Jayden Stroman going to University of Virginia, not Duke
Patchogue-Medford's Jayden Stroman throws at the Medford Athletic Complex on March 18. Credit: Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara
Jayden Stroman is on the move — again.
Only this time he never reached his first college destination where he committed to play baseball for Duke University in the fall.
The Patchogue-Medford senior decommitted from Duke and accepted a full scholarship to play at the University of Virginia. The decision to switch Division I schools came after it was announced that Duke coach Chris Pollard was leaving the university to accept the head job at Virginia.
“I was excited to play for Coach Pollard at Duke,” Stroman said. “And now I’ll play for him at Virginia, which is a perennial top 20 baseball program and a top four state university for academics in the country. It’s a show of loyalty to move schools with him. He’s a winner.”
Stroman spent the first two years of his high school career at Stony Brook Prep and then played his junior season for the IMG Academy in Florida. He returned to Long Island for his senior year and led Patchogue-Medford to the Suffolk League I playoffs.
Stroman went 5-0 and struck out 50 in 20 innings. He allowed three hits and walked eight with an ERA of 0.70. Stroman also batted .456 with five home runs, 15 extra-base hits, 41 runs, 25 walks and 23 stolen bases.
The MLB Draft prospect has had interest from more than 20 teams. His fastball has been clocked as high as 98 miles per hour.
“We leave for the invite-only Major League Combine in Arizona next week,” his father, Earl Stroman, said. “He has an opportunity to showcase his skill set before all the cross checkers and scouting directors there. And then we’ll see what happens with the draft. He’s also excited about his decision to move over to the University of Virginia.”
Stroman said Pollard’s record for success speaks for itself.
The 13-year skipper took the Duke baseball program to a record seven NCAA Tournament appearances and four Super Regionals in the past decade. He also led the Blue Devils to the program's first two ACC titles in 2021 and 2024. He set the school record with 420 all-time wins.
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
