Bryant RHP Transfer Kaden Hilburger Commits To Virginia Tech

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Virginia Tech has added another RHP transfer into the mix in the form of Bryant transfer Kaden Hilburger, who will have a single year of eligibility remaining. He announced his commitment via Twitter/X on Wednesday afternoon.

Committed! @HokiesBaseball pic.twitter.com/YiKv9AZtWn
— Kaden Hilburger (@KadenH16) July 1, 2026

Hilburger joins the Hokies as the ninth transfer portal addition and the seventh pitcher to be added to the mix, joining position players Evan Hankins and Caleb Strawhecker, along with pitchers Chris Torres, Nate Bennett, Mike Staiano, Aiden VanDeHatert, Daniel Powell and Nic Abraham. His addition likely rounds out the Virginia Tech Bullpen.

As a guy who can eat innings, Hilburger profiles as a depth RHP who can take care of a lot of innings and preserve the Virginia Tech bullpen with long outings. He threw 59.1 innings on the season with the Bulldogs, posting a 4.40 ERA in 12 appearances, all of which were starts for his former program.

Due to some very strong numbers — though largely helped by one start — his last three starts for the Bulldogs all spanned eight innings, averaging just about 96 pitches per outing, which translates to a very efficient 12 pitches per innings among those three outings.

Across those 24 innings, he gave up nine earned runs, which is good for a 3.38 ERA over a three-start period. His best outing in the stretch came as his last start with Bryant, where he posted eight scoreless innings against New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). In the outing, he gave up just seven hits and zero walks, striking out a trio of batters.

Hilburger's strikeout numbers remain low, punching out just 38 batters in his 59.1 innings, but he did walk just 15 batters, which is good for just 2.3 BB/9 innings. That will translate well when it comes to a depth inning-eating option out of the bullpen.

Per his Twitter/X, Hilburger features a four-pitch mix. He has a fastball that sits in the low-90's but can top off at about 95, along with a changeup and cutter that both ride in the mid-80's with max velocities of 85.2 and 87.6 respectively. His curveball is the final pitch that is used, sitting around the upper 70's, topping out at 79 mph.

Doug Willey is a coach who has had success adding pitches to a player's arsenal, and a back-breaking slider could work very well for Hilburger's pitch mix, pairing well with his cutter and curveball based on the metrics of each pitch.

Virginia Tech's RHP Austin Dean entered the portal earlier today, so Hilburger's addition doesn't add another name to the previously 37-man roster that the Hokies have. They still have room to add one or two players out of the portal. If they do, I strongly expect them to be position players that are brought onto the roster for depth and power additions.

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