VCU heads to Greenville Regional with 'a positive mindset,' will open against Wake Forest (2024)

Fresh off their Atlantic 10 Conference baseball tournament championship, the Rams packed into Home Team Grill in the Fan District of Richmond at around 11:30 a.m. Monday.

“Get Up” was airing on ESPN2 as VCU players and coaches filled out three long tables and five booths in the main dining area. The Rams were there to learn where their next baseball games would be.

Just over 30 minutes later — after a few rounds of appetizers made their way out of the kitchen — during the NCAA tournament selection show, the announcement was made that the Rams are the No. 3 seed in the Greenville Regional, facing No. 2 Wake Forest at 6 p.m. on Friday night. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.

The Rams cheered enthusiastically when the letters “VCU” — along with a live feed from the watch party itself — appeared on ESPN2, which was being aired on the many television screens mounted around the bar.

Watching the team take in the moment was Home Team Grill owner Mark Overby and his parents from South Hill, Jim and Anne Thomas, who happened to be in town dropping their daughter off at the airport.

“I told them they might as well stop by and enjoy all the excitement before we go out to lunch,” Overby said.

The team also let out another roar when Wake Forest was confirmed as their Game 1 opponent.

“It’s always special to make a regional,” said Brandon Eike, a Powhatan native who was just named A-10 player of the year. “It’s not something you get to do every year. It’s just a special moment for us as a team to hear that announcement.”

Some national media outlets projected VCU to be in the Charlottesville Regional, hosted by Virginia. VCU head coach Bradley LeCroy was not surprised with the team’s placement.

“A lot of times (the selection committee) tries to avoid having you play somebody you played during the regular season,” he said. “We played UVa twice. N.C. State’s hosting and we played them three times. North Carolina’s hosting and we played them once. We were supposed to play East Carolina, but we got rained out.”

Host East Carolina and No. 4 Evansville, champion of the Missouri Valley Conference, round out the region.

VCU was supposed to play a two-game series in Greenville, North Carolina, back in March. So the Rams have a small head-start, scouting-wise, if they wind up facing the Pirates.

“We’ve got a start,” LeCroy said. “We’ve got their guys in a database; we’ve watched film on them. We’ll go back ... That was two months ago. Some guys might be playing more now, some guys might be hurt, so we’ll go back and look at their last couple weeks and reevaluate.”

But first up is Wake Forest, and on the bump for the Demon Deacons will likely be one of the nation’s top pitchers. Chase Burns, a transfer from Tennessee, was 10-1 across 15 starts with a 2.46 ERA. He struck out 184 batters and walked only 26 over 95 innings.

The Rams welcome the challenge.

“Something that’s been big for us this season is having no fear,” said Brian Curley, a Midlothian native who mentioned he was on his way to get a haircut from his mom after the watch party.

“We opened the year with N.C. State,” Curley continued. “And honestly, we felt like we could have won all three games (instead of one). Taking that attitude and grit has been a huge difference between this season and last season.”

In fact, the Rams believe their difficult schedule has prepared them for postseason tournament play.

“We played several ACC schools this year and had some success, so we’ll have a positive mindset,” LeCroy said.

The ACC seems to be a decent measuring stick. Five schools from the conference — Florida State, Virginia, North Carolina, Clemson and N.C. State — are hosting a regional.

The NCAA regionals will take place May 31-June 3 at 16 host sites.

Last weekend’s A-10 title was the fourth for the Rams since joining the conference in 2013 and the first under LeCroy, who is in his second season leading VCU.

During stints with Clemson, Tennessee, Western Carolina and Anderson (South Carolina), LeCroy has been to 13 NCAA tournaments, including nine straight as an assistant coach with Clemson from 2011-2019.

VCU last made the NCAA tournament in 2022. In the Chapel Hill Regional, the Rams opened 2-0, which included a win against Georgia and a 4-3 victory over North Carolina. The Tar Heels came back to win the regional with three straight wins, the last two coming against VCU.