Virginia Tech Men’s Basketball Projected As Potential 2027 NCAA Tournament Team

We’re still just under five months away from Virginia Tech men’s basketball’s 2026-27 season kicking off, but the team itself is almost done taking shape. The Hokies return just five players from their 2025-26 team, a byproduct of the squad missing out on the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season after aspirations of breaking the drought.

Virginia Tech lost Neoklis Avdalas, the first five-star recruit for the program since Dorian Finney-Smith back in 2011, to North Carolina. Avdalas, who scored 33 against Providence Nov. 8 and 30 against Western Carolina Dec. 11, was flashy at points but inconsistent at others. In league play, Avdalas struggled, shooting 35.1% from the field and averaging 10.8 points per game – fifth-most on the team.

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Of the seven highest scorers in league play – guard Ben Hammond (14.9ppg), forward Amani Hansberry (13.1ppg), guard Jailen Bedford (13.0ppg), forward Tobi Lawal (12.1ppg), Avdalas (10.8ppg), center Christian Gurdak (5.7ppg) and guard Jaden Schutt (5.2ppg) – Virginia Tech is set to return just two: Hammond and Hansberry. Bedford and Lawal have exhausted their eligibility, while Avdalas, Gurdak and Schutt transferred out to North Carolina, Rutgers and Kansas State, respectively.

Still, the door isn’t closed for Virginia Tech to be competitive in 2026-27. The Hokies retained Hansberry and landed a plethora of experienced guards in the transfer portal, including Florida Atlantic’s Isaiah Elohim and Oklahoam State’s Jaylen Curry. Virginia Tech also landed Oklahoma forward Kuol Atak, and it earned portal commitments from several experienced immediate-impact options, such as Ethan Copeland (Stetson) and Miles Heide (San Diego State).

CBS Sports’ Isaac Trotter echoed that sentiment that Virginia Tech can be competitive next season, placing the Hokies as a tournament team in his way-too-early ACC 2026-27 basketball tier rankings. Here’s what he had to say on the Hokies, who he ranked No. 6:

“Virginia Tech is in a sneaky-good spot,…

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Publish date : 2026-06-04 18:21:00

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