Tennessee Forward Lauren Hurst Commits To Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech women's basketball secured its second incoming commitment from the transfer portal. Guard/forward Lauren Hurst, who played her freshman year at Tennessee, posted on her Instagram her commitment to Virginia Tech. Hurst, a 6-foot-3 prospect from Cleveland, Tennessee, has three years of eligibility remaining.

According to her UT sports bio, the Hokies were in her final five, alongside Clemson, N.C. State, North Carolina and Tennessee.

In her freshman year with the Vols, Hurst functioned as a reserve option, logging 2.3 points and 1.6 rebounds per game and starting once. Hurst shot 48.8% from the field and 41.4% from three-point range. The 6-foot-3 prospect was a consensus top-50 player coming out of High School and averaged 17.4 points per game in her senior year.

Hurst logged five points and five rebounds against Arkansas in an 85-50 victory. Her strongest performance of the season came against then-No. 17 Ole Miss; in 24 minutes, Hurst poured in 16 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals in a 94-81 loss. Hurst made six of her nine attempts from the field and went 4-for-5 from three-point range.

Hurst's exit from the Volunteers comes as part of a team exodus. Tennessee will not return any player with experience next season. Virginia Tech is returning five players that played on last year's team, plus a sixth in guard Kate Sears, who did not play last season due to a season-ending ankle injury sustained before the campaign got underway.

In addition to her basketball prowess, Hurst was a three-time Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year, setting the state record for kills with 2,607 and leading Cleveland to two titles. She also is in a family of athletes; her parents played basketball at Mars Hill College (North Carolina), while her older brother Grant is on the men's basketball team at Tennesse and her old sister Addison is a volleyball player at South Alabama.

Hurst is the second player to join Virginia Tech through the transfer portal, alongside teammate Alyssa Latham. Five players have left through the portal: forward Kayl Petersen, guard Sophie Swanson, guard Mackenzie Nelson, forward Carys Baker and guard Spela Brecelj. None of the five have announced their new destinations at the time of writing.

With Hurst's commitment, Virginia Tech now has 10 scholarship players, five under the maximum allotment of 15. Here's how it pans out by eligibility:

forward Alyssa Latham (Gr.)
guard Carleigh Wenzel (r-Sr.)
guard Samyha Suffren (r-Jr.)
guard Leila Wells (Jr.)
forward Amani Jenkins (So.)
forward Aniya Trent (So.)
guard/forward Lauren Hurst (So.)
guard Kate Sears (r-Fr.)
guard Kaleo Anderson (Fr.)
forward Arianna Harris-Mott (Fr.)