Everything From Virginia Tech SS Clay Grady At Baseball's Media Day

Virginia Tech shortstop Clay Grady spoke to the media at the baseball team's media day; here's the entirety of what Grady had to say:

On his offseason:

"So, I was definitely a hopeful. For the draft, obviously, it's been a huge dream of mine. It doesn't always work out like that for everybody. We know how the draft goes. It's different every year, but I'm definitely happy to be here. I feel like I'm supposed to be here, for sure. And you know, I've been working really hard and do my best this year, do the best I can for the team, and then hopefully it works out. I love this game, and hope I can keep playing after this."

On a new-look batting lineup following the losses of Ben Watson, Sam Tackett and Jared Davis:

"Watson, one of the better hitters that's ever played at this school. JD brought a lot of energy, also great bat in the lineup. He could play different positions. But I feel like we're even more versatile this year, defensively speaking. We can put guys basically anywhere; we haven't had the opportunity to really do that in previous years. And then, on the offensive side of things, I feel like we got some new guys. Owen Petrich, he's gonna kind of take that role. He's got a little more power in him, too. So, yeah, we got some new guys; you really don't know until the season starts, but the offseason has looked good."

On the confidence tricking down to the players:

"Coach [Kurt] Elbin takes a lot of pride in defense. Defense, they always say, wins games. It's kind of a cliche, but it's true a lot of the times. Coach [John] Szefc always reminds us that taking runs off the board defensively could be the same as scoring runs offensively. So, we probably spend more time on defense than anything. We have our individuals, our team stuff, and so, we're really confident that we got guys that we can kind of put anywhere we want, and they'll be able to get the job done."

On Grady's strong end to 2025 after a relatively down year, and how he's learned from it, carried momentum:

"My first two years here were great compared to last year. And I feel like the end of the year last year, the difference was me just letting loose, having fun. And most importantly, once again, sounds like a cliche, but being a good teammate, that's when I'm at my best, when I try to do whatever I can to help the team, not myself. And I feel like the first part of the year, I kind of got caught in that selfish spot, and then the second half, I took off. Didn't even realize it, because I was just doing whatever I could. Trusted my preparation and worked out for me. So, I'm gonna do the same thing this year. Same attitude as that second half last year. And, you know, I'm very confident I'll work out kind of how it did my freshman, sophomore year."

On whether Grady has been in an infield that had this level of defensive excitement:

"I play with Christian Martin, Carson, DeMartini, guys like that, some bigger names. This infield, I feel like everybody can play anywhere. I've played everywhere in intrasquad. I feel like everybody else in the team can say that. So, I trust any guy in this infield to play anywhere. And I feel like we couldn't say that in previous years. I know I keep bringing it up, but it's a huge point. I feel like any guy's comfortable to move over to third one game, go to second. We got a bunch of different guys playing first base. So, yeah, it's going to be exciting to watch."

Q: How has Pete Daniel drawn into that?

"Pete, he's awesome. I love Pete. Personally, he's a great guy, great teammate. Brings a different type of energy to the team. Older guy, he spent two years at Belmont. So, adding him to this program has been huge to us, seeing what he's learned through his experience. Obviously, he's been mainly in the middle infield, but yeah, he's a great player. And I guess we'll see how it all pans out in the season."

On the team's chemistry:

"So, this is probably my favorite team I've been a part of chemistry-wise. I know it's early to say that, and everything kind of changes in the spring, but yeah, the freshmen, I love them all. I think they're all great players. I have huge respect for all of them and the way they carry themselves. And yeah, I mean, it's just not me teaching them. I've learned a ton from different guys. I want to mention Ethan Ball. He's a great player. He carries himself very well, mature beyond his years, for sure. And there's plenty of other guys that I could name, too. I can't speak on the pitching side of things, because I don't hang out with those guys as much. But I'm sure there are guys on that side that I can say the same. It's give and take. I get advice from them, even though they're younger, and hopefully, they can say the same. And I get some pointers for me every once in a while."

On the team bringing low levels of power, high levels of speed and the kinds of advantages, disadvantages that brings:

"Obviously, there's disadvantages and advantages with it, like you said. But if you can hit a single and steal second base, it's the same as hitting a double, It's same as slugging. I feel like we have guys that we know will have extensive power in there, and it just kind of depends on how it happens. You like, I said, you never know till the season really starts what's going to happen. But we have guys like Petrich that have some power. Sam Gates, he's got some power in there. Obviously, Henry Cooke, and then, we got some of the guys that like to run too, in there, myself, Sam Grube. And even those guys, that power can run a little bit too. So, we got a good mix of it. But once again, you never know until we really get going."

On whether the team looks around the locker room and thinks it looks like a better team:

"Yeah, obviously, the pitching side of things is very strong this year, much stronger than they have been in previous years. Aiden Robertson, huge addition. Griffin Stieg not going in the draft. That was huge for us. So once again, you never know really what the pitching is going to look like until you start, what the roles are going to be, and you don't even know what the lineup is going to look like yet. But just being in the locker room, being on that field with these guys, it seems a little bit more competitive than years past, position-wise, on the mound, everywhere. So, yeah, I'm excited, and I have a lot of confidence this will be our best year since I've been here for sure."

On the opportunities at the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series, where Tech will play against Mississippi State, Tenneesse and Texas A&M:

"So, that's huge for us. Obviously, I'm glad we get to play them early, because that's going to help us in ACC play. SEC and ACC are probably considered the two best conferences in baseball, so it's going to be a good matchup. Obviously, those teams have a lot of big-name arms and things like that, so it's going to be fun to see what our lineup can do against those guys."

On the level of excitement on the team's end:

"Previous years, we've had great lineups, and like you said, I believe we were tournament teams, and we were good enough then to go deep into the tournament and but this year, the arms on the mound are definitely stronger in previous years. Every day in the intrasquad, it's a battle facing guys like Aiden Robertson, Preston Crowl has had a huge jump. He's one of our tougher arms to face. Now, obviously, Griffin Stieg back healthy. He's looking just the same, if not better. And then now Brett Renfrow. Some of the bullpen guys, like Brody Roe, a new guy from Kansas State, are looking great. So, yeah, it's definitely been the most challenging year, I feel like offensively facing our own guys. So, I'm excited to see you know how it all pans out, though."