Devynn Alston, Staff writer
VCU baseball capped off a historic bounce back season with an A-10 tournament championship.
The 21-game improvement was the biggest in VCU history, in part due to the squad hitting a program-record 67 home runs over the course of the season.
The Rams’ first game of their championship series highlighted their championship run, with VCU winning against the University of Rhode Island in a 18-16 slugfest. In the second game of the series, VCU sealed the deal, winning the championship 9-1.
It’s win marks the program’s fourth championship win in six years. It was second-year head coach Sean Thompson’s first A-10 tournament win.
Thompson said the team’s resilience was a defining factor of the team’s championship run.
“You got to have the right people in the building and in the program,” Thompson said.
Thompson, a former VCU player and the youngest coach in D-1 baseball, revived the program through roster retention, smart use of the transfer portal and player development.
Ram nation will remember the 2026 squad for its hit production, with three different players producing 70+ hits this season, a first for VCU since the 2010 season, according to VCU athletics.
The Rams’ season ended in a loss to East Carolina University during the NCAA tournament.
VCU standout second-year Jacob Lee continued the dominance from his rookie season, earning an ABCA Athletic All-Region First Team nod. Lee also won Most Outstanding Player in the A-10 tournament and was named to the A-10 All-Championship Team.
Lee was not the only player who improved from season to season. Other key players, such as third-year Nathan Kirkpatrick, second-year Cooper Campbell and Nick Flores, were major contributors to this team’s success.
“A little bit of talent, but mostly it was just the buy-in, the cohesiveness in our group,” Lee said.
That cohesion carried VCU through a season that ended with an A-10 championship and a return to the NCAA tournament, giving the Rams a foundation to build on heading into next season.