Virginia Tech's Clay Grady and Willie Hurt Announce Their Return For 2027

Virginia Tech shortstop Clay Grady has announced his return for the 2027 season following an 2026 season where he missed the entire campaign with a broken wrist. Willie Hurt has also announced his return. Both announcements were made via social media through the Virginia Tech baseball pages.

𝘾𝙡𝙖𝙮'𝙨 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙛𝙤𝙧 '𝟐𝟕 🔨

≫ @Clay_Grady2 #Hokies 🦃⚾️ pic.twitter.com/Pj1u419mCL
— Virginia Tech Baseball (@HokiesBaseball) June 12, 2026

2026 was supposed to be Grady's final year of eligibility after being a three-year starter at the shortstop position, where he hit .303/.382/.404 with five careers homers and 77 RBI, along with 18 stolen bases in 25 attempts. His best season to date came in the 2024 year, where he slashed .335/.394/.410 with one home run.

Defensively, Grady is one of the best shortstops in the ACC, committing just seven errors over his three years with a .984 fielding percentage and a career 15.33 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) with a 1.2 career Defensive Wins Above Replacement (DWAR)

Along with that, he's posted a career 11.77% strikeout rate and a 9.7% walk rate. He produces little power, punching just five homers and 22 doubles throughout his career, making him project very well for a lead-off batter and a guy who can simply get on base and play plus defensive at the toughest position on the infield.

The big concern about Grady is his production. His Weight Runs Created + (wRC+) — an advanced metric to measure the run value of a player's bat — has been on a steady decline throughout his career, going from 103 as a true freshman to 97 as a sophomore and as low as 84 in his junior season. He had a poor junior season, batting a career low .262, though he punched a career high 14 doubles — accounting for nearly 2/3 of his career doubles.

Saving his season in 2025 was his month of May, where Grady caught fire and batted .372 over the entire month.

𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙚'𝙨 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙛𝙤𝙧 '𝟐𝟕 🔨#Hokies 🦃⚾️ pic.twitter.com/5SiDPkAAUj
— Virginia Tech Baseball (@HokiesBaseball) June 12, 2026

Moving over to Willie Hurt, he appeared in 34 games — starting in 14 of them — and batted .333 with a .522 on base percentage, meaning he reached first base or better more often than he didn't. He also played average defense, primarily in the outfield, while seeing some light time at third base early in the season.

He didn't display a ton of power, much like Clay Grady, but he's a guy who logged more walks and more hits — individually counting — than he did strikeouts. With very little extra-base ability shown, Willie Hurt would be a very prototypical nine hole guy, since a nine-hole hitter isn't relied on to display power. Typically the best back of the order hitters are guys who can get on base and set the table for the top of the order.

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