The VMI Keydets baseball team represents the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. The team is a member of the Southern Conference, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. VMI's first baseball team was fielded in 1866. The team plays its home games at Gray–Minor Stadium in Lexington, Virginia. The Keydets are coached by Sam Roberts.

History In fall 1866, just two years after the Virginia Military Institute had been burned down by David Hunter and the Union Army, a group of cadets got together and created the Institute's first organized baseball team. It was the first organized team from any sport. In the inaugural season, the Keydets had an astounding mark of 20–1–2, playing among in-state rivals such as Washington and Lee, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Randolph-Macon and Hampden-Sydney, and continuously so for the next several decades.

In 1921, the team started playing at recently built Alumni Memorial Field along with the football team. Both squads had, up to that point, been playing on the Parade Ground. It was not until the 1960s that the baseball team shifted to Patchin Field, and most recently in 2007, began playing in Gray-Minor Stadium. Excluding 2004 to 2014, when they played in the Big South, the Keydets have played for the Southern Conference.

Despite having many winning seasons throughout the 20th century and into the last decade, the Keydets have never been able to make the NCAA tournament. The 1969 team lost to Furman in the SoCon Championship Finals; Furman made the 1969 NCAA University Division baseball tournament with the win. The 1987 and 1993 team each made the tournament final. The 1993 team came closest to breaking the barrier with a run to the Southern Conference finals, and despite being an 8th seed, VMI upended three higher-seeded teams before bowing down to eventual champion Western Carolina.

Year-by-year results

1950 4–14 2–7 Southern Conference Frank Summers 1951 1–20 0–12 1952 1–13 1–8 Vince Ragunas 1953 7–7 4–4 Chuck Noe 195412–6 6–4 1955 12–8 6–7 1956 12–10 7–7 Jack Null 19578–13 4–6 1958 4–12 2–8 19595–11 5–10 Weenie Miller 19606–8 5–8 1961 7–7 6–6 1962 8–7 7–7 Charlie McGinnis 1963 14–11 7–7 1964 11–12–1 5–9 1965 15–9 8–6 196610–13 6–10Fred Kelly 1967 9–11 7–9 1968 7–8 3–5 Chuck Roys 1969 10–12 8–7 1970 6–13 4–9 Tom Sawyer 1971 5–24 1–15 1972 6–19 3–13 Phil Tucker 1973 3–14 0–11 19746–14 5–9Donny White 1975 2–18 1–13Jerry Roane 19766–23 2–12 19775–19 2–12Vern Beitzel 1978 2–27 0–14 1979 6–25 0–15 1980 4–22 0–12 19813–37 0–16Jim Rowsey 1982 11–29 6–10Donny White 1983 11–25 5–9 198416–18 6–7 1985 16–24 8–10 198615–25 7–11 198716–16–1 8–4 198820–20 11–7 Paul Maini 1989 16–23 8–7 199012–26 6–8 1991 2–35–1 1–15 1992 11–39 4–15 Chris Finwood 199320–29 5–15 199421–29 10–13 1995 19–28 10–14 Scott Gines 1996 17–29 7–16 1997 13–35 6–13 1998 14–35 7–17 1999 22–27 13–16 200019–30 11–19 2001 15–32 8–19Tom Slater 2002 10–41 1–27 200325–27 16–14 2004 23–32 4–20 Big South Marlin Ikenberry 2005 27–28 11–13 200630–25 9–15 200734–21 10–11 200829–26 14–7 200918–35 10–15 201033–22 13–14 201127–24–1 14–13 201216–36 7–17 201320–35 6–18201425–23 11–162015 20–28 12–12Southern Conference Jonathan Hadra2016 21–35 4–20 Southern Conference 2017 24–34 7–17 Southern Conference 201826–27 12–12 Southern Conference 2019 17–41 9–15 Southern Conference 2020 4–13 0–0 Southern Conference 2021 18–29 13–17 Southern Conference 2022 16–40 6–15 Southern Conference 2023 26–29 9–11 Southern Conference Sam Roberts2024 27–29 7–14 Southern Conference 2025 27–26 6–15 Southern Conference

Coaching history Frank Summers 1950-51 5-34 .128 2-19Vince Ragunas 1952 1-13 .071 1-8 Chuck Noe 1953–55 31–21 .596 16–15 Jack Null 1956–58 24–35 .407 13–21 Weenie Miller 1959–61 18–26 .409 17–25 Charlie McGinnis 1962–65 48–39–1 .551 26–28 Fred Kelly 1966–67 19–24 .442 13–19 Chuck Roys 1968–69 17–20 .459 11–12 Tom Sawyer 1970–71 11–37 .229 5–24 Phil Tucker 1972–73 9–33 .214 3–24 Donny White 1974, 1982–87 91–151–1 .377 45–60 Jerry Roane 1975–76 8–41 .163 3–25 Vern Beitzel 1977–80 17–93 .155 2–53 Jim Rowsey 1981 3–37 .075 0–16 Paul Maini 1988–91 50–104–1 .326 26–37 Chris Finwood 1992–94 52–97 .349 19–43 Scott Gines 1995–2000 104–184 .361 54–95 Tom Slater 2001–03 50–100 .333 25–60 Marlin Ikenberry 2004–14 282–307–1 .478 109–166 Jonathan Hadra 2015–22 147–249 .371 63–108 Sam Roberts 2023-present 80–84 .487 22–40

VMI and MLB VMI has had 31 Major League Baseball draft selections since the draft began in 1965. Keydets in the Major League Baseball Draft Year Player Round Team 1965 51 Orioles 1966 24 Pirates 1966 4 Senators 1989 17 Athletics 1990 11 Athletics 1990 4 Cardinals 1994 32 Royals 1995 22 Rockies 1995 4 Rangers 1996 55 Pirates 2003 35 Brewers 2003 19 Braves 2003 14 Blue Jays 2005 32 Pirates 2006 44 Blue Jays 2007 40 Cubs 2007 24 Pirates 2007 12 Angels 2008 38 Brewers 2008 25 Athletics 2008 9 Brewers 2009 50 Athletics 2009 31 Astros 2010 33 Rockies 2011 26 Athletics 2012 23 Rangers 2012 21 White Sox 2014 21 Nationals 2014 16 Rangers 2015 22 Dodgers 2015 14 Giants

In popular culture The 1938 film, Brother Rat is set at the Virginia Military Institute. The film features Eddie Albert as the VMI baseball team's star pitcher, and Ronald Reagan as his catcher. The film's plot centers on Albert and Reagan as they attempt to win the big baseball game against rival Virginia. Portions of the film were shot on location at the VMI campus in Lexington. In 1940, the film was followed by a sequel, Brother Rat and a Baby, featuring the same lead cast members. The sequel film's plot centered on the since-graduated Albert's attempt to get a job as a baseball coach at his alma mater.

See also List of NCAA Division I baseball programs

References

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