Le Moyne College Professional Athletes

Le Moyne College's most prominent MLB name is back on the mound — and he's not thinking small.

Washington Nationals pitcher Josiah Gray has made his return from a significant absence, and by his own telling, the mindset heading into this next chapter is as blunt as it gets: domination. Gray spelled out his ambitions publicly, setting an unapologetically lofty standard for what he expects from himself going forward, per Sports Illustrated.

The results this week were modest, but the reps are real. Gray took the ball on Monday, September 21 in a 9-2 Washington loss to Detroit, working 2.0 innings and collecting one strikeout. Then on Friday, September 25 against the Mets — in a tighter 7-6 game — he returned again for 1.0 inning, adding another strikeout. Short outings, yes, but for a pitcher rebuilding his footing after extended time away, the activity itself is the story.

Gray was acquired by Washington as part of the 2021 blockbuster that sent Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Dodgers, making him one of the more high-profile pieces of the Nationals' ongoing rebuild. At his best, he's shown the stuff to be a legitimate rotation presence — and clearly, he believes that version of himself isn't in the past.

For Le Moyne faithful, Gray has long been a source of pride — a Division II product out of Syracuse who carved his way into a major league rotation and stuck. The Dolphins don't produce MLB arms every year. When one does make it, and makes it loudly, it matters.

The late-September innings may not move standings, but for Gray, they're about something bigger: proving to himself — and to the Nationals' front office — that the best is still ahead. If his stated goal of "dominating" sounds like bulletin-board material, that appears to be precisely the point.

Nearly three full seasons is a long time to wait. For Le Moyne College alum Josiah Gray, the wait is finally over.

The Washington Nationals reinstated the right-hander from the 60-day injured list this week, officially ending one of the longer road-back stories in recent MLB memory. To clear the active roster spot, Washington optioned outfielder Andrew Pinckney to Triple-A Rochester and requested unconditional release waivers on right-hander Wyatt Mills — modest but necessary housekeeping to welcome Gray back to the big leagues.

The return landed in the middle of what Yahoo Sports called one of the best days the Nationals have had in a long time, a stretch that also included news of Cade Cavalli's extension and several other organizational milestones. For a franchise still in rebuilding mode, Gray's comeback added genuine emotional weight to an otherwise low-stakes late-September slate.

Gray made his 2026 debut on Saturday, September 19, tossing one inning in Washington's 9-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. The outing was brief by design — this was always going to be a careful, measured reintroduction — but the box score entry itself carried significance that raw numbers can't fully capture. He was on a major league mound again, in a real game, for the first time after nearly three seasons of grinding through the injured list.

For Le Moyne fans, Gray's career has always been a point of pride. The Division II program in Syracuse doesn't send players to The Show every year, and Gray's emergence as a legitimate MLB starting pitcher was a testament to both his ability and the program that developed him. His injury detour threatened to write a quieter ending to that story. Saturday's return suggests it doesn't have to.

The Nationals' 2026 season isn't one for the record books, and Gray's single inning in a blowout won't change that. But the reinstatement signals the organization's intent to get him real innings and evaluate what they have heading into the offseason. At this stage of Washington's rebuild, Gray — healthy and pitching again — is exactly the kind of in-house variable worth watching.

Le Moyne alumni will want to keep tabs on his remaining outings in September. After nearly three years away, every start is a data point — and a reminder that the path back to the majors, however long, occasionally gets there.