How The 2022 Class Injunction Impacts Virginia Tech Baseball

BLACKSBURG, Va. — On the evening of July 31st, Colorado judge Charlotte Swenney granted a class-wide preliminary injunction that requires the NCAA to award eligibility to every collegiate athlete from the class of 2022 who exhausted their eligibility this spring. What does this mean for Virginia Tech baseball?

Well, it could impact a few things. The first is the transfer portal. Many players will be able to enter the transfer portal with their final year of eligibility, and that could mean that the Hokies go after some more players in the portal as they head into the fall. They currently have 40 players on their roster and need to cut six to make the 34-man roster limit, but they could still make the addition of one or two more players if the coaching staff feels that it's necessary.

Virginia Tech lost six players to eligibility, they go as follows:

Henry Cooke
Luke Craytor — can't return after signing with the Chicago White Sox
Josh Berzonski
Brendan Yagesh
Brody Roe
Jacob Exum

The Hokies could look to return some guys. Things are up in the air at the catcher position, and while it may be unlikely, I find it hard to believe that Head Coach John Szefc hasn't at least given him a call to see where he stands in the situation and whether or not he may consider a final season with the Hokies.

Cooke started off the last season slow, but really cranked things up in the back half of the season. Logging just six hits in his first 17 appearances across 54 at-bats, good for a batting average of .111, he turned things around in the back half, tallying 176 at-bats and finishing the season with a .286 average along with a .489 slugging percentage and a .409 OBP. He logged a .358 average in conference play, starting 28 games and hitting five homers.

The same goes for guys like Brendan Yagesh and Brody Roe, who both had impactful seasons for the Hokies, primarily out of the bullpen. The pair combined to throw 60.2 innings and log 58 strikeouts.

Bringing back some of the team's more experienced players, especially after the 2026 NCAA tournament run, could bring more and more leadership to the locker room along with guidance for younger players and incoming transfers, allowing for culture to be set quicker and the team to be able to hit the ground running in 2027.

I find the return of players relatively unlikely, as they have all made peace with their baseball careers coming to a close, but never say never.

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