RICHMOND, Va. – VCU Baseball gets the 2024 season started with a weekend visit to No. 13 NC State, as the second season under head coach Bradley LeCroy gets started on Friday, Feb. 16.
 
VCU enters 2024 with a different look on the mound, but some familiar faces in the box and on the field as the Rams look to return to their championship winning form after the 2023 season. LeCroy and his staff worked hard to revamp the pitching staff and brought in 14 new arms to go along with nine position players, rounding out a deep and talented VCU roster.
 
EIKE'S PRESEASON NODS - Among the best third basemen in the country, returning first team All-Atlantic 10 senior Brandon Eike was ranked by D1 Baseball as the 10th-best third basemen in the nation as part of their preseason coverage. Eike slashed .346/.395/.610 during his 2023 campaign.
 
To go along with his top-10 ranking at third, Eike was also named the A-10 Preseason Player of the Year by D1 Baseball. He also earned A-10 Preseason All-Conference honors from Perfect Game as part of PG's preseason coverage.
 
CHUNK LOCKS UP THE DISH - Returning behind the dish is senior Nic Ericsson, one of the best defensive catchers in the country. During the 2023 season, Ericsson was a force to be dealt with, posting a .686 percentage for runners thrown out, punching out 22 runners which ranked him third in the nation for runners caught stealing
 
RETURNING THE FIELD - The Rams return a large collection of experience in the field, part of an offensive and defensive team that ranked among the best in the conference and near the top in the nation. The Rams ended the season with a top-25 rated defensive fielding percentage had a top-50 offense in the nation when it came to scoring runs.
 
VCU returns 2023 starters, redshirt senior Cooper Benzin (OF), Eike (3B), senior William Bean (SS), redshirt junior Jake Thilges (1B) and Ericsson (C) and all five returning starters are expected to return to the spots they held last season.
 
RAMS IN THE INFIELD - VCU's strength lies in their infield, where the Rams return five players who saw significant action last year, including three who will retain their starting spots this season.
 
Eike, the A-10 Preseason Player of the Year (D1 Baseball) will return to third base, where he made just five errors. Bean, who slashed .241/.428/.426 and finished 22nd in the nation in walks drawn, returns to short where he made 55 starts last season.
 
At first, Thilges, who took over for Eike after the first two weeks of 2023, retakes his spot where he started 42 times, hitting five home runs and stealing four bases while
committing just one error in 327 putouts.
 
MOUND UP - One place where LeCroy and his staff have improved the squad is on the mound, where the Rams posted an ERA north of 7.00 during 2023. LeCroy and his team have brought in 14 pitchers to go along with a returning core of 12 arms to make up VCU's deep pitching.
 
Looking to highlight things for VCU are newcomers Everett Vaughan, Owen Tappy, Will Greer and Nick Cosentino. Those incomers join returners Zachary Peters, Brian Curley, Christian Gordon, Campbell Ellis and Cade Dressler to round out the VCU staff.
 
WINNING TRADITION - The Rams have been known for winning, and despite the 2023 season, VCU has been doing just that since 2014. The Rams entered 2023 as one of just seven programs on the nation to have won 34 or more games in every full season since 2014, and the come into 2024 having reached the 34-win mark in each of the last eight out of nine seasons.
 
THREE IN FOUR - The Rams can claim the A-10 Tournament titles in 2021 and 2022, holding the title in two out of the last three seasons. VCU became only the sixth program to win back-to-back A-10 Tournaments since 1979 and the first since 2007, 2008 (Charlotte) when they brought home the 2022 title.
 
RAMS IN THE PROS - VCU has had 54 players selected in the MLB Draft, and as of 2015 VCU has seen nine Rams go in the draft. As recently as the 2022 draft Tyler Locklear was selected in the second round by the Seattle Mariners.
 
SEEING THE CAROLINAS - The Rams will spend a decent amount of time in the Carolinas, spending a week going through North and South Carolina and opening the season in Raleigh, N.C.
 
After its opening weekend at #13 NC State, VCU will again hit the road at the start of March, taking a trip first to #11 East Carolina for a pair of midweek games (Mar. 5-6), before spending the weekend in Greenville, S.C.
 
VCU AND THE SOUTHERN GREEN MONSTER - Hosted by Michigan State, VCU will take part in the First Pitch Invitational in Greenville, S.C. What makes that weekend unique is it will be played at Fluor Field, home to the Greenville Drive, the Boston Red Sox's High-A affiliate.
 
The ballpark is made up as a replica of Fenway Park, including a Green Monster in left field, that sits 33 feet high. The Rams will face Michigan State, Western Michigan and Western Carolina over the weekend.
 
IN-STATE BATTLES - Throughout the non-conference slate the Rams will take on teams from Virginia 10 times, including home and home match ups with preseason ranked #14 Virginia, Longwood, Liberty, William & Mary and Old Dominion.
 
A-10 POLLING - VCU was selected to finish fifth in the 2024 Atlantic 10 Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Rams received a total of 97 votes, inc­luding two first place votes. Saint Louis was picked first with 125 votes (3), George Mason was selected second with 121 votes (2), Saint Joseph's (114 [1]) came in third and Davidson's 113 votes (2) rounded out the top four.