RADFORD, Va. - Headed into the 2025 season, the Radford Baseball program is kicking off a senior spotlight series with part one which draws attention to incoming Sun-Belt conference transfer, outfielder Tyler Kehoe.
 

Kehoe originally hails from Philadelphia, Pa., where he grew up slinging the ball with his younger brother, Jaxon Kehoe. Jaxon is an incoming freshman to Radford's Baseball program, more to come later on the Kehoe brothers.
 

Kehoe's career after high school began with the University of North Carolina, where he underwent many trials and tribulations during his time as a true freshman at Chapel Hill. Kehoe found out he was playing the fall season with what was later diagnosed as a lower abdominal tear. Depending on the severity, abdominal tears normally take about four to six weeks to recover from. Kehoe's situation was slightly different.
 

UNC's medical team were unable to diagnose Kehoe initially, causing a stag in his rehab process, which subsequently made Kehoe worry about his spring season being knocked out. He was later introduced to Dr. William Meyers in Philadelphia, who Kehoe credits as being a key cog in where he is today in his career. Kehoe explains, "Through perseverance and determination, I was able to get myself back quicker than expected." As we all know, the 2020 season was unfortunately cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kehoe appeared in five games as a freshman with five total hits through the season.
 

Following Kehoe's challenging 2020 freshman campaign, he transferred to Northwest Florida State College. Kehoe credits NWFSC with helping regain his love and feel for the game of baseball. His trials at UNC weren't too different from his peers that came before him, and his time at NWFSC made him realize how much he wanted to be back in Division I baseball.
 

Most recently, Kehoe spent two seasons at South Alabama, where he saw the field sparingly in his time as a Jaguar. He then decided to take another crucial leap and bring his talents to the New River Valley at Radford. Kehoe is in a prime position to be a major contributor on and off the field, as he's already proved to be a leader in the clubhouse in his short time as a Highlander. When Tyler discusses his "why" of coming to Radford, he highlights wanting to "restore the culture". Touting the "blue collar, family culture" that may have been forgotten over the last couple years.
 

Major League Ties

Kehoe's uncle, Jamie Athas, was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the seventh round during the 2001 MLB Draft. Athas played college ball at Wake Forest, where he excelled as a shortstop before beginning his journey through the minor league system. Athas remained in the Giants system for six seasons and finished his career with a .256 batting average and 496 career hits.
 

A Natural Love

As previously mentioned, Tyler Kehoe grew up in a baseball-loving family and praises his upbringing in making the man he is today. Tyler's brother, Jaxon, also joins the Radford family this year and will share a locker room with his oldest brother for the first time ever due to their five-year age gap. In hindsight, Kehoe's injury at UNC allowed Tyler and Jaxon to share the dugout this season, something neither one of them expected in a million years.

On The Horizon

As one of the more experienced players on head coach Alex Guerra's team, Kehoe has taken the reins of becoming a vocal leader for Radford. Often with incoming transfers, it takes time for them to earn the respect of their teammates due to the newness of everything that comes with settling into a new and different program.

In Kehoe's situation, he resonates with the family-orientated, blue collar aspect that Radford baseball is looking to harness and instill into oncoming classes. Tyler mentions that no matter the situation, "I've always been taught to leave things better than you found them, and I plan to do just that here in Radford with an amazing coaching staff and great teammates by my side."

Time will tell if Kehoe's presence is felt on the field, but it's fairly safe to say his instant impact off the field will carry over to the spring when it's time to play meaningful baseball.

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