After a mass exodus following the 2023-24 season, Virginia Tech men's basketball coach Mike Young was left to build from the bottom up through the transfer portal. When the dust settled on this past season, it shouldn't have come as much of a surprise that the Hokies went 13-19 with a roster of inexperienced transfers and some incoming freshmen. There were times when Young did some outstanding coaching, including getting eight wins out of the group in ACC play.
As the Hokies embarked on another offseason, Young vowed that they would come back next season better, and after some players left and some have come in, it appears that Virginia Tech is on the upward trend for 2025-26. Retention from some of the younger players always helps.
Just where Virginia Tech will end up fitting in next winter in the ACC remains to be seen, but one thing is clear, with retention and portal additions, they are going to win more than 13 games. Could they challenge for an NCAA Tournament bid or even an NIT bid? I know, settling for an NIT bid is not what fans are hoping for, but one college basketball writer thinks Young is not too far off from seriously competing for an NCAA Tournament bid.
CBS Sports basketball writers ranks ACC schools into tier for 2025-26
Issac Trotter of CBS Sports ranked the ACC schools into tiers for next season following the portal window, and there were some surprises. He had Virginia Tech in "Tier 4: The basement", which he might not be wrong about, for now. As he mentioned, with three portal additions, Izaiah Pasha, Amani Hansberry, and Jailen Bedford, they all look to be contributors this upcoming season on a team that returns youngsters Ben Hammond, Tyler Johnson, Jaden Schutt, and veteran Tobi Lawal. There are some interesting incoming freshmen, too.
Trotter wrote that each night out last winter, the Hokies were losing the talent battle on the court, and I don't think that Young would even disagree with that statement. He vowed that his team would be better, and if the pieces fit as expected and one more "splashy'' portal addition happens, then Virginia Tech could be a team that vaults up the board next season and surprises a lot of people. Don't sleep on the Hokies just yet.