Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 9 No. 2

The results of months of therapy started to pay off in the fall. Dauby

returned to campus and met periodically with Bennett. He continued

with his relaxation techniques and mental exercises. He even consulted

with Horn in Indiana on occasion. He started feeling better and his

demeanor reflected that, as he became a more positive person. He

focused on his academics, and his grades improved.

There remained one question to answer, as he traversed this return

path toward happiness—what to do about baseball?

He always wanted to come back. He liked the sport, obviously, but

like most athletes at any level, he enjoyed the daily interaction with his

teammates and missed that just as much. As he improved mentally, he

decided to ask Mason if he could re-join the Tech team.

“I told him, ‘There is no asking to be back on the team,’” Mason said.

“That door was always open. He had made some progress during the

summer. You could tell his focus was to try and play baseball again.”

Dauby, though, struggled on the field in the fall of 2014. Missing

the majority of the Hokies’ season the previous spring and subsequent

summer league action kept him from sharpening his skills.

He and Mason had a frank conversation after the fall season ended,

and Mason offered to make him a part of the coaching staff just to keep

him around the team and the game.

“All I was trying to do was to give him an out if he wanted it,” Mason

said. “I wanted to give him the opportunity to think about a new career,

or be a part of the game of baseball without the stress of playing in the

middle infield in the ACC and he definitely thought about that.

“The only thing I cared about was Matt waking up on a daily basis and

enjoying his life. I focused my attention as a coach to do whatever I could

to make that happen. Whether he played baseball again … that was not

my goal. My goal was to do whatever we could to help Matt enjoy waking

up every day.”

Dauby thought about Mason’s offer. He thought about transferring

and going to a smaller school, one with fewer distractions and less

pressure. But he stuck it out and kept grinding, working to get back to

the player he once was. He only played in 18 games as a junior in 2015,

but he felt himself turning a corner—as a player, but more importantly,

with his life.

His comeback took a huge step forward this past season, as Dauby

earned the starting job at second base and started 59 of the Hokies’

Continued on page 28

Matt Dauby enjoyed a successful

return to the diamond last

season when he started 59 of 61

games and hit .255.