Purcellville, Va. — Loudoun Valley High School rising senior Michael Grupe has committed to play Division I baseball at Virginia Tech beginning in 2019-2020 school year.
“The feeling of being committed to a college is indescribable,” the Vikings pitcher said. “It’s a great feeling to know that I won’t have to worry anymore about where I’m going to go to college or having to apply to other colleges and knowing that all the hard work that I have put in in the weight room, on the field and in the classroom has paid off.”
[adrotate banner=”19″]The 6-foot-2 right hander helped lead the Vikings to a 12-11 overall record in 2018 season and to a third place finish in the Dulles District.
However, even with his commitment, Grupe still looks at his Loudoun Valley experience and knows how important it is to his baseball career.
“So far my experience playing at Loudoun Valley has been awesome,” Grupe said. “I’ve been able to play with all the guys that I came up through Little League with, and I wouldn’t be where I am now without Coach Todd. He got me in the weight room and working hard through the off seasons which has made my arm a lot stronger. I came in freshman year throwing in the high 70s to now in the low 90s.”
Loudoun Valley head baseball coach Wayne Todd led the team to an 8-4 home record this past spring, as well as a win over Loudoun County in a VHSL Region 4C quarterfinal.
Grupe is not the only pitcher in Purcellville being recruited by the Hokies. Woodgrove High School rising senior Nick Lockhart has also committed to Virginia Tech. Both Grupe and Lockhart are excited about the opportunity head coach John Szefc is giving them. .
“Pitching and defense has gotten away from techs program in these past few years and I think the addition of Lockhart and me along with all the other strong arms in our 2019 class will solidify the pitching staff,” Grupe added. “I think that Coach Szefc is going to turn the baseball program around and make the Hokies really competitive.”
Grupe will be joining the Hokies program that finished 21-33 overall in the 2018 season and 8-22 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Grupe will look to help rebuild Virginia Tech’s program when he enters the school in 2019.
Grupe – a 2018 All-LoCo honorable mention – is excited about his commitment to Virginia Tech, and he knew that is where he wanted to play from the start.
“Ever since I had been a kid, it was my dream to play at Virginia Tech,” Grupe said. “The campus amazed me my first time ever going there, and I knew that’s where I wanted to go.”
