Virginia Military Institute’s cadet-athletes have to juggle cadet life, heavy academic course loads, and their NCAA Division I sport. Committed to both academic and athletic pursuits, balancing their rigorous schedule in both sports and school requires a certain level of commitment and discipline. Behind the Balance is a series that focuses on those cadet-athletes and how they handle the hurdles of the day-to-day. 

LEXINGTON, Va. April 15, 2025 — Time management is a common theme for many cadets, especially as a cadet-athlete. Caden Plummer ’25 is no stranger to figuring out his time and schedule. 

"You get dealt certain inconveniences that you just have to figure out how to deal with,” he said. "You can feel sorry for yourself in the moment, but that doesn't do anything. You're weighing yourself down more. Having the ability to be able to turn the page and be like, alright, I'm just going to deal with this, I'm going to figure out how to get it done and then you go in and just do it.”

Determination is what Plummer has in spades. His goal heading to college was to play baseball. Not only that, he wanted to play as a pitcher and a hitter, which can be difficult to be offered. Part of choosing Virginia Military Institute was that he was offered to do both. Now, just a pitcher, he’s glad he chose the Institute. He’s a civil engineering major — another draw to the school was its robust engineering program.  

What really sealed the deal was after an overnight from a VMI open house, he could feel the brotherhood and camaraderie that came with it.  

“That really drew me to it,” he admitted.  

Now in his final semester, he’s taking his lowest credit hours of 14 and a half, but previously he was tacking on 18-19 credits a semester. The lighter load has allowed him to head down to the baseball field early for some individual practice.  

Cadet-athletes at VMI not only have their responsibilities with their selected sport but cadet duties on top of that. Cadets are also required to take physical fitness classes twice a week, participate in ROTC all four years, prepare for room and uniform inspections, practice for parade, guard duty, and more. 

He’s down on the field around 1 or 2:30 p.m. for practice daily, while in season. 

“Pitchers, then hitters will hit in small groups. It’s more individualized work with the coaches,” he explained.  

Practice, while in season, runs until about 6 p.m., while out of season it can go as late as 8 p.m. Plummer said the practices are shorter while in season to conserve energy due to the number of games they’re playing.  

“It’s to try and give us a little bit of rest.” 

His time at VMI has given him the fortitude to get things done efficiently. 

"People can get lazy and if you do that here, then there are a lot of consequences,” he said. "It's important to stay on top of your stuff, if you can have the mental fortitude to do it.” 

Plummer said that type of attitude will help in the real world with project deadlines or work responsibilities. Considering he has already landed a job for post-graduation, he knows he can’t slack off. He has accepted a position with Kimley-Horn in Richmond as an engineer.  

He credits his faith in keeping him strong and pulling him out of tough times. Keeping a positive mindset has also created a strong foundation for himself. He also doesn’t take his experience at VMI for granted. 

“That’s a huge thing for me, my relationship with the Lord,” he commented. “I'm just lucky to be able to get to experience these things, because there's plenty of people that would like to be in my spot or would like to go to college.”  

Laura Peters Shapiro
Communications & Marketing
VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE