After ACC Tournament Loss, Virginia Tech's Mike Young Says His Program Has to Get More Talented

For what has been a tough season for the Virginia Tech Hokies, it ended on a sour note yesterday in a double overtime loss to Cal. Virginia Tech had plenty of chances at the end of regulation and in the first overtime to pull out a victory and set up a second round matchup with Stanford, but then an 8-0 run from Cal to start the second overtime more or less sealed the game and put an end to the Hokies season.

After the game, Hokies head coach Mike Young was speaking with the media and when asked what was missing from the team this season, Young gave a pretty honest answer:

"A lot was missing. A lot was missing, just call it what it is. They are great kids and a pleasure to work with. We have to get more talented and we are going to quick, all right?"

There is no denying that this was not one of the more talented teams in the ACC and some credit should be given to Young for still being able to get this team to finish 10th in the ACC, ahead of where they were projected to be at the start of the season.

It was reported earlier this month by Jeff Goodman at Field of 68 that Young is expected to return to Blacksburg next season and will have more NIL resources at his disposal.

Virginia Tech coach Mike Young is expected to return next season, with an increased NIL package, source told @TheFieldOf68.

Young made the NCAA tourney in 2021 and 2022, the NIT the last two years and is 13-16 this season.

Young will have more NIL resources next season to get…
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 3, 2025

Young was hired ahead of the 2019-2020 season and is currently in his sixth season with the Hokies. He has taken Virginia Tech to the NCAA Tournament twice in his time in Blacksburg (2021 and 2022) and won the ACC Tournament in 2022. He holds a record of 105-82 at Virginia Tech and an overall career record of 404-326, dating back to his time as the head coach of Wofford. Young was named the ACC coach of the year after the 2020-2021 season.

There has been criticism of the NIL resources that Virginia Tech has given Young to run the program, and while it is good that there seems to be a plan to increase those resources, it would be wise to wait and see what happens. This is arguably Young's least talented team that he has had, but he has found a way to get the most out of them. This is going to be a critical offseason for this program when it comes to building a roster that is able to compete in the ACC. While Duke is the top program and both Clemson and Louisville appear to be here to stay, there is room to move up and move up quickly in the ACC if the roster is built right and more talent is brought into Blacksburg.

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