After being eliminated by Oregon in the first round of the NCAA Tournaemnt last March, there was some big roster turnover for Virginia Tech women's basketball coach Megan Duffy.
Gone through the Transfer Portal are Carys Baker to Louisville and Mackenzie Nelson to Clemson, but Duffy and her staff added some key pieces through the portal to try to make up for the losses of Baker and Nelson.
Virginia Tech added two Tennessee transfers, Alyssa Latham and Lauren Hurst, who were expected to try to replace some of the production that was lost with Baker. However, on Friday, Duffy met with the media ahead of her third season in charge of the Hokies, and she delivered some devastating news about Hurst.
Virginia Tech coach Megan Duffy announces Lauren Hurst will miss the 2026-27 season
Duffy and her staff were expecting big things from Hurst this upcoming season, but Duffy announced that she will miss the entire season due to a knee injury. She has already had surgery and is recovering, hoping to make a full recovery for the 2027-28 season.
Hurst is a 6-foot-3 sophomore from Cleveland, Tennessee, and she averaged 2.3 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.7 assists last season in limited playing time for Tennessee and head coach Kim Caldwell. It just so happens that the Vols will be in Blacksburg in December as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge, which Hurst will obviously miss. According to Cora Hall of the Tennessean, Hurst broke into the rotation last season for Caldwell in the second half of last year.
"Hurst, who was ranked No. 45 in the 2025 class by ESPN, broke into the rotation in the second half of last season, playing at least 10 minutes in 10 games after SEC play began. She scored a career-high 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting, including 4-for-5 on 3-pointers, against Ole Miss,'' wrote Hall.
That was the only injury that would cause a player to miss time right now, according to Duffy, and it's a big depth blow, as Duffy made it clear that they had big expectations for Hurst this season as part of the rotation. Virginia Tech had a couple of scrimmages that Duffy appeared to be happy with her team out of those scrimmages heading into the season opener against North Carolina Central on Monday night at Cassell Coliseum.
Hurst's injury is tough, but it gives Duffy time to figure out her rotation in the non-conference slate before things get going in ACC play, which is going to be a difficult schedule again this season. However, obstacles are something that every team has to deal with. For Virginia Tech and Duffy, it just so happens that it starts in the preseason.
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