Grading Virginia Tech's Transfer Acquisition Of Stetson Guard Ethan Copeland

Copeland became the seventh commitment from the transfer portal for Virginia Tech this cycle on Monday.

Dec 6, 2025; Columbia, S.C.; South Carolina guard Eli Ellis (15) drives around Stetson guard Ethan Copeland (1). | Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

Virginia Tech men's basketball's transfer portal haul for the 2025-26 season has nearly taken full form. The Hokies tacked on to their list of portal acquisitions Monday when they added Stetson transfer Ethan Copeland.

Copeland, a 6-foot-2, 184-pound guard from Sunnyside, Washington, has one year of eligibility — though grading his acquisition should come with the added caveat that he may have two years left to work with if the NCAA's five-in-five proposition becomes reality.

Here's an interesting look from X user jackcbb1, whose site specializes in data analysis of college basketball. Last season, Copeland averaged 1.74 points per possession in rebound and scramble plays and averaged 1.04 points per game as a perimeter sniper. Copeland serves as a creator who can thrive off the dribble and create his own shot, not simply serving as an assisted-heavy three-point shooter.

Portal Passport 1.7

Ethan Copeland (0.570 Player Rating; #90 Transfer Rank)
Stetson -> ?

Elite 3pt shooter on high volume, hitting 41% of shots on 234 attempts. He is the definition of a perimeter scorer. Copeland isn't just a movement shooter, he's a legitimate wing shooter… pic.twitter.com/6XMKgRmCe6

— Jack (@jackcbb1) April 26, 2026

That adds an extra dimension to the offense because Copeland becomes two-dimensional. He can thrive both with his teammates and apart from them. As evidenced by his stellar play in scramble-type situations, he can also be able to take advantage of unset defenses.

Where the grade could suffer is in its size. Virginia Tech has a plethora of guards in Elohim, Copeland, Hammond, Curry, etc., that are a tad undersized. By height, Copeland (6-foot-2) should be OK, but his weight of 184 pounds could lead to some issues. Then again, Hammond (5-11, 170 pounds) averaged 14.9 points per game in ACC play last season, blossoming as the Hokies' lead guard in the middle of 2025-26. At the very least, Copeland adds another shooting touch to Virginia Tech's sneakily potent backcourt.

Copeland isn't the strongest defensive player — his defensive box plus-minus clocks in at a net minus-0.9 on Bart Torvik's site — but his skills, in theory, translate well to the Division I level. The one thing to watch in regard to improvement is his mid-range looks. At the rim, Copeland was 35-for-62 (56.5%) but outside there, he was 22-for-60 (36.7%) on his other two-point looks, a mark that sat below his 41.0% (96-for-234) tally from beyond the arc.

My grade on the Copeland acquisition at the present moment is a B+. While Copeland feels similar to some of the other guards' size-weight builds, such as Elohim and Curry, he slots in as one of the team's strongest shooters, and if that carries over to the Division I level, he should be able to carve out a role as a high-impact reserve.