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V
VT One OP
Apr 27, 2026 at 12:00 PM ET
Not to get ahead of this year- which could still end up very positively-
but is there any way Tech can hang on to Ethan Ball? He has to play two more years of college baseball (I presume) but the chances of him being poached by big dollars has to be very high. I know baseball is a bit different than the other sports but we lost a freshman starting pitcher to an SEC school last year. Ball has to be one of the freshmen in the country. Can we keep him?

4 Replies

V
vtfin91
3mo
Who knows...we kept Renfrow who I would guess has a higher market value
as a premiere weekend starter. But certainly seems very possible, we also lost Kulick last year in addition to Marciano (who is elite this season) , plus Michel and then a few others over past 3 cycles who I assumed were maybe due to comp.
V
VT One OP
3mo
Thanks for the response. Would love to keep him two more years.
5
5thFloorLee
3mo
Going to be tough to compete on NIL
Most everything will be going to the football program. Unless a VT baseball fan makes a specific donation to pay players we won't spend the money to keep him. I remember Patrick Mahomes wrote a couple $1m checks to a Texas Tech softball pitcher to stay.
S
Slider!22
3mo
Not Mahone, but an alumni
A married couple, both alumni and former athletes at TT, wrote those checks for the softball pitcher. 1.25 million last year, and 1.75 million this year. Saw an interview with them a few months ago…..