Year 3 of the Megan Duffy era in Blacksburg is about to begin right around the corner. Since taking over for former coach Kenny Brooks three years ago, when he bolted to Kentucky from Virginia Tech, Duffy has begun to put her stamp on the Hokies program, and they are looking to take the next step in 2026-27 and beyond.
Just like it is for Mike Young and the men, recruiting is going to pick up ahead of the upcoming season. This month, Virginia Tech is scheduled to host four-star center Khalia Hartwell on Sept. 18, which will be the third of her three scheduled visits, according to Dushawn London of 247Sports.
Before coming to Blacksburg, Hartwell will take visits to Georgia on Sept. 4 and Iowa on Sept. 11. Duffy has had some recruiting success since coming to Virginia Tech, and it feels like this is a rather big recruitment with Hartwell. Let's hope she gets to her visit to Blacksburg before she commits after one of the previous two stops earlier in the month.
Virginia Tech women to play a home-friendly non-conference slate
There was a good amount of roster turnover for the Hokies following last season's first-round NCAA Tournament loss at the hands of Oregon. Duffy also had some staff turnover, but losing two key starters to the Transfer Portal was tough losses.
Carys Baker left for Louisville, and Mackenzie Nelson is now at Clemson, but Duffy did get retention from guard Carleigh Wenzel. There were also some key players added through the Transfer Portal including Alyssa Latham and Lauren Hurst from Tennessee.
Last month, the Hokies dropped their non-conference schedule, and it is a rather home-friendly one. Ten of the 13 non-conference games will be played inside Cassell Coliseum, with the only true road game being on Nov. 12 at VCU. Notable non-conference games at home include James Madison on Nov. 8 and Tennessee on Dec. 3 as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge. It'll be a reunion for Latham and Hurst against their former coach, Kim Caldwell.
In November, the Hokies will travel to Destin, Florida, to play in the Emerald Coast Classic, opening against UT Martin on the 23rd at 2:30 p.m., followed the next day with a matchup against Alcorn State or Michigan State. Like the Hokies men, there are some early-season NCAA Tournaemnt résumé-building chances facing Virginia Tech.
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