Virginia Tech Men’s Basketball 2025-26 Position Preview: Guards

BLACKSBURG – Hoops season is almost truly here. Exhibition contests are already underway – Virginia Tech contested Liberty in a closed-door scrimmage and has an open-to-the-fans road exhibition against Wofford and former Hokies assistant Kevin Giltner on Oct. 16 – and the true season is under a month away.

Ahead of Virginia Tech’s season opener against Coppin State on Nov. 3, here’s a look at the backcourt for the Hokies in Year 8 under head coach Mike Young:

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Ben Hammond

Hammond broke out in Year 2 of his collegiate career, averaging 13.2 points per game (31.5 mpg) after a 5.6ppg mark in his freshman year. The Manassas, Va., native dropped 30 points against then-No. 21 Virginia in a 95-85 overtime thriller on Dec. 31, 2025.

Hammond scored 20-plus points six times in league play, and after Dec. 2, he was held under double-digit points only twice. Against Syracuse on Jan. 21, he went 5-for-10 from the field while sinking 12 of 13 shots from the free-throw line, ending up with 24 points. In that game, he garnered a joint-program-record six steals.

Hammond totaled 21 points in Virginia Tech’s regular season finale against then-No. 13 Virginia on March 7, going 7-for-15 from the field, logging five assists and securing five steals – though he was 1-for-6 from the 3-point range.

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In Virginia Tech’s season finale, Hammond went 7-for-17 (3-for-4 from long range) for 23 points against Wake Forest in a 95-89 loss in overtime. The 5-foot-11 guard averaged a team-high 14.9 points per game in ACC play last year.

This year, Young expects to play Hammond more at the two, having him play off the ball more rather than mostly operating as the primary ball handler. His shooting has improved, too, per Young.

“He shoots the bottom of the basket day in, day out,” Young said of the third-year guard to the ACC Network.

Tyler Johnson

Johnson sustained an ankle injury during Virginia Tech’s Dec. 20 game against Elon, a setback that cost him 15 games. Prior to his injury, Johnson…

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Publish date : 2026-10-13 20:00:00

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