How Duke Found Their Edge in Tyler Albright

The Duke Blue Devils had a sluggish start to begin their 2025 as they started 12-9 and fell out of the Top 25 after beginning the season around the Top 10. Over their first five games, the Blue Devils hit .240 as a team and went 2-3 to start the year with losses to Cincinnati and Cornell. One player who didn’t struggle out of the gate was outfielder Tyler Albright, who went 6-for-17 in that same five game stretch with four extra base hits, four runs batted in, four walks, and seven runs scored.

Albright hasn’t really cooled down since. The Greensboro, North Carolina native leads Duke with a .339 average over 35 games and has 15 extra base hits, 29 runs batted in, while walking more times than he’s struck out (28 vs 27). He also leads the team with a perfect 9-for-9 stolen base record and boasts a 1.037 OPS. With a slash line of .339/.472/.565, Albright should not only be a first team All-ACC selection, but should be in the conversation to be an All-American.

The junior outfielder has 13 multi-hit performances this year and has reached base at least once in 31 of Duke’s 35 games. Even when the rest of the offense has been cold, Albright has delivered for the Blue Devils. He’s been able to spark rallies with a walk or drive in runs with a big hit. 

“He's been our most complete offensive player,” Duke head coach Chris Pollard said following a win over UNC. “The at-bats have been really good, he can bunt, he can steal bases– he's dynamic. He's done a lot of different things for us.”

Albright arrived at Duke as a freshman in 2023 and was able to find success immediately– slashing .312/.404/.416 over 50 games while playing a pivotal role on a team that was one win away from Omaha. In fact, he was an All-Regional performer in Conway after going 5-for-12 with two doubles as the Blue Devils upset Coastal Carolina to reach a Super Regional. 

His second season didn’t go quite as well. On Opening Day, Albright started for Duke in left and hit a home run in their 6-3 win over Indiana. A few days later, he’d go 2-for-3 with a double in a midweek win over Liberty. Albright would be in and out of the lineup for the following few weeks and only managed one more extra base hit– a double in a midweek loss to Rider– over the rest of the season. Overall, Albright finished his sophomore campaign with a .222 batting average and three extra base hits in just 11 starts. With young outfielders Kyle Johnson and AJ Gracia shining and Ivy League star Ben Rounds transferring in, Albright’s future as an every day player at Duke looked bleak.  

“What an incredible job of resilience and perseverance to have started as a true freshman,” Pollard said. “And some things kind of came easy to him as a freshman. And then kind of lost the job as a sophomore. And really it was a tough year for him and he had to battle his way back. Had to jump some people in the depth chart to battle his way back into the lineup this year and he just made the most of it. 

Part of battling back involved a summer in the Appalachian League, where Albright shined for the Burlington Sock Puppets. In 30 games for the Sock Puppets, he hit .304 with 21 walks and stole 11 bases as he earned Appy League All Star honors. After only getting 54 at-bats at Duke the spring prior, the young outfielder played nearly every game he was in Burlington and amassed 92 at-bats. The summer experience was critical not just in restoring Albright’s confidence, but also allowing him to rediscover his identity and get in a rhythm. 

“It's learning not to be someone else and learning to be myself,” Albright told me. “Last year I was trying to hit for more power and do things that I don't usually do. This year I got back to who I am and let the results take care of themselves.”

Part of who he is involves a fiery game day personality. The righty hitter walks up to Abba’s “Gimme Gimme Gimme” and locks in. While laid back and relaxed away from the field, Albright provides an intense energy in-game that fluctuates from pitch-to-pitch. He’s not afraid of the big moment and he’s not afraid to show off his passion. That type of energy is contagious and it’s no surprise that many of Duke’s offensive rallies have started with Albright getting on base.  

“He plays with an edge," Pollard said. "And we didn't have that early in the year and he's allowed us to find some edge. And I like him playing with that passion and emotion.”

After drawing a crucial walk in the 8th inning during a mid-week against East Carolina, Albright was amped up, turning to his own dugout and yelling in celebration. It was a hotly contested matchup and ECU took exception to Albright’s reaction. Frustration boiled over and both Pollard and ECU’s head coach were ejected. The bases loaded walk to Albright provided the Blue Devils with an important insurance run as Duke held on to win, 6-4. He’d gone 1-for-1 in that game with three walks.

 “I learned a lot through [last year’s] struggle, and now it's just trying to play the game like it's the last thing you're going to play,” Albright said when asked about the energy he brings. 

Since that 12-9 start to the season, Duke has gone 11-3 with a sweep at Virginia for the first time in program history and a series win over in-state rival NC State. Albright’s play and even more so his energy has played a big factor in Duke’s success. Grizzled veterans such as Ben Miller and Wallace Clark will get most of the accolades, but don’t let Tyler Albright fly under-the-radar. After all, as Coach Pollard said, Albright allowed Duke to find their edge.