The future of Virginia Tech’s rotation — a freshman who has lived in his older brothers’ shadow for the majority of his life — trekked from the dugout into the mound at English Field Sunday afternoon, followed by a scattered applause from a small crowd.
Drue Hackenberg was ready for his moment, finally out of the shadow of his siblings — one that was almost 20 years in the making.
“Yeah, I was nervous, amped up, ready to go,” Hackenberg said. “But once I got that first strike out, they settled a little bit.”
Drue is carving his own path. As the freshman right-hander circled the mound before his collegiate debut against UNC Asheville on Sunday afternoon, he stopped, pausing to take it in before the Hokies’ 10–4 win over the Bulldogs. The nerves calmed, then it was go time.
It was his turn in the spotlight.
You might have heard of his eldest brother, Christian, who was a quarterback at Penn State and was a second-round NFL Draft pick in 2016. His other siblings, Brandon and Adam, are pretty athletic, too.
Brandon was a successful soccer player at Penn State before he was selected by Orlando City SC with the No. 22 overall pick in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft. Adam, meanwhile, played in the infield for Clemson and was picked in the 18th round by the Chicago White Sox in the 2021 MLB Draft.
“That’s one big thing for me, I love my brothers but at the end of the day I want to be known for Drue,” Hackenberg said.
But Drue, too, is a legitimate prospect, according to Perfect Game. The outlet projected him as a potential draft pick in three years and rated him a top-500 prospect in the class of 2021. For now, though, the Hokies have him in their rotation.
From the first pitch to his last, Drue shoved. His collegiate tenure began with a low 90’s fastball to Ty Kaufman that missed the zone by a few inches, then a strikeout three pitches later.
After that, he toyed with the next two hitters. He showcased his change-up and curveball to keep UNC Asheville off balance. He fired a few more fastballs, forcing Dominic Freeberger and Corbin Lanowitz to induce weak contact that found the gloves of third baseman Carson DeMartini and first baseman Lucas Donlon.
Hackenberg’s imposing 6-foot-2 frame, though he looks a few inches taller on the mound, obscures his affable demeanor. His talent for throwing balls over the plate mirrors exactly what the Hokies preached in the offseason — throwing strikes and avoiding the free pass.
Before he went out to start, Hackenberg was clearly ready to go — maybe even too ready. He chucked two warm up pitches to the backstop, but the anxiety eventually calmed.
An hour later, Hackenberg had a 1-0 lead in the third inning after setting down the first nine hitters down in a row — three of which were on strikes. To accompany the stellar pitching, Donlon singled and DeMartini drove him home with a single of his own.
He worked through the fourth after surrendering a lead-off walk and a one-out single. Hackenberg didn’t let that phase him as he induced another groundball to DeMartini, who stepped on third for the second out of the inning. Then he got Robbie Burnett to lift a fly ball to right field to end the inning.
He pitched a flawless fifth, forcing two ground outs, and struck out MJ Lucas to end his afternoon. He exited to a round of applause from those in attendance and was greeted with a fist bump from Noah Johnson and Marcus Dux before he shook head coach John Szefc’s hand.
“It was his first outing, first start, so you’re not always too sure what you’re going to get from someone like that,” Szefc said. “He’s clearly good enough, but it was important for a young guy to have success like that to build some confidence.”
Perhaps he’ll start a few more times this season, though Szefc doesn’t like putting labels on any of his players. Maybe he won’t this year, especially when tougher competition in the ACC rolls around in March.
Either way, Virginia Tech (3-0) caught a glimpse of the future at English Field on Sunday afternoon. He left with five scoreless innings, seemingly with plenty to give.
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Thanks for the great baseball coverage!
Good article Chris
Really enjoyed the article, especially as an em-dash enjoyer myself!
I love the em dash! And the baseball coverage 😏