Roberts ’11: Q&A With VMI Baseball’s Head Coach

In his 5 years as VMI baseball head coach, Sam Roberts ’11 has led the team to success on and off the field. Since returning to the program in 2017 and becoming head coach in 2022, Roberts has followed a legacy of alumni head coaches who have faithfully led the program for the past 4 decades. This year, Roberts became the fastest coach in program history to reach 100 wins and the third all-time in victories with 108 wins. In the spring, he also led the Keydets to the fifth-most wins in a single season in program history and the most wins since 2010.

As he looks toward another exciting season, Roberts took a moment to chat about his unique coaching perspective as an alum and former cadet-athlete and his leadership today.

Q: Where are you from and what brought you to VMI as a cadet?

A: I went to a high school called Prince George High School, just south of Richmond. My dad was a longtime baseball coach there. I had an older brother [Mike Roberts ’09] who went through the recruiting process and had a ton of different opportunities but chose VMI. So, when I was recruited, it was a natural choice to end up here. My mom and dad were both super supportive of my brother going through [VMI], and he was 2 years older than me, and it gave me the opportunity to play with him again.

Q: After graduation, you played professional baseball for a while before coaching. What brought you back to VMI?

A: When I was going through my playing career, I knew that whenever I was done, I wanted to get into coaching. I got released at the end of spring 2015 training and had the opportunity to go back home and coach with my dad at Prince George. That springboarded me into coaching, and after the VMI season ended, I had the opportunity to talk with Coach Hadra [’04] and was able to start my coaching career.

Q: What does it mean to you to be back at the Institute coaching today?

A: It was awesome to have the opportunity to get into coaching here because it’s a really challenging thing. Coach Hadra and Coach Ikenberry [’95]—all those guys have done so much for me in my career to get me started, giving me opportunities, and sticking with me when things weren’t as smooth as maybe they could be.

One of the cool things about VMI baseball is it has been led by an alum since 1980. It’s a crazy long string of alums, and these are guys who really care and really have an understanding about the feel of the school and, obviously, of the baseball program.

Q: Is there a particular mentor from the program who influenced the way you coach today?

A: There have been a lot of them. Coach Ikenberry recruited both my brother and me to VMI. Without him and without my dad believing in what he stood for and trusting that he would develop us not only as baseball players but as young men, we probably wouldn’t be here today.

I was also incredibly fortunate that Coach Hadra gave me my first opportunity in coaching. Throughout my time as an assistant, he continued to believe in me and promoted me into bigger roles. Then, when he decided to go to Old Dominion, he was one of my biggest advocates for becoming the head coach at VMI. I’ll always be grateful for that confidence and support.

One of the things I take the most pride in as a coach is creating an experience that players genuinely enjoy. If our players leave here wanting to stay involved in the game, whether that’s coaching, mentoring, or giving back, I think we’ve done something right. The fact that VMI has produced so many alumni who come back to coach is a testament to the people who came before me. They built a culture where players had such positive experiences with the program and the institution that they wanted to carry it forward. That’s something I’m proud to be a part of and hope to continue.

Roberts has become the fastest coach in VMI baseball history to reach 100 career wins and ranks third all-time in program victories with 108.—Photo courtesy VMI Athletics.

Q: How do VMI’s values shape the program?

A: Everything that the school teaches you, whether it’s in the Rat Line or afterward, is a positive for their life. I want them to understand the value of the skill set that VMI is instilling in them. I’ll say, ‘Hey man, the time management, the discipline, all those things that are important at VMI, but also are important to baseball and the professional world.’

Q: When you think back to your cadetship, what lessons influence how you coach?

A: I think you just have a better understanding of kind of what cadets are going through. Also, understanding the class system here is a huge piece. At VMI, as you get older you have more responsibility, but as a coach, if you have a freshman up there, you need him to play with as much confidence and swagger as the older guys, even though he may be a rat. So, it’s building those guys up while also respecting the class system at VMI.

Q: How do you define success for you and your players?

A: I think the biggest thing is just putting them in a position to be able to provide for their families first and foremost. You come to college to get an education and to continue to better yourself. I think VMI does a tremendous job of challenging you throughout and making you feel like you’re always in continuous growth, which I think is important as you move through your life.

But again, the success part: Obviously, you’re trying to win games on the field, but you’re also trying to allow VMI to develop good people who understand the value of the military, the sacrifice of that, hard work, dedication, time management, and leadership. You’d love to sit here and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to win X number of championships.’ That would be amazing, but I think you can do both. I think that you can win a whole lot of games while also making sure you’re graduating people who are good human beings.

Q: What excites you about the direction of the program right now?

A:  Because of Mike Lamore [’85], who gave us Lamore Field, we have an opportunity to play on one of the best fields in the Southern Conference, and we’re excited about that. We play in the fifth-best league in the country, so it is extremely challenging, but at the same time, extremely rewarding. We’re also returning a lot of our guys from last year’s team.

Q: VMI baseball has a strong tradition of alumni support. What has that connection meant to you and the program?

A: The alumni support is the biggest thing. As college athletics has turned, you’ve got to have the support of alumni and the VMI family donor base. We’re super fortunate that we have a lot of people carrying me and this program.

I’m excited about where the program’s been, but also probably more excited about where it’s going to go. We’re coming off back-to-back winning seasons, which is cool, but I want to win at a higher level, and I think we’re positioned to do that as a program and as a team because of all of the leadership before me—coaches who structurally put the program in a really good spot when I was fortunate enough to get the job. There have been many VMI alums who have carried this program throughout the years and have made long-term decisions in the best interest of the program.