Minium: In Spite of Diminished Playing Time, Four Division III Transfers Say They Made the Right Choice to Play for ODU Baseball

By Harry Minium

NORFOLK, Va. – All four played and starred for baseball programs in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, one of the best Division III leagues in the nation.

One played on a national championship team. All four excelled academically and were named to various all-league teams.

And last spring, when their seasons ended, they shared a common yearning. They wanted more. They wanted to transfer to a Division I program and see how they could compete against the best.

So pitcher Brandon Pond from the University of Lynchburg, infielder/outfielder Hunter Cole from Randolph-Macon, pitcher Aiden Kuhle from Roanoke University and pitcher Jay Cassady from Christopher Newport all transferred to Old Dominion.

Tonight, they will play in their first Division I conference tournament ever when the No. 8 Monarchs face off against No. 9 South Alabama at 7:30 ET in Montgomery, Alabama.

Coach Chris Finwood said all four have made major contributions to the Monarchs. None are seeing the kind of playing time they saw in Division III, something that was to be expected.

But not only have they contributed on the field, they’ve been a major force in the ODU locker room, he said.

“Our guys at times tend to not appreciate all they have at ODU,” Finwood said. “I think that’s human nature.

“These guys have opened their eyes and made them appreciate what they have.”

Cassady said that CNU “has really nice facilities for Division III baseball,” he said.

“But coming here, it’s a completely different world. The resources, the access to money, how the players are treated, is unlike anything you’ll see in Division III.”

Finwood said the four transfers helped in other ways, too.

“They’re older and mature and have added some leadership,” Finwood said. “We had a lot of new guys this season and they’ve helped bring this team together.”

ODU has come together in recent weeks. The Monarchs have won ten of their last 16 games and are starting to hit more home runs than they did earlier this season.

Tonight’s game is a single-elimination play-in contest, with the winner moving on to the double-elimination tournament in which eight teams will play. Tonight’s loser goes home.

Cassady, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound senior from Burke in Northern Virginia, was his team's most valuable player while leading Lake Braddock High School to a state championship in 2019. He was first team All-Conference choice in 2022 at CNU, when he struck out 95 batters and finished 6-4 with a 4.17 ERA.

He sat out the 2023 season with an injury and thought perhaps his career was over. But it wasn’t. As a senior at ODU has struck out 45 batters (third on the team) in 33 innings pitched. He is 0-4 but picked up two saves.

Pond, a 6-2, 215-pound senior from Chesterfield, Virginia, just outside of Richmond, had a 5-2 record and a 2.97 ERA last season at Lynchburg, which won the Division III national championship.

Pond played parts of five seasons at Lynchburg, including the 2020 Covid season, which did not count against his eligibility, and an injury-shortened 2022 season. In 2021, he was named ODAC Pitcher of the Year.

At ODU this spring he appeared in 17 games and has a save and a 1-3 record. He struck out 28 of the 103 batters he faced.

Cole grew up watching ODU while playing at Granby High School, where he was named first-team All-Tidewater by The Virginian-Pilot and second-team all-state. He hit .514 and had 19 stolen bases as a senior.

He spent half a year at VMI before transferring to Randolph-Macon, where he starred in both 2022 and 2023. He was ODAC Player of the Year in 2023 when he hit .318, had an on-base percentage of .432 scored 53 runs, had 45 RBIs, 14 home runs and 18 stolen bases.

He started 14 games for ODU this spring, hitting .186 with a .314 on-base percentage and a home run. He stole seven bases on eight attempts.

Kuhle, who is 6-5, 235 pounds, is also from Hampton Roads. He attended Cape Henry Collegiate, where he was named the Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools and state private school Division I Player of the Year in 2019.

He had 121 strikeouts in four seasons at Randolph-Macon. He was 2-4 with four saves as a senior.

He's only pitched four innings this season and struck out four of 22 batters that he faced.

Kuhle doesn’t lament the lack of playing time at ODU. He’s working on his Master of Business Administration and said whatever playing time he’s gotten has been gravy. He said he’s loved bonding with his ODU teammates.

“I was academics-first type of transfer,” he said. “I’ve really been impressed with the MBA program here. They’ve been accommodating to my athletic schedule. All of my classes are basically at night.

“And I’ve been able to help the team, to talk about my experiences with the younger guys. I feel like I have a presence on the team, on and off the field, and I’m glad I made this decision.”

Cole said getting accustomed to not starting took a little time.

“I started every game at my previous school just like everyone else, so that’s been different,” he said. “But I definitely have had an opportunity to play. I’ve had a good share of at bats.

“Playing in Norfolk, just like Aiden, I was born and raised here and it’s pretty easy for my parents to come to games,” he said. “I eat dinner with my mom every couple of days. So, it’s really been nice.”

Pond tore his labrum in 2022 “and I thought my baseball career had a good chance of being over.

“So this has been a great experience, something that I did not think would happen,

“I’m super blessed to be here and super grateful. I’m just trying to enjoy every moment of whatever is left. I think we’re all embracing every moment, the good and the bad and the ugly and in between to try to have an impact on the field and with my teammates.

“At one time, I thought my career was over. But I’ve since been able to play on a national championship team and to play Division I, which was always a dream of mine.”

All four will leave with ODU degrees. Cassady did not graduate from CNU but expects to graduate from ODU in the fall.

Cole graduated with an engineering and physics degree from Randolph-Macon and has already earned his ODU degree in leadership. Pond got a degree in environmental sciences at Lynchburg and also has his leadership degree from ODU.

Kuhle expects to earn his MBA in the fall.

Pond said playing Division I baseball included more than just going up against more talented players and nice equipment and stadiums. Travelling through the Sun Belt – the Monarchs flew to Texas State and Louisiana and played at Georgia State  and Coastal Carolina – was an "awesome" experience he will never forget.

While in Atlanta on Sunday the team attended an Atlanta Braves game.

“It was totally worth it to transfer here,” he said. “We went to places I’ve never seen before and to experience some great college stadiums. We beat Virginia at Harbor Park.

“I’m really glad I came to ODU. It's been such a great experience. I think we’re all glad."

Minium is ODU's Senior Executive Writer for Athletics. Contact him at hminium@odu.edu or follow him  on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.