Griffin Stieg’s Second Chance: A Year After Injury, He’s Back Where He Belongs

Griffin Stieg talks about his injury recovery along with his decision to stay at Virginia Tech.

Griffin Stieg pitching against Georgia Tech in 2024 | Virginia Tech Athletic

Griffin Stieg’s path back to Virginia Tech baseball reflects the kind of uncertainty many college pitchers now navigate: a path shaped by injury, roster turnover and changing opportunities.

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In 2024, Stieg settled into the Hokies’ rotation as a steady presence. He made 13 starts, logging 51.2 innings with a 4.70 ERA and 48 strikeouts. Even as he dealt with minor injuries during the middle of the season, he continued to shine, remaining a consistent option until his year was abruptly cut short.

That turning point came against Virginia. After retiring the first five batters he faced, Stieg suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament with two outs in the second inning. Tommy John surgery followed, ending his season and setting the stage for a year-long rehabilitation process that kept him away from competition throughout 2025.

Without innings to anchor his routine, Stieg was left to focus on the daily work of recovery, a process that tested his patience more than anything else.

“There’s a lot of resilience,” Stieg said. “You had to show up every day knowing you couldn’t play, but you still had to do your best to recover and prepare for your future self.”

As the season progressed without him, Stieg’s situation became more complicated. A change within Virginia Tech’s pitching staff introduced uncertainty, and as the year came to a close, he entered the transfer portal in search of clarity. That search led him to initially commit to Alabama, while the MLB Draft added another layer of possibility when the Seattle Mariners selected him in the 19th round.

Yet as those options took shape, the direction never fully settled. Virginia Tech moved on from pitching coach Ryan Fecteau and eventually settled on former Arkansas pitcher Doug Willey as the man to guide Tech's arms.

“The pitching coach change brought a lot of unknowns,” Stieg said. “Once everything got settled down, the draft didn’t work out the way we wanted it to.”

With professional baseball no longer an immediate certainty, Stieg began reevaluating what made the most sense moving forward. Conversations with his family and Virginia Tech’s staff shifted the focus away from short-term opportunity and back toward familiarity and fit.

“Being closer to home, talking with the coaches, that made coming back here the best option,” Stieg said. “Everything I’ve been through here with the coaching staff and how supportive they’ve been mattered.”

Virginia Tech head coach John Szefc said Stieg’s return was a meaningful development for a pitching staff built around experience. The retainment of Stieg also gives the Hokies two returning ACC starters, something that's previously foreign for the most part for Hokies baseball.

“He was an ACC starter before he got hurt,” Szefc said. “To have two returning ACC starters is something we haven’t had much of.”

Importantly, Szefc noted that Stieg’s decision was largely self-driven rather than the result of a formal re-recruitment.

“He came back because he chose to come back,” Szefc said. “He’s been here for three years. He knows what the program is.”

With his role clarified, Stieg has turned his attention to preparing for the season under Willey. He credited Willey’s structure and individualized approach for helping him regain rhythm after the layoff, particularly during fall ball and the preseason buildup.

“The fall was a lot of learning,” Stieg said. “Being patient, knocking the rust off. Coming back this winter, I feel really good with where I’m at.”

That steady progression has carried into the start of the season, where Stieg says he feels physically prepared to contribute and is right back near 100% capability.

“I’m built up to be ready,” he said. “Everything is where it needs to be.”

While professional aspirations remain in the background, Stieg said his focus is firmly on the present and on helping a deep Virginia Tech pitching staff compete.

“That’s the goal eventually,” Stieg said about his potential pro career. “But my focus is on this year and this team.”

After a year defined by recovery and uncertainty, Stieg’s return provides Virginia Tech with both experience and continuity as the Hokies move into the season.

Virginia Tech baseball kicks off its 2026 campaign next Friday, Feb. 13 at 4 p.m. as it hosts William and Mary at English Field.