No stranger to talent around the diamond, the Virginia Tech baseball team will roll into the 2024 season this week equipped with six student-athletes who placed in D1Baseball’s Preseason Player Rankings.
Returning four starting infielders from their 2023 roster, the Hokies are one of six Division I programs nationally that produced ranked preseason players at four or more infield positions (joining the likeness of Arkansas, Florida State, North Carolina, Oregon State and Vanderbilt).
Carson DeMartini – No. 3 Third Baseman
Virginia Tech’s 2023 All-ACC Third Team selection and 2024 Preseason All-American continues to be praised for his potential, adding a top-three national position ranking by D1Baseball to his preseason résumé. Batting .332 for his career spanning 111 games and 110 starts, DeMartini heads into his draft-eligible year regarded as one of the country’s most talented third basemen, ranking as the No. 43 overall prospect for the 2024 MLB Draft per mlb.com.
Last season, DeMartini led the Hokies in runs (58), RBIs (57) and walks (46), flexing a .455 on-base percentage and a 1.048 OPS. Through two collegiate seasons spanning 111 games played, he is batting .332 and slugging .627 with 27 career doubles, seven triples, 25 home runs and 107 RBIs.
DeMartini, compared at times to his 2022 teammate, Nick Biddison, has a high ceiling in 2024. He looks to lead the Hokies into this summer’s MLB Draft, where 14 Tech players have come off the board since 2021.
Garrett Michel – No. 14 First Baseman
Michel made a name for himself during his rookie 2023 season with the Hokies, finishing second on the club in batting average (.339) and slugging percentage (.626) while starting 51 of the team’s 53 games. The 2023 ACC All-Freshman first baseman ranked 11th among ACC batters in on-base percentage (.465), pairing 16 doubles and 11 home runs along with 51 runs scored and 45 RBIs.
Coming off his 33-game summer with the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League, Michel is destined to bat from the heart of Virginia Tech’s lineup in 2024. The 2023 Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) University Division Rookie of the Year anchors the Hokies’ returning cast of infield veterans.
Christian Martin – No. 17 Second Baseman
After backing up starter Eduardo Malinowski during his freshman 2022 season, Martin won the second baseman’s job in 2023 and proceeded to make 48 starts as a sophomore, running away with the Hokies’ batting title (.345). Virginia Tech’s primary leadoff man compiled 60 hits from 174 at-bats, swinging seven doubles, three triples and three home runs while drawing 32 walks and swiping eight bases.
Martin’s .979 fielding percentage during the 2023 campaign mirrored the Hokies’ .979 team fielding percentage, which ranked as the second-best mark among ACC programs. He was also involved in completing 28 of the squad’s 47 double plays.
Clay Grady – No. 42 Shortstop
Filling the cleats left vacant by pro-bound shortstop Tanner Schobel, Grady rose to the occasion as the Hokies’ everyday starter during his rookie 2023 season. Despite injury preventing him from making a convincing case to be named last year’s ACC Defensive Player of the Year, Tech’s agile freshman committed one lone error across 125 defensive chances, settling at his nearly pristine, .992 fielding percentage.
With a bat in his hands, Grady hit .307, knocking around five doubles, a triple and four home runs to yield 34 RBIs. Returning to full health in 2024, he stands to be a key piece in the Hokies’ returning infield that turned 47 double plays a year ago – a tie for the third most among ACC programs.
Griffin Stieg – No. 58 Starting Pitcher
Despite only seeing one start during his freshman 2023 season, Stieg impressed experts enough to earn the No. 58 starting pitcher spot in D1Baseball’s preseason snapshot of the nation’s top 150 game-opening arms. Through 16 appearances, the right-hander posted a 1-0 record with a 6.75 ERA, though averaged 11.57 strikeouts per nine innings, registering 24 strikeouts through 18 and two-thirds innings pitched.
Steig finished his rookie campaign by mastering a 1.59 ERA during his final five outings of the season, including four scoreless days toeing on the rubber. He enters the 2024 season as the Hokies’ lone returning pitcher with starting experience.
Chris Cannizzaro – No. 94 Outfielder
After four extraordinary years at Bucknell, Cannizzaro was quick to fit in with the “Hammerin’ Hokies,” breaking out as the country’s hottest hitter in late February and early March. The fifth-year outfielder made his first Tech impressing when he hit for the cycle on Feb. 26 against Bryant, stringing together seven consecutive games with three or more base knocks.
Cooling ever so slightly during ACC play, Cannizzaro ended his first year in Blacksburg with a .337 batting average, 65 hits (career high), 11 doubles, two triples and 10 home runs through 51 games played. He logged 45 RBIs and crossed the plate 40 times, playing errorless in the outfield across 63 defensive chances.
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