RICHMOND, Va. – VCU Baseball will open its season on the road in Charleston, S.C., as the defending Atlantic 10 Champion Rams take the field for the first time in 2025 on Friday, Feb. 14 at College of Charleston.
 
Among the staffing changes in the Rams' offseason, Head Coach Sean Thompson announced the addition of his former teammate and highly-accomplished VCU baseball pitcher JoJo Howie to the staff as pitching coach. The pair were both members of the 2015 Dallas Regional Champion VCU squad that advanced to the program's first NCAA super regional.
 
The Rams also welcomed 11 new faces to the pitching staff, six arriving as transfers and five as freshmen. Brian Yetter (Marist), Drew Ramos (Randolph-Macon), Miles Garrett (Missouri) and Max Moore (Mount St. Mary's) all join VCU as graduate students, while junior Brayden McCollough (San Jacinto) and sophomore Broden Palmer (Portland) complete the transfer additions. Cooper Campbell, Riley Roarty, Hank Piersol, Brian Goglia and two-way talent Elijah Coston make up the incoming freshman class.
 
VCU saw left-handed hurler Christian Gordon go in the 2024 MLB Draft, an ace of the Rams' staff last season who tossed a team-high 79.2 innings over 16 starts, fanning a whopping 102. The Rams also notably graduated Campbell Ellis, who helped the Rams to three Atlantic 10 Championships during his four years.
 
Returners and additions alike, VCU's pitching staff features many seniors and graduate students who bring a great amount of combined experience to the hill.
 
RETURNERS
Cade Dressler enters his fourth year with the Rams and the three-time Atlantic 10 Champion is expected to pivot from his usual bullpen role to lead the staff as a starter. Dressler is coming off his best year in 2024, in which he posted a 3-2 record and tallied a pair of saves behind his 4.46 ERA. The lefty has made 30 appearances with VCU, all out of the bullpen, including a career-high 15 last season as he is poised to make his first collegiate start on opening weekend.
 
Owen Tappy was named on D1Baseball's top relief pitchers list ahead of the season at No. 65 among Division I relievers. Tappy was instrumental to the Rams' success on the mound in 2024, compiling a 7-2 record with a team-leading five saves and a 3.12 ERA in his role as closer. In over 43 innings of work, the righty gave up just six walks.
 
Jack Hoeymans started eight games over 19 appearances during 2024 in his first season with the Rams. The redshirt senior pitched to
 
Incoming Junior Zachary Peters was second on the Rams with 13 starts in 2024. In his first two seasons with VCU, Peters posted a 6.36 ERA through 93.1 innings of work. As a freshman, he earned a victory in his collegiate debut and tallied his second win in a six-inning outing against A-10 opponent Goerge Mason, fanning eight and allowing just three hits in a combined shutout.
 
All returning from last year's Atlantic 10 Champion roster, Justin Humenay, Jack Goleski, James McGrady and Michael Walsh are joined by underclassmen Nick Frers and Joe Gomez to round out the strong presence of returning Rams on the pitching staff.
 
NEWCOMERS
Thompson's staff welcomes a strong incoming class of 11 new Rams to complete their 2025 roster as VCU will compete to defend its A-10 Title.
 
Yetter arrived to VCU from Marist where he played for four seasons, amassing 154 strikeouts over 151.2 innings of work. The righty, who started 20 games in his 54 appearances with the Red Foxes is expected to get the nod early for the Rams.
 
Ramos led Division III baseball with 17 starts at Randolph-Macon in their 2024 run to the NCAA DIII Baseball Championship Final. The righty saw a successful four-year career with the Yellow Jackets, collecting an 18-4 record and pitching to the tune of a 4.52 career ERA. With over 179 innings of collegiate competition under his belt, Ramos brings a veteran presence to VCU.
 
Garrett, who comes to VCU from Mizzou, started his career on Vanderbilt's 2021 national runner-up squad for which he made nine appearances from the bullpen for a 2.79 ERA. A hard-throwing righty, Garrett was a highly touted recruit out of high school as well, named the No. 9 overall recruit in the state of Georgia in the class of 2020 and the No. 40 right-handed pitcher in the nation.
 
Moore spent his undergraduate career with Mount St. Mary's, notching 52 appearances, 48 of which were in relief. He tossed 64 strikeouts in 63.2 innings with The Mount and joins the Rams as a graduate transfer. The lefty is a Richmond native and graduate of Heritage High School, where he was a multi-year All-Region player.
 
McCollough is a junior college transfer from San Jacinto College who Coach Thompson noted to be far along in VCU's development process during the fall. Palmer, a Washington native, spent his freshman season at Portland and joins VCU as a sophomore.
 
Coston is an incoming two-way talent that drew some attention in his first collegiate fall season, noted as a player to keep an eye on by D1Baseball's Aaron Fitt. Campbell, Roarty and Piersol, who are all local to Virginia, and Goglia, a Connecticut native, complete the freshman class.
 
To read more about the 2025 outlook, see the position player preview here.