Virginia Tech ushered in the 2026 season with its annual Baseball Night in Blacksburg on Friday, featuring baseball icons Cal Ripken Jr. and Billy Ripken as keynote speakers.
“You hope [the players] can get past the shock first and actually listen to what these guys say,” Hokies head coach John Szefc said. “There’s a lot of tradition in the game, and the Ripkens can talk about it from their angle. I’ve heard them do it before, and I’m just happy our guys get a chance to listen to that.”
The event’s 18th rendition was held at The Inn at Virginia Tech, featuring hundreds of VIP guests, alumni, fans and current and former players and their families gathered in the building’s banquet hall.
“These get you jump-started,” Billy Ripken said of the event. “It’s why every program in the country has these events. They want to get the right excitement level moving forward. … Creating a little buzz, understanding what’s going on and what’s going to take place — it’s good.”
MLB Hall of Famer and two-time MVP Cal Ripken headlined Tech’s inaugural Baseball Night in Blacksburg in 2008. Billy — who spent 12 seasons in the major leagues and has served as an analyst on the MLB Network since 2009 — served as keynote speaker at 2019’s event.
Szefc first met the Ripkens during his tenure as head coach at Maryland — a time when he and Cal made efforts to bring Minor League Baseball to College Park.
“If there’s passion, there’s interest, and there’s caring — and I think those three things apply to John — that’s good,” Billy Ripken said. “I’m not around him enough daily to see X’s and O’s and talking to his players and everything else, but I know he cares.”
If weather permits, the brothers are expected to spend time at Hokies team facilities on Saturday advising players for the upcoming season, which begins Feb. 13 against William & Mary. If able, Billy Ripken said he hopes to share the same advice with the Hokies that his father, Cal Ripken Sr., once gave him.
“My father told me a thousand years ago — take care of yourself,” Billy Ripken said. “I think when I deal with the young kids that are playing, I think more of these guys might have something in common with me than [Cal], and I don’t mean that in a bad way. It is what it is. He’s a Hall of Famer.
“I wasn’t. I grinded my way through. I got through a career. And I think when you put messages across — whether it’s me or brother — the dedication and the work that goes into it is important. You can’t lose sight of that. You’ve got to keep moving. You’ve got to keep grinding.”
Friday’s event opened with an introduction by Hokies radio play-by-play voice Evan Hughes, followed by a season preview by Szefc and Q&A session with the Ripken brothers.
“You know what? We could put out the world’s best plan [on stage], but I know this, when I get next to my bro, we’re going to have fun,” Billy Ripken said. “I think we’re going to be entertaining. I think we will impart some wisdom a little bit, maybe from time to time, but it’s going to be a good night.”
VIP guests included Frank Beamer, Bud Foster and former Tech players Ian Seymour, Joe Mantiply and Chad Pinder. Recent Hokies baseball alumni Carson DeMartini, Christian Worley, Tanner Schobel, Eddie Micheletti, Christian Martin, Jack Hurley, Gavin Cross and Nick Biddison were also scheduled to attend barring any weather-related changes.
“I came down in the lobby and I saw eight to 10 former VT baseball players that are playing in the minor leagues that came back for a night like this,” Billy Ripken said. “To me, that speaks volumes. We’ve got weather coming in, and you’ve got eight to 10 kids showing up that were former players here. That tells you the program’s heading to a good spot.”
The upcoming season is pivotal for the Hokies following last season’s 31-25 finish and loss in the second round of the ACC Tournament. Winter practices have ramped up over the past week in preparation for what the team hopes is a better year.
“I expect to win every game and go to the NCAA Tournament — that’s what I would expect every year,” Szefc said. “This is probably one of the better pitching staffs that we’ve had. It’s probably one of our best pitching-defense teams. It’s just a matter of keeping guys on the field.”
