Good Morning ODU Fam. The crack of the bat. The smell of a ballpark dog. The excitement of the crowd.

There’s nothing like Opening Day in Major League Baseball!

What all do we have stirring in today’s Brew? Check it out below!

⚾️ Grand Opening
🎾 Best Of The Best
🏈 Empire State Of Mind
​🦁 And much more!

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Grand Opening. It’s like Christmas in March for baseball fans.

Opening Day is here as the official start of 2025 MLB season is 24 hours away and once again, ODU will have alums all over the league.

Four former Monarchs will start the season on Opening Day rosters with Justin Verlander (Giants), Jared Koenig (Brewers), Vinnie Pasquantino (Royals) and Ryan Yarbrough (Yankees).

🔼 Best of the Best. When you’re a college coach in the Commonwealth of Virginia, you’re surrounded by some of the best colleagues in the country.

So when you’re named the best of the group, you know you’ve done something special.

That’s the case for Dominic Manilla, the ODU alum who has built the Monarchs’ women’s tennis program into one of the nation’s best.

Next month, he will be presented the J. Roy Rodman Award given by the Norfolk Sports Club to its choice as Virginia's best collegiate coach.

Manilla’s teams have won four consecutive conference championships – two in Conference USA and two in the Sun Belt – and his Monarchs are generally ranked among the top 35 programs in the country.

ODU has made the last five NCAA tournaments, a run that began with an at-large bid in 2019. 

He will receive the award at the sports club's 78th jamboree on Wednesday, April 23, at Chartway Arena. Former ODU women’s basketball star Nancy Lieberman will be the featured speaker.

🎾: More On Manilla’s Honor

🔼 Empire State Of Mind. Former ODU standout Zach Pascal will have a new home for his eighth NFL season.

On Tuesday, Pascal signed a free-agent deal with the NY Giants, marking his sixth NFL organization.

The veteran wide receiver has played in 112 games with 47 starts and has caught 169 passes for 2,057 yards and 16 touchdowns. Pascal has also returned 26 kickoffs for 597 yards (23.0 avg.).

🏈: More on Pascal’s Signing

🦁 MONARCH TRIVIA

Which ODU alum has the most MLB appearances in program history?

Got a guess?

Scroll to the bottom to find the answer!

📅 ON THE DOCKET

Wednesday, March 26th
🎾 Men’s Tennis vs. California @ 1pm
🥍 Women’s Lacrosse at Robert Morris @ 1pm
⚾️ Baseball at ETSU @ 3pm

Friday, March 28th
🎾 Men’s Tennis at South Alabama @ 2pm
⚾️ Baseball at App State @ 6pm
⛳️ Men’s Golf at Cutter Creek Intercollegiate (Snow Hill, N.C.)
⛳️ Women’s Golf at Chattanooga Classic (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
🚣 Rowing at Sunshine Invitational Regatta (Sarasota, Fla.)

Saturday, March 29th
🎾 Women’s Tennis at JMU @ 10am
⚾️ Baseball at App State @ 3pm
⛵️ Sailing at MAISA Women’s Fleet Race Championship (Annapolis, Md.)
⛳️ Men’s Golf at Cutter Creek Intercollegiate (Snow Hill, N.C.)
⛳️ Women’s Golf at Chattanooga Classic (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
🚣 Rowing at Sunshine Invitational Regatta (Sarasota, Fla.)

📬 SHARE THE BREW

Do you know a friend or family member who is a Monarch fan?

Simply forward them this email and they can sign up to receive the brew by clicking the link below to subscribe. The Brew is sent every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and is completely free!

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Daniel Hudson (547)

🦁 Have a great one, y’all!