Benedictine Baseball has reached the Virginia Independent Schools state playoffs six of the past seven seasons and nine times since 2000. The 2010 Cadets captured the school’s second VISAA State Championship, 10 years after its first, capping a four-year run that has seen them go 72-32 for a winning percentage of .692. The Cadets have done so while regularly playing one of the most difficult schedules in Central Virginia, including nearly half of their games over the past seven years against public schools.
Since 2000, Benedictine has had one player – Chad Williamson – selected in the Major League Draft and produced nine Division I baseball players. Many more have competed at the Division II, III and junior college level.
The Cadets’ recent success comes on the heels of decades of excellence. Over the past 25 years, 36 Benedictine players have been named to All-Metro teams by The Richmond Times-Dispatch. Led by the likes of the legendary Warren Rutledge, Buster Lammay and Wes Hamner, players like Tracy Woodson, who earned a World Series ring as a member of the 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers, Tom Lukish, John Kuester, and the Harvey brothers.
It’s a tradition that today’s Cadets strive to uphold – and work to enhance.
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| 2009-2010 State Baseball Champions |
Benedictine is proud to count a World Series champion, an NBA Finals champ and a college football national champion among its baseball roster.
Tracy Woodson starred at North Carolina State before spending five seasons in the major leagues, belting a homer off Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan in his eighth career game. In 1988, Woodson played a key reserve role for the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers and can be seen bear-hugging a gimpy Kirk Gibson at home plate after Gibson stunned Oakland with a game-winning homer in Game 1 of the Series. “I get goose bumps every time,” Woodson said of watching the replays. “People can say what they want about Bill Mazeroski’s home run. There is no bigger home run. It was off the best reliever in baseball. He couldn’t walk. It won the game…it won the World Series for us.” Woodson spent eight seasons as a minor league coach before accepting the head coaching position at Valparaiso University in 2006.
John Kuester starred in baseball but ended up playing for Dean Smith’s North Carolina Tar Heels for four years, helping UNC to four NCAA tournaments. He earned an NBA Finals ring as an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons in 2004 and now serves as head coach of the Pistons.
And although Bobby Ross is more famous as a football coach – “Boss Ross” won a national title at Georgia Tech and led the San Diego Chargers to the Super Bowl – he also spent plenty of time on the baseball diamond.
Benedictine has a proud baseball heritage, one that will continue for the next 100 years.