Former Tom Sox Pitcher Kyle Nicolas on Team Italy

By: Ben Rekosh

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Newly-acquired Cincinnati Red Kyle Nicolas is on the roster for Team Italy in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Nicolas pitched for the Tom Sox during the 2018 season.

Nicolas will be a part of Team Italy for the first time this spring. He joins fellow Tom Sox alum Vinnie Pasquantino on Team Italy, who is donning the threads for the second time this spring.

He pitched one inning of hitless, scoreless baseball in the Italians’ exhibition loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday and struck out one batter. The righty is part of a talented pitching staff that Italy has put together.

In his one summer in Charlottesville, Nicolas pitched in six games and sported an impressive 2.01 ERA; all of those appearances were starts. He only allowed five earned runs and 12 hits in 22.1 innings of play, while striking out 19 batters. The Tom Sox finished with a 27-21 record and lost to the New Market Rebels in the VBL Championship Series.

In three seasons with Ball State University he pitched in 43 games, starting in 20 of them. In his junior season Nicolas boasted a 2.74 ERA in four starts before the Cardinals’ season was cut short due to the COVID pandemic. He notched 174 strikeouts in 135.1 innings; Nicolas earned four wins and six saves during his time in college.

The Miami Marlins selected Nicolas with the 61st overall pick in the shortened 2020 MLB Draft. He got traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in November of 2021 and was called up on September 19, 2023. Through three seasons with the Pirates, he pitched in 86 games and held a 2.74 ERA; #62 became a firm part of their rotation to end 2025. On March 4, 2026 Nicolas was traded to the Cincinnati Reds.

Nicolas and Pasquantino make up a list of eight former Valley League players to be on a WBC roster in 2026. They are two of three former Tom Sox to compete in the event – 2017 VBL MVP Michael Wielansky suited up for Team Israel in 2023.

Team Italy split their two exhibition games in Arizona, beating the Chicago Cubs, 9-4, on Tuesday and falling to the Los Angeles Angels, 3-4, on Wednesday.

The team is part of Pool B with Brazil, Great Britain, Mexico, and the United States. Pool B is based at Daikin Park in Houston. The Italians are scheduled to open pool play on Saturday, March 7th at 1:00pm EST against Brazil.

The Charlottesville Tom Sox congratulate Kyle on this accomplishment and are rooting for all of Team Italy from Central Virginia. Represent the organization and the Valley Baseball League well, Kyle!