Eight Tom Sox Earn Valley League Honors
By: Ben Rekosh
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Charlottesville Tom Sox placed eight athletes on the All-VBL South teams announced by the league earlier this week. The list is headlined by Brandon Dahlman (Liberty) as a first team member, with seven other representatives on the second team.
All-VBL South Second Team Selections: Evan Alwine, Lucas Cash (Bridgewater), Caiden Combs (Auburn), Aiden Harris (VCU), Tommy Landsnes, Grayson McCollum (Kennesaw State), Asher Sabom (Augusta).
The eight selections are the most in franchise history – there were three seasons with six named each (2017, 2022, 2024).
Brandon Dahlman has been regarded as one of the most dominant pitchers to ever take the mound at CHO Airport Field, finishing the season with a 0.93 ERA in 19.1 innings pitched. He struck out 37 hitters and walked just five, earning a VBL All-Star nod. The Liberty upperclassman earned a 3-0 record with one save. He was the leading vote-getter among all South Division relievers, according to the league.
Two-year Tom Sox stalwart Evan Alwine started eight games this season and earned himself a spot in the record books while doing so; he is now the career leader in ERA (2.75) and total strikeouts (59) in franchise history. For the second season in a row the righty earned a Valley League All-Star nod, as well. He is one of four starting pitchers to be named to the All-VBL South second team.
One of the great stories in Charlottesville history continues to be the success of Louisa County High School graduate Lucas Cash. His masterful season was capped off by two of the all-time great playoff performances in team history. He pitched 8.0 full innings in round one against the Staunton Braves; six days later, Cash took the mound for game one of the championship series against the Winchester Royals and threw 8.1 innings. He joins Alwine as one of four starting pitchers to be named to the All-VBL South Second Team.
Auburn’s Caiden Combs was a mainstay of the lineup since his arrival to the roster in mid-June. Standing at six-foot-four-inches, 240 pounds, he had a team-best .311 batting average with 32 total hits. Combs drove in 23 runs and crossed the plate 27 times. His season highlight was a two-home run game that came on July 13th against Covington. He earned the spot on the second team as a first baseman, where he started 19 games over the summer.
The newest member of the VCU Rams, Aiden Harris, earned a spot in the postseason honors for his work as a designated hitter. Over 22 games played, he saw himself improve to a .280 batting average. Harris drew 20 walks on the season and added 21 hits. He hit one of two grand slams by a Tom Sox player this season, launching a ball to left field in the 7th inning of a July 17th contest in Covington.
Richmond native Tommy Landsnes played in all but one of the games, regular season and postseason, for the ‘Sox this summer. He drew 32 walks, stole 13 bases and scored 34 runs – which are all good for top ten by an individual player in a single season in team history. Landsnes played all three spots in the outfield with near-flawless defense, which helped land him a spot on the All-VBL South second team.
Grayson McCollum led the team in hits with 51 on the season and was an artist making plays in the hot corner night-after-night. McCollum joins a long list of Kennesaw State Owls to have success in Charlottesville with his play in 2026. He had 14 extra base hits, including a go-ahead home run in game one of the VBL championship; the Georgia native’s 31 RBIs are good for top-five in the entire league. His selection has him as the VBL South Second Team third baseman.
New Augusta University signee Asher Sabom saw his performance in the mound improve greatly throughout the Valley League season, including three crucial performances in the playoffs. Over a team-high 15 appearances, Sabom recorded three saves, which also led the Tom Sox team. He finished with a 1.73 ERA over 26.0 innings pitched and 26 total strikeouts. Sabom was one of four relief pitchers named to the 2026 All-VBL South team.
Dahlman, Cash, Alwine and Sabom were part of a stellar Charlottesville pitching staff that boasted the best overall ERA (4.23) in the league. Additionally, the team pitched three shutouts.
The Tom Sox finished the season with a 24-20 overall record after resounding defeats of the Staunton Braves and Waynesboro Generals, marking their fifth consecutive VBL title appearance.
The full Valley Baseball League postseason teams can be found at valleybaseballleague.com.
For the latest Tom Sox news and information, visit tomsox.org and @cvilletomsox on social media.
