Siharath Finds 'Little Town' At VCU To His Liking

Virot Siharath RHP / Bill Crothers, ON / 2021

KESWICK, Ontario - It was a happy birthday for Virot Siharath.

The Bill Crothers junior took a college visit to Virginia Commonwealth the week of his Nov. 23 birthday and the now 16-year-old found where he wanted to play baseball at the next level.

“I met them on the field off campus first,” the fourth-ranked 2021 in Ontario said of his trip to the school in Richmond, Va. “It was surreal, a lot more than I expected.”

The actual campus proved to his liking as well.

“It’s seven blocks long but it didn’t feel like a campus at all,” Siharath noted. “It’s like a little town.”

Before leaving the campus, an offer was made to the top-rated junior right-handed pitcher in Ontario.

“I went back to the field to catch up with coach (Mike) McRae,” Siharath reflected. “He’s from Canada as well. They also have some players from Canada on their team.”

Decision time was nearing.

“I got home on a Wednesday and talked it over with my parents,” Siharath said about the offer. “Wednesday night was THE night.”

The only other visit made by Siharath during recruitment was to Marshall.

“With the role VCU wanted me to play my first year, I couldn’t turn it down,” Siharath pointed out. “They want me to be one of their potential starters. I told them in our meeting that I wanted to go to a school and play. I wanted to develop as a player, you can’t develop sitting on the bench.”

It capped off a big 2019 for Siharath, whose improvement has been substantial.

“I’m 180 degrees from where I was,” Siharath explained. “Seven months ago was the first time I broke 80. I started gaining weight and lifting more and things took off from there.”

Tipping the scales at 150 pounds back then, the 5-11 Siharath now checks in at 175 pounds.