Pro Dukes on the Diamond

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Now into the second week of April, seasons for all levels of baseball have officially begun with former James Madison baseball student-athletes in coaching and playing roles.

Players
Kevin Kelly became the 13^th former Duke to appear in a Major League Baseball game after making the Tampa Bay Rays' Opening Day roster. He made his debut on April 1 against the Detroit Tigers, and since then he has made two more appearances out of the bullpen. He currently has a 3.00 ERA through six innings with six strikeouts. He tossed a season-high three strikeouts on April 8 against the Oakland Athletics.

Starting the season where he ended 2022, Nick Robertson is playing with the Oklahoma City Dodgers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has made four appearances out of the bullpen so far, pitching in five-and-a-third innings with 10 strikeouts. He is posting a 1-0 record to go along with a 1.69 ERA for the 7-2 OKC Dodgers.

After spending parts of last season with the Quad City River Bandits, Kyle Hayes will begin this season with the Kansas City Royals' High-A affiliate.

A 20^th round draft pick in 2022 with the Seattle Mariners, Nick Zona will begin the season in the Arizona Complex League with the Mariners' Rookie-level squad.

In the independent Frontier League, Justin Showalter will start his second season with the Washington Wild Things on May 12 after being added to the roster halfway through the 2022 season and then resigning in the offseason. The right-hander went 4-1 with a 2.73 ERA in 29.2 innings a season ago in five starts.

Chase DeLauter (Cleveland Guardians org.) and Shelton Perkins (Baltimore Orioles org.) are both rehabbing injuries.

Coaches
In his second season as the pitching coach for the Indianapolis Indians, the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Dan Meyer looks to build off a 2022 season that saw the Indians' pitching staff throw a franchise-record 1,256 strikeouts. The team sits at 5-4 currently and is eighth in the International League with 83 strikeouts.

Lorenzo Bundy will spend his second season in the Chicago White Sox organization as the manager of its Double-A affiliate, the Birmingham Barons. A season ago, he was the manager for the High-A Winston-Salem Dash.

JMU Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2022 inductee Jake Lowery is manning the dugout for a second season with the Fredericksburg Nationals, the Single-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. He led the FredNats to an overall 75-55 record in 2022 and a second half Carolina League North Division title.

Jeff Garber will enter year 15 with the Nationals' organization, serving as the fundamentals coordinator for the Florida Complex League Nationals. During his time within the organization, he has helped throughout the farm system with 12 of the 15 years being spent as a field coordinator.

Calendar

Players Mentioned

Chase DeLauter

Justin Showalter

Nick Zona

JMU Footer

Scoreboard

Calendar

Completed Event: Baseball versus Marshall on May 2, 2026 , Loss , 0, to, 9

Completed Event: Baseball versus Marshall on May 3, 2026 , Win , 5, to, 3

Completed Event: Baseball at George Washington on May 5, 2026 , Loss , 4, to, 5 , (10 innings)

Completed Event: Baseball versus #12 Southern Miss on May 8, 2026 , Loss , 5, to, 8

Completed Event: Baseball versus #12 Southern Miss on May 9, 2026 , Loss , 1, to, 11 , (8 innings)

Completed Event: Baseball versus #12 Southern Miss on May 10, 2026 , Loss , 5, to, 10

Upcoming Event: Baseball at Old Dominion on May 14, 2026 at 6 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Baseball at Old Dominion on May 15, 2026 at 3 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Baseball at Old Dominion on May 16, 2026 at 1 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Baseball versus Sun Belt Conference Championship on May 19, 2026

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