Ranking Every Virginia Tech Player With Eligibility Remaining for the Hokies to Retain

Virginia Tech men's basketball is in an interesting transition phase. The awaiting of the 2026-27 season is perhaps a fruitless endeavor, considering that that campaign is still eight and a half monhts away. Projecting what could be, however, is a fun exercise, even though very little likely will carry over into reality. Re: Staff writer Kaden Reinhard and I's "Way-Too-Early" game-by-game series for Hokies football last year. We predicted an 8-4 final record. The team went 3-9. You get the drill.

Now that the Hokies' season is over — the team went 19-13 (8-10 ACC), lost 95-89 in the first round of the ACC Tournament to Wake Forest and subsequently declined an NIT bid — I'll give my short thoughts on every Virginia Tech player that is known to have at least one year of eligibility remaining, and with what level of zeal the Hokies should be pursuing retainment of said player.

An update from our program ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/toajanzBj2
— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) March 13, 2026

To start with, here's a list of the available players that can still be on the Hokies' roster come the fall, and what their eligibility would presumably look like for the 2026-27 campaign:

No. 2 - Jaden Schutt - Redshirt Senior
No. 3 - Ben Hammond - Junior
No. 4 - Izaiah Pasha - Junior
No. 5 - Sin'Cere Jones - Sophomore
No. 7 - Brett Freeman - Redshirt Freshman
No. 10 - Tyler Johnson - Junior
No. 13 - Amani Hansberry - Senior
No. 15 - Shamarius "Snook" Peterkin - Redshirt Freshman
No. 17 - Neoklis Avdalas - Sophomore
No. 22 - Solomon Davis - Redshirt Freshman
No. 32 - Christian Gurdak - Sophomore
No. 77 - Antonio Dorn - Sophomore

Jailen Bedford's eligibility is up in the air; the graduate student, who transferred in from UNLV after last offseason, played for two years in the junior college ranks. With a potential precedence recently set in football by Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia, who earned an additional year after playing JUCO, Bedford could be up for an additional season, though the likelihood of that happening is currently unknown. For the sake of simplicity, he'll be left off the list. Tobi Lawal, meanwhile, has exhausted his eligibility and will pursue professional opportunities.

Nos. 12-10: Freeman, Peterkin, Davis

It's hard to evaluate three players who didn't see the court at all this season. Freeman and Davis were late signings, as well; Peterkin was a preferred walk-on who also plays as a wide receiver for the football team.

Though I don't have insider knowledge, I wouldn't be surprised to see Peterkin flip to football-only if no playin gtime is forthcoming in basketball. As for Freeman and Davis, I have no collegiate stock to go off of.

No. 9: Pasha

I stated in the preseason that I believed Izaiah Pasha would be the team's starting point guard, but once the season started, it was Jailen Bedford and Neoklis Avdalas manning the main starting guard slots.

Though Pasha shone at moments, his main action came vs. UMES (27 minutes, seven points, six assists) on Dec. 14 and Elon (28 minutes, 11 points) on Dec. 20. Beyond those two contests, he did not log more than 12 minutes a contest, and his last action cames against Wake Forest on Feb. 21. Pasha did not play in the Hokies' last four games of the season and over the course of the campaign, it felt like he never truly broke into the eight-man rotation.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Pasha transfer back to a lower-level school; the former Delaware point guard averaged two points per game in 147 total minutes.

No. 8: Jones

Similar to Pasha, Jones received limited minutes, though that was down to a foot injury that cost him the latter half of the season. Jones only averaged 0.6 points per game, logging seven total points across the season's totality. I'm not entirely sure what his stock sits at, purely due to the relative lack of playing time he's received.

No. 7: Dorn

Intriguingly enough, Virginia Tech went eight-deep or nine-deep for the majority of the season and in the latter half, it appeared like Dorn was the first right outside the cusp. The 22-year old German freshman suited up as the backup five, and after languishing through injuries that sidelined him from mid-December to early January, he never truly found a rhythm again. Save for his 13-minute excursion at Wake Forest, Dorn never played above 11 minutes for the rest of the regular season after Dec. 11 and only hit the 10-minute mark twice before the end of league play.

In the ACC Tournament, however, he made a solid case for his returning. The German center posted eight points in 13 minutes, doing so on a perfect 3-for-3 clip. In addition, he added seven rebounds and three assists, both career-highs.

No. 6: Schutt

Schutt has proven to be a red-hot guard when he can get on top of his three-point shot. However, that shot has proven sporadic at stretches, and the rising redshirt senior has occasionally been mired in rough segments of play. The guard averaged 7.7 points per game, virtually identical to the year before.

Schutt languished through a four-game stretch where he went a combined 3-for-19 against Wake Forest (second meeting), then-No. 18 North Carolina, Boston College and then-No. 13 Virginia. Against the Demon Deacons, Eagles and Cavaliers, Schutt did not score. He did, however, bounce back in the Hokies' now-final game of the season. In the first round of the ACC Tournament against Wake Forest, Schutt poured in 15 points on a 3-of-7 clip, adding in a perfect 6-of-6 mark at the charity stripe.

Though his effort has proven occasionally spotty, the current redshirt junior guard has continuity within the system and should be among the higher-end options that Virginia Tech seeks to retain.

No. 5: Avdalas

I'll start with this: I don't think that Neoklis Avdalas will be with Virginia Tech next season. Avdalas could have jumped into the 2025 NBA Draft, slated as a then-second-round draft pick, but chose to come to Blacksburg.

This year, his stock is at a similar level, depending on which mock draft you view. Avdalas languished through a difficult three-game stretch at the end of January where he averaged under six points a game with under 16% shooting from the field.

Then again, he posted 33 points against Providence and ripped off 30 points later in the non-conference slate vs. Western Carolina. Though Avdalas' lows have been evident, so have his highs. The freshman wing was vacillatory throughout the campaign, though his stats in league play noticeably dipped.

In leageu play, Avdalas posted 10.8 points per game, fifth on the team, with shooting splits of 35.1%/28.1%/66.7%. In addition, his assist-to-turnover ratio dropped to 1.88. While the freshman showcased exceedingly high highs, those were met with lows, as well. Avdalas rounded out his season with a five-point, no-assist, three-turnover performance vs. Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament.

No. 4: Johnson

Though Johnson has been quiet, I think that his style of play fits what Virginia Tech wants. Head coach Mike Young referred to him as a "glue guy" in several post-game press conferences, and the sentiment sticks. Johnson serves as a jack-of-all-trades across defense, rebounding shooting, spacing, etc. Though none of his traits jump out, he's proven to be a high-floor, medium-ceiling wing that is hard to replace in the transfer portal.

In league play, Johnson played sparingly, only seeing action in the final three games of the regular season and logging seven total points (2.3ppg). Across the totality of the season, he averaged eight points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

No. 3: Gurdak

You can make an argument for switching Johnson and Gurdak, but I'll start with this: Gurdak and Hammond will be entering their fourth year together. The two played for two years at Paul VI High School in Chantilly, Virginia, before Gurdak moved to play at Gonzaga.

Continuity matters, especially given that Gurdak will be stepping up as the primary five due to Lawal's graduation. The freshman center's playing time was vacillatory, but when forced into extended action with Tobi Lawal and Antonio Dorn missing time, he was potent at times.

Gurdak poured in a career-high 17 points and 19 rebounds vs. then-No. 21 UVa. Though he only logged six games in double-figures, he was relativel reliable when called upon and served as an able body that saw 15-plus minutes in each of his last four contests. As I alluded to above, continuity is essential in the frontcourt with Lawal's departure.

No. 2: Hansberry

Hansberry has proven to be a reliable anchor for Virginia Tech and when he went down in the second half against the Cavaliers in the regular-season finale, the Hokies' offense stagnated as a result.

At times, Virginia Tech appeared lost without the presence of their primary connector. Hansberry averaged a team-high 14.3 points per game, and was the team's second-highest in rebounds per game (7.4), only behind the outgoing Lawal. With the English forward set to graduate, Hansberry's role takes on one of even greater significance. Virginia Tech maintaining some semblance of continuity in its starting frontcourt should come at a premium, especially if the Hokies wish to make their first NCAA Tournament in five years come the 2026-27 season.

No. 1: Hammond

Hammond was a relevation in the latter half of the season. Though his potency was on display via a 22-point performance in the exhibition game vs. Duquesne, things did not become truly apparent until Hammond was thrust into an upgraded role following Lawal's injury.

Hammond's stretch of stellar play began on Dec. 2 vs. South Carolina, where he posted 16 points. From there, he scored in double-figures in every game until Jan. 10 vs. California. in that time, his highlight was undoubtedly a 30-point punctuation vs. then-No. 21 Virginia, where he went 7-for-16 from the field — and 16-of-18 from the free-throw line.

After posting six points against California, Hammond went on another solid run, tacking on 10 or more points in his next six games. That also included three games with 18 or more scored: Syracuse (24 points, career-high six steals), Louisville (18) and Georgia Tech (20).

Though Hammond was held scoreless at N.C. State on Feb. 7, he did not drop another single-digit game for the duration of the season. Hammond poured in 19 or more points in three of his final six games, anchoring the Hokies in a 76-66 upset victory over then-No. 20 Clemson with 19 points and four steals.

Against then-No. 13 Virginia in the season finale, he tacked on 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting and notched four rebounds, five assists and five steals, to boot. Then, vs. Wake Forest, Hammond dropped a team-high 23 points on 7-of-17 shooting and buried three of his four three-point looks.

A season after averaging 5.6 points per game as a freshman, Hammond burst onto the scene and led the team in points per game in league play. In my opinion, he is the top priority for Virginia Tech to retain this offseason.