Virginia Tech Baseball: ACC Coaches Pick Hokies to Finish Sixth in the Coastal
Virginia Tech Baseball opens year two of the John Szefc era on Friday afternoon against the San Diego State Aztecs in a neutral site game on the campus of Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina.
The Brittain Resorts' Baseball at the Beach Tournament features the Hokies, San Diego State, UNC-Greensboro, and the host of the tournament, Coastal Carolina.
The Hokies return a young, talented roster, but expectations from coaches around the league appear to be low heading into the new campaign. Despite the influx of young, highly-touted recruits to the team, Tech returns just four seniors off last year's team, a group that finished the season 26-27 overall with a 9-21 record in ACC play.
This is likely a driving factor as to why the Hokies are picked to finished second-to-last in the ACC Coastal by the conference coaches.
Many anticipated that it would be a lengthy rebuild for the Virginia Tech baseball program under Szefc, and the expectations of many from the outside reflect that sentiment.
While Tech's record did not reflect great success a year ago in Szefc's first season in Blacksburg, the Hokies appeared to play more consistent baseball than in years past. The 2019 team finished with a five-win improvement from 2018, and appears poised to take another step in the right direction this season.
While the NCAA Tournament and College World Series are both certainly a long-shot in 2020, the team should be competitive once again to set up for a more realistic tournament run in 2021.
