The Virginia Sports Information Directors named (from left) Hartley Jordan ’23, attack, and Luke Rusterucci ’25, attack, to its university division All-State Second Team June 30, 2023.—Photo courtesy VMI Athletics.
The honorees have been selected for the 2022–23 Virginia Sports Information Directors Academic All-State Team. James Boynewicz ’25 (lacrosse), Cassidy Dufour ’23 (rifle), Courtney Novotny ’25 (water polo), Ty Swaim ’24 (baseball), Sam Wolfe ’23 (basketball), and London Yerasimides ’23 (swim & dive) are VMI’s six representatives.
There were a total of 36 schools represented and 214 student-athletes honored.
Honorees have a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or higher and are sophomores or higher.
VMI’s Cole Garrett ’24, Swaim, Cole Jenkins ’24, and Trey Morgan ’23 were named to the Virginia Sports Information Directors University Division All-State Baseball Second-Team.
VMI baseball’s Cole Garrett ’24, Swaim, Cole Jenkins ’24, and Trey Morgan ’23 were named to the Virginia Sports Information Directors University Division All-State Baseball Second-Team.—Photo courtesy VMI Athletics.
The four Keydets were instrumental in VMI finishing the season fifth in the nation with a .322 batting average, tied for 44th in hits and tied for 49th in runs. The Keydets ranked 16th in slugging percentage (.529) and 25th in on-base percentage (.409). VMI’s SoCon winning percentage was the best for the team since 2018, and 26 victories tied the school record for the seventh-most wins in a single season in school history.
Garrett earned first-team All-Southern Conference honors at catcher. He hit .350 with a .437 on-base percentage and a .630 slugging percentage and ranked in the SoCon top 10 in slugging, runs, RBIs, and doubles. Garrett led the team with 53 RBI and was third on the squad in HRs (11), runs (53), and total bases (126). He started all 55 games behind the plate.
Swaim, second baseman, was a second-team All-SoCon selection. He tied for 14th in DI with 35 stolen bases and led the Southern Conference in stolen bases and doubles and ranked in the top 10 in runs, hits, and triples. Swaim hit .348 with 57 runs, 20 doubles, 34 RBIs, and a .405 on-base percentage. He was a member of the 2022–23 VaSID Academic All-State Team.
Jenkins, a first-team All-Southern Conference outfielder, hit .350 in his junior season. He ripped 11 home runs and 19 doubles to go with 50 RBI and 47 runs. Jenkins earned the Perfect Game/Rawlings and Southern Conference Player of the Week Awards and was also named one of Collegiate Baseball’s National Players of the Week April 10. The SoCon Player of the Month for April, Jenkins ranked in the conference’s top 10 for slugging percentage, doubles, and total bases.
Morgan, a redshirt junior, was a second-team All-SoCon honoree in the outfield after hitting .345 with 52 runs and 42 RBIs. Morgan ranked in the top 10 in the conference in runs, hits, and stolen bases and was 2-2 on the mound with a 5.58 ERA and two saves. He earned a spot on the 2023 John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award mid-season watch list, released by the College Baseball Foundation.
Isaiah Blount ’25, multi-event track and field athlete, was named to the Virginia Sports Information Directors Men’s University Division All-State Track and Field Team for his accomplishments during the 2023 outdoor season.—Photo courtesy VMI Athletics.
Isaiah Blount ’25, multi-event athlete, was named to the Virginia Sports Information Directors Men’s University Division All-State Track and Field Team for his accomplishments during the 2023 outdoor season.
The junior from Milford, Virginia, was named to the VaSID All-State Second Team after placing second in the decathlon at the SoCon Outdoor Championships in May to earn All-SoCon honors. He achieved a personal-best point total of 6258 points over the 10 events, placing second in the shot put, 400-meter, 110-meter hurdles, and the pole vault. At the VertKlasse Meeting in April, he earned a personal record time of 23.70 seconds in the 200m. Later in the season, he placed first in the decathlon at the New Captains Classic with 5889 points by placing first in the shot and discus and second in the 100m, 400m, and pole vault.
His high finish in the decathlon helped the VMI men’s team to an impressive third-place finish at the SoCon Outdoor Championships in Cullowhee, North Carolina.
During the indoor season, Blount placed second in the heptathlon at the VMI Winter Relays, where he logged 4201 points after placing first in the shot put and the 1000m.
Recognizing the top NCAA Division I lacrosse players from the Commonwealth, the Virginia Sports Information Directors named Hartley Jordan ’23, attack, and Luke Rusterucci ’25, attack, to its university division All-State Second Team June 30, 2023.
Jordan was named First Team All-Conference for the second consecutive season (SoCon 2022, MAAC 2023) after becoming the 20th Keydet in program history to make VMI’s prestigious 100 Point Club (62 career goals, 40 career assists). The Richmond, Virginia, native and team captain was named the team’s Offensive Player of the Year for a second straight season as he logged 54 points in conference games over his career, the sixth-most in program history.
Rusterucci led the team in points (54) on a team-high 30 goals and assists (24), which ranks No. 13 all-time for points in a single season in program history. The 30 goals scored ranks No. 15 in school history for a single season, and the 24 assists for the year is the ninth-most for a single season. Just a sophomore, the Peachtree City, Georgia, native ranks No. 11 all-time in program history in career assists with 47 and needs just three more to join VMI’s prestigious 50-Assist Club, a group only 10 Keydets have attained in program history. He was named MAAC Offensive Player of the Week twice during the season.
The pair helped VMI achieve its most successful season in 15 years as the Keydets finished with six wins on the year, the most since 2008, and the most goals scored (155) since the 1997 season.
Editor’s note: These articles were originally published at vmikeydets.com.
