Brett Renfrow was a high school sophomore pitching in the Class 6 state finals when his travel and high school coach, Mike Colangelo, knew he was going to go pro.
The Colgan High right-hander was tasked with containing a James Madison High lineup armed with Bryce Eldridge, James Triantos and Colin Tuft, familiar names to the MLB prospect aficionado. Triantos stepped to the plate against Renfrow already 2-for-2 with a home run and both of James Madison’s runs.
Colangelo had a word with Renfrow. It wasn’t an easy ask.
“I’m tired of him being comfortable in the box,” Colangelo told his pitcher, as stone-faced and calm then as he was over three years at Virginia Tech. “I want a fastball up and in. Make him move his feet, and then let’s try to hammer him away.”
Renfrow did exactly that. He finished with 1 ⅔ innings of no-hit ball against the best team in Class 6 — the highest level of VHSL baseball — though Colgan lost 2-1.
He seamlessly navigated batters who were already professional talents. Now, like them, Renfrow is headed to the MLB. Early Saturday evening, the three-year Hokies ace was selected by the Minnesota Twins with the 74th overall pick in the MLB Draft.
Renfrow became the fifth Day 1 pick and fifth-highest Hokies baseball draft selection of the John Szefc era, ranking behind only first-rounder Gavin Cross (2022), second-rounders Ian Seymour (2020) and Drue Hackenberg (2023), and fellow Competitive Balance Round B selection Tanner Schobel (2022).
Moreover, he was one of four Tech players drafted in 2026, with right-handed pitcher Luke Craytor (No. 255, White Sox), right-handed pitcher Griffin Stieg (No. 378, Pirates) and left-handed pitcher Madden Clement (No. 449, Royals) following suit.
Renfrow was a three-time All-ACC selection at Tech, earning third-team honors in 2024 and 2025 before being selected to the second team in 2026. He recorded 248 strikeouts across three seasons, was named a Freshman All-American in 2024 and became the first true freshman pitcher to start Opening Day for the Hokies since they joined the ACC.
Competitive Balance Round B picks are part of a handful of compensatory selections given to small-market or lower-revenue organizations. They are functionally, but not technically, second-round picks.
Schobel, now with Triple-A Twins affiliate St. Paul, was selected by Minnesota with one of those picks at No. 68 overall four years ago, and Renfrow will now follow him through the same organization. Though the Manassas native grew up a Washington Nationals fan, it doesn’t hurt that the 74th overall pick carries an assigned slot value of $1.14 million.
“It’s gonna feel really good no matter where I go,” Renfrow told Tech Sideline in June. “I’m gonna give it all I got. I’m there to win games and help the team, be a leader, play in the postseason, win the World Series. I want to do it all. I feel like I have a good mindset and a good ability that will help a team a lot.”
Back to a younger, spindlier Renfrow, who had just done away with then-Alabama, North Carolina and Virginia commits — now Triple-A (Tuft and Triantos) and Major League (Eldridge) ballplayers.
“Not a lot of kids have the courage to throw in on a hitter as great as James Triantos,” said Colangelo, a former major leaguer with the Angels, Padres and Athletics. “I was like, ‘Whoa, this guy is gonna go places.’”
Before that day, Colangelo considered Renfrow a better hitter than pitcher. But there’s a school of thought that pitchers are chosen less by arsenal and more by mentality — which must be daring and just a tad crazy. That day, Renfrow was just a tad crazy.
His workload multiplied in his junior season before becoming Colgan’s ace as a senior. Before he arrived at Virginia Tech, where he committed as a freshman outfielder in 2019, he called the coaching staff to inform them he had decided to be a full-time pitcher in college. John Szefc and Co. had no qualms.
Renfrow’s illustrious collegiate career ended three seasons later after pitching in his first regional, though the Hokies went 0-2 in Los Angeles and were quickly sent home. Renfrow spent three more days in Blacksburg before saying his final goodbyes at — and to — English Field and returning to Manassas.
Renfrow said it was bittersweet, if not difficult, but much awaited him in Northern Virginia. Considered a top-100 prospect, Renfrow’s summer was crammed with workouts and phone calls, sometimes concurrently, with MLB scouts and team officials.
Those interactions were even more personal at the MLB Draft Combine, which took place June 23-26 at Chase Field in Phoenix.
“You’re telling them about both your mentality as a person and a baseball player,” Renfrow said. “On the field, off the field, they ask you certain questions and see how you respond. I think it’s a bunch of evaluation points they’re trying to see, but they’re also just trying to build a relationship and talk to you. They just want to meet you.”
Those conversations could be nerve-wracking, but Renfrow handled them the same way he dealt with the pressure of 10-15 scouts attending each of his outings this past season. He just needed to be Brett Renfrow.
“For some athletes, you have to coach them up on it because they’re arrogant or their off-field behavior isn’t good, but for Brett, it’s pretty simple,” Colangelo said. “He just needs to be himself.
“He’s such a phenomenal person. He’s so genuine. What he says is who he is. My wife always says when you look at Brett, you know exactly what he’s going to say. You can see him thinking. He’s just such a great human being.”
Colangelo, who is well-connected in the baseball world through his playing days and ownership of Stars Showcase Baseball, said more than 15 scouts called him about Renfrow. He told them all the same thing.
“Forget about the pitching,” Colangelo said. “You guys can look at numbers for pitching. But when you start stacking character, work ethic, doing things right on and off the field, he’s Mount Rushmore of athletes. There’s zero risk of getting Brett Renfrow in a big league uniform and saying, ‘Man, I just hope he’s going to be everything we want.’ He’s going to be a guy that does it off the field. He was awesome at Tech. Coach Szefc loved him, and I’m not surprised because I loved coaching him.”
It isn’t Renfrow’s first rodeo with the MLB Draft. He received interest coming out of high school and worked out for a number of teams, but was not selected and opted not to sign undrafted.
“Brett was probably ready mentally to get into pro ball out of high school, but his arsenal wasn’t,” Colangelo said. “I think what he’s done a good job of going to college and working with his pitching coach that he’s got up north, Kyle Whitten, is he’s created an arsenal that is game-ready for professional baseball day one.”
Whitten starred as a right-handed pitcher for Virginia before a five-year minor league career in the Tampa Bay Rays system that ended this summer. He now serves full-time as Stars Baseball’s director of pitching. Just as he did three years ago, Renfrow looked to Colangelo and Whitten for pre-draft advice, as well as what to do once he was selected.
“What I stressed to him is, ‘Dude, we just need to get a jersey on your back,’” Colangelo said. “You’re that good. When the jersey’s on your back, we start running the race. We’re going to run faster and better than everyone else.”
That was Colangelo’s mindset when the then-Anaheim Angels selected him in the 21st round of the 1997 MLB Draft out of George Mason. An outfielder, he made his first major league appearance at 22 before playing 70 more games.
Like every minor leaguer running the rat race, his routine was brutal: waking up, spending an hour in the gym, arriving at the field eight hours before first pitch, getting his work in, taking batting practice, watching film, going through imagery and mental exercises, then taking batting practice again. It’s as cliché as it is true: baseball, eat, sleep.
“It’s a huge process,” Colangelo said. “And you’ve got to love that process because you do it every day the same way. That’s going to be the difference between success and failure: Can you stay on that routine?
“I think Brett’s ready for the race. I’m ready to one day watch a major league debut for him.”
Once Renfrow signs his rookie deal, he’ll be one of approximately 5,000 players gunning to reach the major leagues or stick there. His mind is buzzing. After all, his dreams just came true. But the path ahead is long and winding, with much yet to be accomplished.
However, one thing is finished and decided: his legacy at Virginia Tech, which will be remembered wherever his professional career takes him.
“I hope I helped the team — that I was a leader, someone who understands what it takes to be a good person and a good teammate,” Renfrow said. “Someone who gives everything their all and battles no matter what. We made it to a regional this year, so now a lot of those guys know what it’s like and what it takes. I think I and others who are leaving have left a legacy of how to do that.
“I’m just very proud that I went to Virginia Tech and that I’m a Hokie.”