After a second straight season that saw the Virginia Tech baseball team fizzle over the final six weeks to miss the NCAA Tournament again, the Transfer Portal came into play once again for the Hokies and head coach John Szefc. That included pitcher Griffin Stieg, who missed the 2025 season with an injury.
The right-handed pitcher has not pitched since the 2024 season after suffering an injury that required Tommy John surgery. To compound matters for Virginia Tech, after this past season, he entered the Transfer Portal and committed to Alabama in early June. He was MLB Draft eligible and ended up getting drafted a couple of weeks ago in Atlanta.
Stieg returning to Virginia Tech is a huge addition to the rotation for Szefc, who also returns Friday night starter Brent Renfrow, while Aiden Robinson will likely be another weekend arm for the Hokies when ACC play begins next March. Stieg was a Sunday starter for Tech before he suffered his injury in 2024.
Griffin Stieg is returning to Virginia Tech rather than transferring to Alabama
Stieg is returning to Blacksburg for the 2026 after not signing with the Mariners and backing out of his commitment to Alabama, according to Will Miller of BamaCentral. Apparently, Stieg never signed with the Crimson Tide to play in the SEC next season.
Stieg returning to Virginia Tech is a huge addition to the rotation for Szefc, who also returns Friday night starter Brent Renfrow, while Aiden Robinson will likely be another weekend arm for the Hokies when ACC plat begins next March. Stieg was a Sunday starter for Tech before he suffered his injury in 2024.
Stieg had a 4.71 ERA in 2024 in 50 innings of work with a 48-13 strikeout to walk ratio. He should be a name that moves up the MLB Draft board in 2026 with a good year at Virginia Tech and the Hokies get a much-needed arm to fill out their weekend rotation, which was going to be a work in progress next spring.