Evaluating The Fit of Eltayeb Eltayeb for Virginia Tech

Eltayeb was named a Prep All-American Honorable Mention in his post-graduate year.

Virginia Tech Athletics

Virginia Tech men's basketball garnered its latest commitment for its 2026-27 outfit when Class of 2026 guard/wing Eltayeb Eltayeb joined the fold. Eltayeb, a 6-foot-8, 170-pound wing from Sudan, played a post-graduate year at Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas before transitioning to collegiate basketball.

One thing to note when discussing Eltayeb as a prospect is that he reportedly grew seven inches from 6-foot-1 in a year, per his agency One Motive Sports NIL.

🚨 OMS NIL CLIENT SIGNING🚨 We are thrilled to announce the addition of Eltayeb Eltayeb @Eltayebx2!

The 6’8” Wing from Sudan is in his Post Grad year at Sunrise Christian and has grown 7 inches in a year! Major sleeper for the Class of 2026! Welcome to OMS, Eltayeb! #OMSNIL pic.twitter.com/f4vzG0WLDK

— One Motive Sports NIL (@OMS_NIL) December 24, 2025

Prior to Eltayeb's signing, Virginia Tech did not have any Class of 2026 commitments, a byproduct of the Hokies' initially solid blueprint for the 2025-26 roster. At that time, Virginia Tech only needed to replace Jailen Bedford (assuming no eligibility left) and Tobi Lawal. However, the Hokies' campaign did not go to plan, resulting in a 19-13 (8-10) stretch that culminated with a 95-89 overtime loss to Wake Forest in the first round of the ACC Tournament. Virginia Tech preemptively declined a bid to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), and several players — most notably, Neoklis Avdalas (UNC) and Christian Gurdak (Rutgers) — departed the program.

While attrition is normal, the deflating nature of Virginia Tech's 2025-26 season ending as it did meant that the team needed to reload through the portal for the second straight season. So far, the Hokies have garnered eight commitments, and eight of the team's 13 players currently on the roster are juniors or seniors. Of Virginia Tech's eight portal acquisitions, five are juniors or seniors, with forward Kuol Atak (Oklahoma, r-So.), center Musa Sagnia (NC State, So.) and now, Eltayeb (HS; Fr.) as the exceptions.

Virginia Tech's transfer portal acquisitions have been geared around maintaining experience and continuity, avoiding having to completely start over. A look at how exactly that pops up can be traced to the classes of the team. Here's a glance (redshirts and true years are treated as the same):

• Seniors: 4 (Amani Hansberry, Miles Heide, Jaylen Curry, Ethan Copeland)
• Juniors: 4 (Ned Hull, Ben Hammond, Tyler Johnson, Isaiah Elohim)
• Sophomores: 3 (Kuol Atak, Sin'Cere Jones, Musa Sagnia)
• Freshmen: 2 (Solomon Davis, Eltayeb Eltayeb)

Virginia Tech graduates four players ahead of both the 2027-28 and the 2028-29 seasons. As of now, Eltayeb adds an extra long-term dimension, and if he doesn't work out for the Hokies, it comes at little consequence to the squad. Eltayeb averaged 21.3 points for Sunrise Academy, and he also totaled 1.2 blocks. Against The Newman School, Eltayeb logged 22 points and six rebounds, which included a 4-of-7 mark from long range.

Full season highlight from PG year at sunrise academy

Prep All American!!

6’8 G can space the floor and attack off the dribble

21.3 ppg
4.8 rpg
3.1 apg
1.2 bpg
3pt 61/142 43%
2pt 80/111 72%
Ft 77/90 86% pic.twitter.com/oFyc0wx32L

— Eltayeb Eltayeb (@Eltayebx2) April 30, 2026

Though Eltayeb likely won’t start right away, he gives Virginia Tech a low-risk option to evaluate as a potential long-term piece.