Kennesaw State RHP Daniel Powell Commits To Virginia Tech

BLACKSBURG, Va. — John Szefc and his staff have landed a top RHP transfer out of the portal in Daniel Powell, a source confirmed to Virginia Tech On SI. Powell is the sixth commitment out of the portal for the Hokies.

Powell joins Evan Hankins, Chris Torres, Nate Bennett, Mike Staiano, and Aiden VanDeHatert out of the portal.

This past season at Kennesaw State, Powell posted a 3.27 ERA in 55 innings of work, striking out 64 batters and walking just 24 — good for a 17.6% K-BB rate and a 3.9 BB/9 innings. His specialty is his ability to limit hits, keeping his opponent batting average to just .223 on the season and .209 in 2025, his sophomore year.

While limiting hits, he also limits extra bases. He posted a slash line of .223/.314/.346 in 2026, with a .660 OPS — the lowest among any pitcher that has committed to Virginia Tech so far in the cycle.

Powell's walk rate has steadily decreased year over year, dropping from 16.3% as a freshman all the way down to 10.6% as a junior, along with his strikeout rate climbing year over year, from 12.8% to 28.2%. He also collected seven saves this season.

While he posted some big-time numbers as a junior, Powell was also very effective as a sophomore. After a very tough freshman season, where he posted a 10.47 ERA in 16.1 innings, Powell threw nearly 40 more innings, reaching 56 across 26 outings, and posted a 4.50 ERA and had a career-best opponent batting average of just .209 — one of the only numbers that hasn't had a year-to-year increase.

The staff's right-handed arms now include the following:

Nate Bennett
Daniel Powell
Aiden Robertson
Talan McConnell
Jake Wise
Alex Hoffman
Ryan Walsh
Ethan Lee
Will Vetter

Bold = Established/Trusted arms
Remaining names will have a lot of competing to do to secure a larger role.

With four trusted arms, the Hokies likely look to one more righty out of the bullpen, while still having catcher and potentially an outfield position to address. I expect at least one more portal commit in the incoming days, potentially two to three more depending on what the Hokies address. They're now at 36 roster spots with 34 allowed, so they have at least two guys to cut. I can't see them going any further than cutting five guys, so that limits the staff to three more portal additions as most.

We will have you covered as the transfer portal continues to unfold.

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