Virginia Tech Baseball and head coach John Szefc have picked up a transfer portal commitment from Niagara right-handed pitcher Nate Bennett, adding another arm to the Hokies' rotation mix for next spring. The London, Ontario native announced his decision on his X account, becoming the latest pitcher to join Virginia Tech's 2026 transfer portal class.
It's been a fairly quiet portal window for Szefc and the Hokies overall, with the staff focused heavily on retaining key pieces from this past season's roster. But the pitching additions have started to trickle in over the past week. Bennett's commitment comes just days after left-hander Chris Torres, a USC Upstate transfer out of West Springfield, Massachusetts, also joined the Hokies and is expected to factor into the rotation picture.
Bennett just wrapped up his sophomore season at Niagara, where he went 4-1 with a 4.94 ERA across 51 innings of work. He appeared in 12 games for the Purple Eagles, making eight starts, and racked up 59 strikeouts against 19 walks. Opposing hitters managed just a .275 average against him on the year, a solid number that points to a pitcher who can miss bats and limit hard contact at the same time.
Bennett should factor into the battle for the third starting spot on Virginia Tech’s weekend pitching rotation along with Torres. Returners Logan Risenreich and Ethan Grim project as the first two guys in the 2027 weekend rotation currently.
