After a 2025-26 season that saw the Virginia Tech women's basketball team make the NCAA Tournament after being the first team left out of the field in Megan Duffy's first season, some big changes were coming for the Hokies.
One year after retaining the players she needed to, Duffy and her staff lost some key players to the Transfer Portal, which in this day and age of college sports, shouldn't be surprising. However, as if losing Carys Baker and Mackenzie Nelson weren't bad enough, they both ended up in the ACC, with Baker committing to Louisville and Nelson to Clemson. Also leaving was Kayla Petersen, who ended up at Marquette.
As for rebuilding the roster, Duffy picked up some portal additions, with Lauren Hurst and Alyssa Latham from Tennessee being the two biggest. They also got Natalee Goff from the portal and freshmen Francesca Baldassarre and Arianna Harris-Mott. On Tuesday, you can add another incoming freshman to the roster for the 2026-27 season.
Virginia Tech women's basketball picks up commitment from freshman Jessica Dimaro
Six-foot-4 center Jessica Dimaro, who hails from Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria, was signed by Duffy and Virginia Tech after a stint in the W League in Japan with the Toyota Boshoku Rabbits. She was named the W League Rookie of the Year in 2024-25, and this past season, she averaged 12 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks per game. She had four 20-point-plus games.
Dimaro is the 13th roster player for the Hokies for next season as they look to return to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year, led by guard Carleigh Wenzel. Some other key contributors are returning for Virginia Tech as they continue to build a roster that will have some difficult ACC matchups, including games with Baker and Louisville and Nelson and Clemson.
Virginia Tech finished last season at 23-10 after a first-round loss in the NCAA Tournament against Baylor. They went 12-6 in the ACC and advanced to the ACC Tournament quarterfinals were they were bounced by North Carolina in Georgia.
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