VMI Baseball Adds Assistant Coaches

VMI baseball announced the addition of two assistant coaches ahead of the 2025 season. The Keydets are hiring two accredited baseball alumni to the coaching staff, Ryan Smoot ’19 and Trey Morgan ’23.

Smoot, assistant coach/recruiting coordinator, returns to his alma mater after spending two seasons at Winthrop University, serving as the assistant coach and working specifically with hitters and catchers. He helped the Eagles to a top-three finish in both the Big South regular season and conference tournament.

In 2024, the Eagles’ offense saw significant improvements in power despite fielding one of the youngest lineups in the country. Overall, Winthrop hitters saw increases in home runs (second most in the BBCOR era), doubles, and slugging percentage, and set a school record for hit-by-pitches (86).

Before Winthrop, Smoot spent 2-and-a-half years at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, working with the Mountaineers’ catchers and assisting with hitters and base runners. While at App State, Mountaineer catchers consistently performed at the top of the Sun Belt Conference in all defensive statistics (passed balls per game, wild pitches per game, caught stealing percentage, and fielding percentage). Smoot was also a part of App State’s best Sun Belt Conference record in school history in 2021, and the best two finishes in school history at the conference tournament in 2021 and 2022.

While in Boone, Smoot managed the Boone Bigfoots, currently in the Coastal Plains League. In the first two seasons in the organization’s history, Smoot compiled a 54-17 record and won the league championship in 2021.

Before App State, Smoot spent one season at George Washington University in 2020. While at GW, Smoot worked with Colonials’ catchers and assisted with hitters, including outfielder Cade Fergus, who was drafted in the 13th round of the 2022 MLB draft by the Philadelphia Phillies.

Smoot is a 2019 graduate of VMI, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and business. Smoot was a 4-year letter-winner, starting over 50 games behind the plate his senior season and leading the Southern Conference in on-base percentage. He is a native of Strasburg, Virginia, and the son of Jeff Smoot, who was a longtime high school baseball coach at Strasburg High School and won over 500 games from 1982–2016.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to return to the Institute and join the VMI baseball program,” says Smoot. “I thank Coach Roberts for this opportunity, and I am excited to get to work with our staff and cadet-athletes.”

Morgan, volunteer assistant coach, returns to the VMI dugout in a volunteer role, fresh from playing his final season at VMI. In his 5-year career, Morgan was a dual-threat player for the Keydets, playing in the outfield and making several appearances on the bump.

By the end of his VMI stint, Morgan left his mark as a Keydet by setting the record for most career games played with 214 and ranking second in career at-bats with 773. He holds the record for the longest on-base streak with 42 and is fourth all-time in total bases (410), stolen bases (63), and hits (245). Morgan also stands fifth in runs scored (160), sixth in walks (109), ninth in fielding percentage (.984), and ninth in triples (7).

Morgan was named Preseason All-SoCon First-Team Outfielder and was voted to the All-Conference Second-Team as an outfielder after posting a .327 batting average and 6.01 ERA in 2024. He also earned All-SoCon Second-Team accolades in 2023 and was also an All-SoCon Freshman in 2021.

Outside of VMI, Morgan has played several summer seasons under his father, Hank Morgan ’99, a former VMI baseball player, for the Peninsula Pilots of the Coastal Plain League. Hank is the CPL’s all-time winningest manager. Henry Morgan, Trey’s grandfather and Hank’s father, is the owner of the team. In 2024, Trey was named to the CPL Select Team to face the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Summer League Tour roster in Cary, North Carolina.

Editor’s Note: This article was first published at vmikeydets.com.