After an offseason that has everyone excited for the 2025-26 college basketball season, the Virginia Tech men will kick off the season on Monday night against Charleston Southern at Cassell Coliseum. Veteran coach Mike Young made some big roster additions through the Transfer Portal and with incoming freshmen, while getting some key retention.
Let's take a look back at the month of October in this edition of Virginia Tech Men's Basketball News.
Mike Young begins the season on the hot seat
Apparently, limited resources and finding a way to get 13 wins, eight in the ACC, last year with a roster that was flawed because of a lack of funding, Young still ends up on the hot seat entering the upcoming season. Go figure.
When it was announced back in March that Young would be getting a bigger NIL package, he went right to work and added some key players in the portal, as well as getting some retention. Jaden Schutt, Tyler Johnson, and Ben Hammond were some players who are sticking around for another season in Blacksburg. The news got better when Tobi Lawal withdrew from the NBA Draft process, as did incoming freshman Neoklis Avdalas. It'll be interesting to see how the pieces fit this year for the Hokies.
ACC preseason predictions don't paint pretty picture for Virginia Tech
The ACC media picked Virginia Tech to finish 12th this year in the ACC out of 18 teams. The conference will have a new look with some new coaches and rosters that were overhauled through the portal. Duke, Louisville, North Carolina, North Carolina State, and Virginia were the top 5 teams predicted this season.
NCAA Tournament hype surrounding Hokies
One take from the month of October is that a lot of national writers and analysts are high on Virginia Tech and their chances to make the NCAA Tournament this year. ESPN's Joe Lunardi doesn't have them in his preseason bracketology, but some analysts are high on Young's team to begin the season.
There are some games on the schedule early in the season that the Hokies can bank some résumé wins for March when it comes to selection time.