On Monday, the men’s basketball transfer portal opened, but last week, four Virginia Tech players announced their intentions to enter the portal. Wings Jaydon Young, Rodney Brown, Jr., center Patrick Wessler, and point guard Brandon Rechsteiner are leaving Blacksburg for this season. On Monday, another roster spot opened up with freshman Ryan Jones entering the portal.
Virginia Tech forward Ryan Jones (@RyanJonesJR1) has entered the Transfer Portal, sources tell @JaceyZembal.
— NCAA Transfer Portal (@RivalsPortal) March 24, 2025
He was ranked No. 81 overall in the 2024 class and finished with six points in five games this season.https://t.co/Os1wmItCpW pic.twitter.com/73xWHHcpQI
Jones was seldom used this season, playing in five games and redshirting, and brings a different skill set than a lot of college centers do. He can step outside and shoot the 3-point shot, but he never got much of a chance with the Hokies. The Florida native picked Virginia Tech over Florida and other schools and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him kick the tires with his hometown Gators in the portal. In reality, it’s not surprising to see him enter the portal.
Football recruit says Virginia Tech ‘felt special’
This past weekend, Virginia Tech football coach Brent Pry and his staff hosted a handful of recruits, and one of them, an offensive lineman from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, Adrian Hamilton, said that the trip ‘felt special’ after meeting with Pry and first-year offensive line coach Matt Moore.
The 6-foot-3, 290-pound Class of 2026 interior lineman also holds offers from Duke, Boston College, Virginia, Pittsburgh, and others. Hamilton will take an official visit from June 20-22, which is during a big month of June in terms of recruiting.
Former Virginia Tech kicker finds new NFL home
Last season, former Virginia Tech kicker Joey Slye found a new home for the New England Patriots and made an immediate impact by kicking them wins to bookend the season. He drilled three field goals in a season-opening win over the Cincinnati Bengals, then he kicked three more in the regular-season final win over the Buffalo Bills.
On Monday, Ian Rapoport reported that Slye will be kicking for a new team in 2025 after agreeing to a deal with the Tennessee Titans. The former Hokies kicker proved last year that he still has a big leg by nailing some long-field goals.
Virginia Tech on the diamond
- The baseball team will head to Radford for a non-conference game Tuesday night at 6 o’clock after taking two out of three games from nationally ranked Louisville. This weekend, the Hokies will head to Wake Forest for a three-game series against another Top 25 team with an opportunity to build on their NCAA Tournament resume.
- The Hokies softball team, which had the weekend off, is second in the country in fielding percentage at .983. They will be off until this upcoming weekend when they host Stanford in a huge ACC three-game weekend series.