rd season)
  • Andrew Llewellyn (2nd season)
Home stadiumThe Diamond
2022 Atlantic 10 Conference baseball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L T PCTW L T PCT
Davidson  ‍‍‍ 12–3–0 .80033–9–0 .786
VCU  ‍‍‍ 10–5–0 .66725–17–0 .595
Saint Joseph's  ‍‍‍ 9–6–0 .60024–17–0 .585
Saint Louis  ‍‍‍ 9–6–0 .60022–19–0 .537
Rhode Island  ‍‍‍ 9–6–0 .60014–29–0 .326
George Washington  ‍‍‍ 8–7–0 .53320–23–0 .465
George Mason  ‍‍‍ 8–7–0 .53316–26–0 .381
UMass  ‍‍‍ 7–8–0 .46719–18–1 .513
Richmond  ‍‍‍ 6–9–0 .40021–18–0 .538
Dayton  ‍‍‍ 6–9–0 .40018–22–0 .450
Fordham  ‍‍‍ 5–10–0 .33312–29–0 .293
St. Bonaventure  ‍‍‍ 1–14–0 .0672–31–0 .061
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament
As of May 2, 2022[1]; Rankings from D1Baseball

Previous season
Further information: 2021 VCU Rams baseball team

The 2021 VCU Rams baseball team notched a 38–16 (13–3) regular season record. Due to ongoing issues associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rams began their season on February 20, about a week later than usual, due to the pandemic. VCU won the 2021 Atlantic 10 Conference Baseball Tournament over Dayton, and qualified for the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament for the first time since 2015. They were seeded number two in the Starkville Regional, their highest seeding since 2003. There, they defeated Campbell in the opening round, before losing to Mississippi State, the eventual National Champions, and Campbell for a second loss, causing their elimination.

Freshman Tyler Locklear won the Atlantic 10 Player and Rookie of the Year. Locklear earned a number of allocades including national recognition from ABCA, Baseball America, NCBWA, and Collegiate Baseball.

Preseason

Coaches Poll

The Atlantic 10 baseball coaches' poll was released on February 15, 2022. VCU was picked to finish first in the Atlantic 10.[2]

Coaches' Poll
Predicted finish Team Points
1VCU143 (11)
2Dayton122 (1)
3Rhode Island101
4Saint Louis94
5Davidson91
6Fordham83
7George Washington80
8Richmond76
9Saint Joseph's73
10George Mason33
11UMass26
12St. Bonaventure14

Personnel

Roster
2022 VCU Rams baseball team
PlayersCoaches
#Pos.NameBats/ThrowsHeightWeightYearHome town
1 INF Marcus O'Malley L/R 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 161 lb (73 kg) Fr Naples, FL
2 INF Michael Haydak R/R 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Jr Tampa, FL
3 INF Connor Hujsak R/R 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Goffstown, NH
4 INF Ryan Recio R/R 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 184 lb (83 kg) Fr Boca Raton, FL
6 INF Griffin Boone R/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Montclair, VA
8 INF Aaron Barber S/R 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS So Seattle, WA
9 OF Scottie O'Bryan R/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS So Jamesville, NY
10 RHP Edwin Serrano R/R 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 165 lb (75 kg) RS Sr Haines City, FL
12 OF Jesse Robinson R/R 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Henrico, VA
13 OF A. J. Mathis L/L 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) RS Jr Tampa, FL
14 C Brendan Roney R/R 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Fr Cudjoe Key, FL
15 C Jacob Selden L/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Gr Charleston, SC
16 LHP Joey Perkins L/L 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Jr Lebanon, OH
17 C Casey Gibbs S/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Olney, MD
18 RHP Brendan Wilkinson R/R 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Milton, ON
19 OF John Lucas R/R 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 130 lb (59 kg) Fr Midlothian, VA
20 LHP Jaden Griffin L/L 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Jr Sackville, NS
21 OF Logan Amiss L/R 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Jr Powhatan, VA
22 RHP Zach Boswell R/R 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Jr Snohomish, WA
23 RHP Ethan Mishra R/R 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Washington, DC
24 LHP Maddison Furman L/L 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Jr Richmond, VA
25 LHP Jack Masloff L/L 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS So Charlottesville, VA
26 OF Cooper Benzin R/R 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS So Ashland, VA
27 RHP Nick Frazier R/R 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Vienna, VA
28 INF Tyler Locklear R/R 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS So Abingdon, MD
30 RHP Virot Siharath R/R 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Keswick, ON
Head coach

Shawn Stiffler

Assistant coach(es)

Rich Witten
Seth Cutler-Voltz
Andrew Llewellyn

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

Roster
Last update: January 27, 2022

Coaching Staff
2022 VCU Rams baseball coaching staff
NamePositionSeasons at
VCU		Alma Mater
Shawn StifflerHead Coach10George Mason University (2001)
Rich WittenAssistant Coach5Coastal Carolina University (2012)
Seth Cutler-VoltzAssistant Coach3Virginia Commonwealth University (2012)
Andrew LlewellynAssistant Coach2Wingate University (2020)

Offseason

Departures
VCU Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes

Transfers
Incoming Transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Michael Haydak2INF5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)190RS-Jr.Tampa, FloridaPasco-Hernando State
Aaron Barber8INF5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)190RS-So.Seattle, WashingtonEverett CC
Scottie O'Bryan9OF6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)195RS-So.Jamesville, New YorkNiagara County CC
Edwin Serrano10RHP5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)165RS-Sr.Haines City, FloridaSouth Florida State
AJ Mathis13OF5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)165RS-Jr.Tampa, FloridaEastern Florida State
Brendan Roney14C5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)185RS-Fr.Cudjoe Key, FloridaBoston College
Jacob Selden15C6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)175Gr.Charleston, South CarolinaRandolph–Macon
Joey Perkins16LHP6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)215RS-Jr.Lebanon, OhioLincoln Trail College
Zach Boswell22RHP5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)185RS-Jr.Snohomish, WashingtonEverett CC
Ben Nippolt34INF5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)165RS-So.St. Paul, MinnesotaDes Moines Area CC
Nolan Wilson38RHP6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)215Gr.Atlanta, GeorgiaVirginia Tech

Signing Day Recruits

The following players signed National Letter of Intents to play for VCU in 2022.

Player Hometown High School
Pitchers
Cade DresslerMifflinburg, PennsylvaniaMifflingburg Area
Nick FrazierVienna, VirginiaBishop O'Connell
Chase HungateAbingdon, VirginiaAbingdon (VA)
Ethan MishraWashington, D.C.St. John's College
Virot SiharathKeswick, OntarioCrothers
Brendan WilkinsonMilton, OntarioKielburger
Hitters
Casey GibbsOlney, MarylandSt. John's College
John LucasMidlothian, VirginiaTrinity Episcopal (VA)
Marcus O'MalleyNaples, FloridaCollier
Ryan RecioBoca Raton, FloridaBoca Raton Community
Jesse RobinsonHenrico, VirginiaDeep Run

2021 MLB Draft
Main article: 2021 Major League Baseball draft
Round Pick Player Position MLB Team
#7#194Bradford WebbRHPTexas Rangers[3]
#15#453Danny WatsonRHPNew York Yankees[4]

Game log
2022 VCU Rams Baseball Game Log (25–17)
Regular Season (25–17)
May (1–0)
Date Time (ET) TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Atlantic 10 Sources
May 112:00 p.m.ESPN+at DaytonWoerner FieldW 9–8Furman (3–0)Serwa (2–5)—8725–1710–5Box Score
Recap
May 36:00 p.m.ACCNXat Virginia*Davenport Field
Charlottesville, VA		—
May 66:05 p.m.ESPN+George WashingtonThe Diamond
May 71:05 p.m.ESPN+George WashingtonThe Diamond
May 86:05 p.m.ESPN+George WashingtonThe Diamond
May 106:00 p.m.at Old Dominion*Bud Metheny Baseball Complex
Norfolk, VA		—
May 133:00 p.m.at UMassEarl Lorden Field
Amherst, MA
May 143:00 p.m.at UMassEarl Lorden Field
May 1512:00 p.m.at UMassEarl Lorden Field
May 196:30 p.m.FordhamThe Diamond
May 206:30 p.m.FordhamThe Diamond
May 212:00 p.m.FordhamThe Diamond
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Canceled
Bold =VCU team member
Rankings are based on the team's current ranking in the D1Baseball poll.

[5]

Rankings
Main article: 2022 NCAA Division I baseball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
— = Not ranked. RV = Received votes.
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
Coaches'[6]RVRV*————————————
Baseball America[7]——————————————
Collegiate Baseball^[8]RV—————————————
NCBWA†[9]——————————————
D1Baseball[10]——————————————

^ 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.

References
  1. "2022 Baseball Standings". atlantic10.com. Atlantic 10 Conference. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  2. "Defending Champion VCU Selected to Repeat for A-10 Baseball Title". atlantic10.com. February 15, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  3. "Bradford Webb Drafted in Seventh Round by Texas Rangers". vcuathletics.com. July 12, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  4. "Danny Watson Drafted by New York Yankees in 15th Round". vcuathletics.com. July 13, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  5. "2022 Baseball Schedule". vcuathletics.com. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  6. "NCAA Baseball - Coaches Poll". USA Today. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  7. "College Top 25". Baseball America. January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  8. "2022 Collegiate Baseball Polls". baseballnews.com.
  9. "NCBWA Top 30 Polls". sportswriters.net. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  10. "D1 Baseball: Rankings". d1baseball.com. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
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