The Virginia Tech baseball program has now placed another one of its own into the rarefied ranks of Major League Baseball manager.
And Warren Schaeffer, like predecessor Johnny Oates, has ties to the Shenandoah Valley – and even more so than the first former Hokies star to manage at the highest level.
Schaeffer, who ended his Virginia Tech career in 2007, has been named the manager of the Colorado Rockies. That came after he served as the interim manager for the club after former skipper Bud Black was let go in May of last season after a disastrous start.
The wife of Schaeffer is the former Callie Rhodes, an ex-softball standout at Broadway High and with the Hokies. She was the Valley District Player of the Year at Broadway as a senior and then played for the Hokies from 2003-2007. An outfielder, she set a school record for stolen bases in a season in 2006 while in Blacksburg. Born in Harrisonburg in October of 1983, she had three hits in a game against hometown JMU in 2003. The couple has two children.
Schaeffer, who played in the minors with the Rockies from 2007-2012, follows in the footsteps of Oates, a former catcher in the Majors who went on to manage the Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers from 1991-2001. Oates played in the Valley Baseball League with Waynesboro in 1966-1967 while he was in college at Virginia Tech. Oates was born in North Carolina, grew up in Prince George and passed in Richmond in 2004 at the age of 58.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to continue leading this team,” Schaeffer said on the Rockies’ website. “My focus remains on continuing to build a strong, unified culture based on accountability, hard work and trust. We have a group of guys who care deeply about competing the right way, and my goal is to keep strengthening those relationships while leading a team that our fans can embrace and be proud of.”
The Rockies were 43-119 in 2025.
“We’re confident Warren is the right person to lead our club moving forward,” Rockies President of Baseball Operations Paul DePodesta said in a statement. “He has established strong relationships with our players, understands the culture of this franchise and embodies the energy and work ethic we want on and off the field.”
Schaeffer is a native of Pennsylvania and played in high school in Greensburg, about 30 miles from Pittsburgh.
Natives of Virginia who managed in the majors include Charlottesville-born Mike Cubbage, the late Lane High graduate who guided the New York Mets in an interim role for nine games in 1991; and Bowling Green native Tony Beasley, the former Liberty University standout who was the interim skipper for the Texas Rangers in 2022 for 48 games.
Others born in Virginia to manage include Negro League stars and Baseball Hall of Famers Pete Hill, who was born in Culpeper, and Jud Wilson, who was born in Remington.
Other Virginia natives to manage in the Majors include Walter Cannady, a native of Norfolk; Bob Clarke, who was born in Richmond; Mack Eggleston, a native of Roanoke; Buster Haywood, who was born in Portsmouth; Jim Lemon, who was from Covington; Billy Nash, who was born in Richmond; Branch Russell, from South Boston; and Pat Sullivan, who was born in 1854 in Lewisburg – which is now in West Virginia.
The list does not include Charlie Manuel, who guided the Philadelphia Phillies to a World Series title in 2008. He grew up in Buena Vista but was born in West Virginia when, as the story goes, his parents were visiting relatives in that state when his mother went into labor.
Notes
- Callie Rhodes had 113 steals in her career at Virginia Tech – the second-most in school history. The most is by her sister, Jenna, who had 114 from 2006-2009.
- Former STAB and University of Virginia standout Nic Kent has been an infielder in the Rockies farm system since 2021. He played at the Double-A level with New Haven in 2025.
- Brenton Doyle, who grew up in the Warrenton area, has been the regular center fielder for the Rockies the past three seasons. A standout at Shepherd University in West Virginia, he played for New Market in the Rockingham County Baseball League while in college. Doyle won the Gold Glove in 2023 and 2024.
- Zach Agnos, who is from Haymarket, pitched in 30 games for the Rockies this past season out of the bullpen. He played at Battlefield High and at East Carolina University.
- Former Potomac Nationals manager Randy Knorr, who was also a bench coach with the Washington Nationals, has been named to the coaching staff of the San Diego Padres as a bench coach. The new manager for the Padres is Craig Stammen, who also pitched in Woodbridge for Potomac and for Washington. The new hitting coach for San Diego is Steven Souza Jr., who also played for Potomac and Washington.
- Oates went into the Valley Baseball League Hall of Fame in 2016; Cubbage was inducted in 2019.
- Former Baltimore Orioles slugger Larry Sheets was born in Staunton on Dec. 6, 1959. The Staunton High graduate played basketball at EMU in Harrisonburg and was the MVP of the Orioles in 1987 when he hit 31 homers. The lefty slugger also played for the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners, and in Japan. He also played for American Legion Post 27 in Harrisonburg while in high school.
- Former Turner Ashby High and Virginia Tech softball standout Cana Davis married Major League pitcher Brenan Hanifee in 2024. A right-hander, Hanifee also starred at TA and made his MLB debut with the Detroit Tigers in 2023.
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David Driver
