As is the case every year, as we advance, changes abound in college basketball, with the transfer portal and NIL being as significant as they are. For the second straight year, Virginia Tech men's coach Mike Young saw another offseason of roster turnover, but after the mass exodus last year, this year's portal has been different.
The Hokies landed some key players out of the portal and even got some huge retention from some key players, with Tobi Lawal returning from the NBA Draft being the biggest retention. The 2025-26 season is a big one for Virginia Tech, which is looking to rebound from a dreadful 13-19 season and a first-round elimination in the ACC Tournament. With that said, let's take a look at how the Hokies roster is shaping up as we enter June.
Virginia Tech 2025-26 men's basketball roster breakdown
Back Court
Ben Hammond
Izaiah Pasha
Brett Freeman
Jailen Bedford
Jaden Schutt
The good news here is that Ben Hammond is returning after coming on over the second half of the season and in ACC play. He saw the floor well, came up with big plays defensively shot well when he was given the opportunity. Jaden Schutt, having a year under his belt after coming over from Duke and playing a whole season, should help.
What should we think about the guards and wings? Izaiah Pasha should be an upgrade over Brandon Rechsteiner, who left for Colorado State in the transfer portal and freshman Brett Freeman will have a chance to develop behind Hammond and Schutt.
Front Court
Tyler Johnson
Sin'Cere Jones
Tobi Lawal
Amani Hansberry
Antonio Dorn
Solomon Davis
Christian Gurdak
As for the front court, there is a lot of inexperience in the middle with Mylyjael Poteat leaving and Patrick Wessler leaving in the portal. Antonio Dorn could be a very underrated addition for Young, and there is a lot of interest surrounding incoming freshman Christian Gurdak, a four-star recruit.
I think Virginia Tech should be ok in the backcourt, and the real question is how quickly their frontcourt players, mainly in the middle, can come together and jell? That will be big by the time ACC play comes around in late December, as those will be a gauntlet of 18 games. There are still some roster spots open that Young can fill over the summer, but just by the looks of things now, this certainly has the chance to be a team that wins more games next season than they did in 2024-25, which isn't saying a lot. There is reason for hope.