Virginia Tech Baseball Hires Doug Willey As New Pitching Coach

Willey, who spent the last three years as Xavier's pitching coach, replaces Ryan Fecteau, who the Hokies let go at the end of last season.

Arkansas University Athletics

Earlier this evening, D1Baseball's Kendall Rogers reported that Virginia Tech baseball is hiring Doug Willey as their new pitching coach.

SCOOP: @HokiesBaseball is hiring Doug Willey as its new pitching coach, I'm told. Willey has spent the last three seasons as the pitching coach at #Xavier, and replaces Ryan Fecteau, who was let go at the end of the season. #Hokies

UPDATED CAROUSEL: https://t.co/EyUwuSUIqR pic.twitter.com/rfe24kNN1P

— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) June 18, 2025

Willey has pitching experience at the Division I level; the right-hander made 26 appearances in relief for Arkansas in 2016 after three seasons at Division II's Franklin Pierce.

In Willey's lone year with the Razorbacks, he compiled a 3.49 ERA, and gave up 11 earned runs with 29 strikeouts over 28.1 innings pitched.

He then went on to professional baseball, selected in the 2016 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Angels with the 966th pick. Willey was shipped off to the Angels' Pioneer League affiliate, the Orem Owlz. He contested a lone season for the team, playing in 17 games; he surrendered 24 runs and 40 hits over 30.1 innings pitched.

Following that, Willey moved on to the Syracuse Spartans of the New York Collegiate Baseball League as a pitching coach before returning to Arkansas as a graduate assistant.

Willey spent a year and five months there, per his LinkedIn, before transitioning to the Chicago Cubs as a rookie-level pitching coach. After that, he moved to Cincinnati to join Xavier in August of 2022. Just under three years later, he comes to Blacksburg.

Willey relieves Ryan Fecteau, who parted ways with the program alongside director of player development Kyle Sarazin, a move reported by Tech Sideline’s Dylan Tefft on May 24.

Last season, the Hokies posted the ACC's sixth-lowest ERA at 5.23 and the fourth-lowest Batting Average Allowed at .267.

While Tech's shortcomings last season weren’t entirely on the pitching — the Hokies had the fourth-worst batting average and third-lowest hits in the ACC — it is a sizable issue.

Though the jury's out on whether Willey will make a difference, a fresh face could be what Tech needs right now. It could also offer a route to some Big East talent. Ben Weber and Ryan Piech sport the two lowest ERA counts on the Musketeers with a 4.15 and a 4.37, respectively. Weber and Piech both have eligibility remaining, with the former going into his senior year, and the latter, his junior season.

While the conversion from Big East ERAs to ACC isn't linear, those numbers being around the 5.00-6.00 range in the ACC would make sense and allow for more pitching. As those numbers stand, they'd rank fifth and sixth on the list of Virginia Tech pitchers with at least 10 innings pitched last season.

Trevor Geddes is also an interesting option to consider from the Musketeers; the rising senior lefty from Louisville, Ky. sported a 4.63 ERA in 11.2 innings pitched last year.

Bullpen depth is always a plus. With Jake Marciano off to Auburn, Tech will need a new weekend arm. The Hokies' ace Brett Renfrow is certain to maintain his Friday status; I'd expect Preston Crowl to settle in as the second-in-line with Chase Swift, Logan Eisenreich and Mathieu Curtis not far behind.

The introduction of Weber, Piech, Geddes, or others would likely breed further competition for that battle. Whether any of them follow Willey to Blacksburg remains to be seen. But with a new voice leading the pitching staff and several roles up for grabs, the door is wide open for movement — both through internal competition and portal additions.