Three Virginia Tech Takeaways from the 2026 ACC Women's Basketball Tip Off

CHARLOTTE — Virginia Tech women's basketball opened the 2026 ACC Tip-Off with the media on Monday. Hokies' head coach Megan Duffy took the stage, alongside graduate guard Carleigh Wenzel and Tennessee graduate forward Alyssa Latham. Here are three big takeaways from Day 1:

No. 1: New additions will make an impact

The Hokies squad has been virtually revamped from last season, as Tech only returned six players of its 13 roster spots for the new campaign.

"I think with our team I think they're going to be interested in what our new faces look like," Duffy said. "I think we went out in not only the portal, but with our freshman class to fill some needs."

Of the incoming seven players to fill out the Hokies roster, four of which are freshman. Alongside Latham, Duffy brought in sophomore Lauren Hurst, both from the University of Tennessee, with Natalee Goff being the last of the transfer portal additions, from Emmanuel University.

"Every year teams are blending new faces and trying to get that chemistry, and we're no different," Duffy exclaimed. "We're working extremely hard right now in this preseason time to lay the foundation of how gritty we're going to be, how tough we're going to be."

"[She's] extremely versatile. She can guard one through five. It's to get steals, get deflections, turn the ball over; she can shoot the three, she can shoot the fadeaway, she can bring the ball up," Wenzel said about Latham. "I don't know what she can't do."

No. 2: Offense is now the priority

Over coach Duffy's first two seasons in Blacksburg, the Hokies have been rooted in a defense-heavy playstyle, which has led them to the tournament. With that defensive foundation being secure in Blacksburg now, Duffy has turned towards the offense to be a tough test on both ends of the court.

"It's been our goal every year to build I say Hokie stone by Hokie stone, continuing to improve. We made a big step with our confidence, with our ability to lay a great foundation for future years." Duffy exclaimed.

"Yeah, I think after our first year we knew we had to get better defensively. I think we've relied on our toughness and our grit," Duffy continued. "We'll have some other players that can stretch the floor. It's an exciting brand of basketball. We want to play fast. We want to play gritty."

Last season, the Hokies were third in steals and fourth in blocks in the country, with the majority of the shifty guards responsible for the steals returning for 2026.

"I think you'll see this year with the combination of Carleigh, Samyha Suffren, Leila Wells. We'll have that same attack downhill that can manufacture points when you need it sometimes," Duffy said.

No. 3: This team is young, but mature

One of the freshman that the Hokies are bringing in is Nigerian native Jessica Dimaro, who has spent the last two seasons in Japan's W League with the Toyota Boshoku Sunshine Rabbits. Dimaro was the league's rookie of the year in 2024-25, as she expanded on that by nearly averaging a double-double last season with 12.0 points per game and 9.7 rebounds per game.

Dimaro's presence may not always be felt, but with her 6-foot-4 frame, she will help open up the court for her primary ball scorers all season.

"Alyssa, for example, is going to be able to score inside. Then, obviously, you'll hear the name Jessie Dimaro, a young woman from Nigeria, coming in who will be a great presence for us inside that will make Alyssa's job easy too," Duffy said.

Outside of Dimaro, even with the young squad, Duffy described the team as "motivated" in a one word response.

"This has probably been the most motivated group I've been around. They want to be in the gym, they want to be great," Duffy said. "They're totally bought into the process it takes to be great, so it's a hungry group of young women."

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