How Do the New NCAA Eligibility Rules Impact Virginia Tech Basketball?

When the NCAA approved its new five-in-five eligibility model earlier this week, one of the initial thought processes was that all players receive an extra year.

The reality is far more complicated.

For example for Virginia Tech men's basketball, players such as Tobi Lawal and Jailen Bedford were listed as graduates following the 2025-26 season. Under the transition guidelines currently outlined by the NCAA, they would not suddenly receive a new year simply because the rule changed.

Assessing the impact

The broader roster-building impact for Mike Young may actually matter more than any individual player. The old system created endless confusion involving redshirts, medical hardships, JUCO years, COVID waivers and court-approved extensions. The NCAA's new model effectively eliminates most of those avenues. Athletes now get five seasons, with only limited exceptions for military service, pregnancy and religious missions.

Most of Virginia Tech's roster already has eligibility remaining beyond the 2026-27 season. Players such as Ben Hammond, TylerJohnson, Kuol Atak, Sin'Cere Jones, Musa Sagnia, and Solomon Davis were able to return in 2027-28 regardless of whether the NCAA changed its eligibility structure. The new rule doesn't dramatically alter their outlook, though it does add an extra year to those who haven't already used a redshirt. Instead of graduating after the 2027-28 season, Hammond and Johnson will be able to play in the 2028-29 season, and Jones has until 2029-30.

Under the new framework, athletes will be permitted five seasons of competition within a five-year eligibility window, replacing the longstanding four-seasons-in-five-years structure and doing away with redshirts to much of a degree. While much of the national conversation usually focuses on future recruits, the immediate impact in Blacksburg centers on a handful of current players whose eligibility situations could change.

Virginia Tech's current roster includes seniors Amani Hansberry, Jaylen Curry, Miles Heide, and Ethan Copeland. Under the traditional model, all four would generally be expected to exhaust their eligibility following the 2026-27 campaign. The five-in-five transition likely enables the four to return for the 2027-28 season, depending on how the NCAA ultimately applies the grandfathering process to current athletes.

That possibility is particularly important for a program that has experienced significant roster turnover in recent years. Mike Young's best teams have been built around continuity and player development rather than annual portal overhauls, but the 2025-26 and 2026-27 rosters returned four and five players from the previous seasons, respectively. An additional year from proven veterans in Curry and Hansberry would fit perfectly within that model.

Hansberry's situation is also worth monitoring. The All-ACC Honorable Mention forward elected to return for his senior season after averaging 14.3 points and 7.4 rebounds in 2025-26. Whether the new eligibility structure ultimately creates another year for him remains unclear, but any avenue that keeps one of the ACC's most productive forwards in Blacksburg longer would be a major development for the Hokies.

Ultimately, the five-in-five rule centers less around Virginia Tech's underclassmen and more about a select group of veterans, though those underclassmen now have an extra year at their disposal. If the NCAA's transition language provides additional opportunities for players such as Curry or Hansberry, as I think that it will, the Hokies' 2027-28 roster outlook could look significantly different than it does today.

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