Dear Keydet Nation,

The snow has melted on post and warmer weather is in the forecast. Change continues at VMI, most recently I was present to watch the rising first class (2027) receive their regimental and leadership rank for the 2026-2027 academic year. It was a pleasure to see the Brother Rat spirit alive and well in Memorial Hall and several cadet-athletes were selected for leadership roles within the Corps.

The football program has released its 2026 schedule and inked twenty-three future cadet-athletes on National Signing Day. The signees hail from 10 states, with nine from the Commonwealth. On the diamond, baseball is off to a hot start with over ten wins in their young season and the program was sporting the MOEmentum logo baseball caps for a recent home game. Before the baseball season started Grayson Fitzwater was named SoCon Preseason Player of the Year, with two other Keydets – Bradley Garner and Owen Prince voted to All-Conference teams. On the rifle range, Soraya Sar earned SoCon Freshman of the Year at the Rifle SoCon Championships. Alexander Pohlman became the first shooter in rifle program history to earn an invite to the NCAA Championships, as he was named an alternate for the event. In February, the Keydet Club hosted its annual Keydet Club Scholarship Banquet. This event provides scholarship representatives and cadet-athletes the opportunity to connect and celebrate the power of philanthropy. More than 450 guests were in attendance, the Keydet Club Board of Governors presented the 2025-2026 Three-Legged Stool Award to wrestling cadet-athlete Dyson Dunham, in recognition of his successes as a cadet-athlete across all three legs of the stool: athletics, academics and military leadership.

VMI Athletics recently hosted the America East Swimming and Diving Championships and the Southern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships. At the aquatic center, the Men's and Women's swimming and diving teams had several cadet-athletes that broke records and received numerous medals. The women finished with the most points in the America East era. Track and Field hosted the SoCon championships and several cadet-athletes had their top performances of the year and multiple cadet-athletes received All-Conference honors. Deonte Harris was named SoCon Indoor Track and Field Male Freshman of the Year. Lacrosse earned its first victory of the year at Hampton and that marked the first victory at the helm for first year head coach Taylor Mendoza. The Lacrosse program held its annual One Love game, the foundation is a national non-profit organization with the goal of ending relationship abuse. Our cadet-athletes have partnered with Cadet counseling to raise awareness and have organized seminars to educate the VMI community about the importance of healthy relationships.

VMI Athletics was proud to celebrate Black History month and National Girls and Women's Sports Day in February. For March, we are proud to celebrate and recognize Women's History month and National Athletic Training month. Thank you to all of our fantastic athletic trainers. For the second year, VMI Athletics has participated in Read Across America week. Our cadet-athletes visited Waddell and Fairfield elementary schools to read and interact with the students. Currently, I'm in Asheville, North Carolina supporting our wrestling and basketball teams, each year the SoCon joins Asheville businesses to collect food for the Hoops for Hunger initiative. This initiative provides local Asheville kids who need food assistance and our VMI SAAC leadership acted and organized events on post to support the project. Job well done VMI SAAC!

Don't forget that Compete to Win is around the corner. We need your support March 24-26 to help continue the MOEmentum for VMI Athletics! Rah Virginia Mil! It's all about the Whole Damn Team and we are thankful for everyone in Keydet Nation!

Rah Virginia Mil!
Value Makes Impact!

Jamaal Walton
Director of Athletics
Virginia Military Institute