Virginia Tech Men's Basketball 2025-26 Position Preview: Guards

BLACKSBURG — Hoops season is almost truly here. Exhibition contests are already underway — Virginia Tech contested Liberty in a closed-door scrimmage and has an open-to-the-fans road exhibition against Wofford and former Hokies assistant Kevin Giltner on Oct. 16 — and the true season is under a month away.

Your 2026-27 Virginia Tech Hokies 🦃🏀

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— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) October 9, 2026

Ahead of Virginia Tech's season opener against Coppin State on Nov. 3, here's a look at the backcourt for the Hokies in Year 8 under head coach Mike Young:

Ben Hammond

Hammond broke out in Year 2 of his collegiate career, averaging 13.2 points per game (31.5 mpg) after a 5.6ppg mark in his freshman year. The Manassas, Va., native dropped 30 points against then-No. 21 Virginia in a 95-85 overtime thriller on Dec. 31, 2025.

Hammond scored 20-plus points six times in league play, and after Dec. 2, he was held under double-digit points only twice. Against Syracuse on Jan. 21, he went 5-for-10 from the field while sinking 12 of 13 shots from the free-throw line, ending up with 24 points. In that game, he garnered a joint-program-record six steals.

Hammond totaled 21 points in Virginia Tech's regular season finale against then-No. 13 Virginia on March 7, going 7-for-15 from the field, logging five assists and securing five steals — though he was 1-for-6 from the 3-point range.

In Virginia Tech's season finale, Hammond went 7-for-17 (3-for-4 from long range) for 23 points against Wake Forest in a 95-89 loss in overtime. The 5-foot-11 guard averaged a team-high 14.9 points per game in ACC play last year.

This year, Young expects to play Hammond more at the two, having him play off the ball more rather than mostly operating as the primary ball handler. His shooting has improved, too, per Young.

"He shoots the bottom of the basket day in, day out," Young said of the third-year guard to the ACC Network.

Tyler Johnson

Johnson sustained an ankle injury during Virginia Tech's Dec. 20 game against Elon, a setback that cost him 15 games. Prior to his injury, Johnson averaged 9.5 points per game, but totaled only 13 points (3.2 per game) over the final four games of the season.

"Let's hope we have some good fortune and we can keep them healthy," Young said. "That was as frustrating and as debilitating as anything I've experienced in 25 years as a head coach, what we went through last year. We're in good health now."

After starting 28 games and playing in 32 in his freshman year, Johnson played in 17 games in the 2025-26 season, starting 13 games. He averaged 8.0 points per game in his abbreviated second campaign, with his field goal and 3-point shooting percentages taking jumps to 53.3% and 41.5% from 45.2% and 34.8%, respectively.

The Newcomers

Jaylen Curry: Curry, a 6-foot-1 senior from Charlotte, played for Oklahoma State in the 2025-26 season and UMass the two seasons prior. Curry averaged 10.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists in his lone year with the Cowboys, totaling 30 points against Nicholls. He was 41.8% from the field and scored in double figures 19 times, including seven straight to close the season.
Ethan Copeland: Copeland, a senior, spent one year at the D-1 level, playing the 2025-26 season for Stetson after spending time at Salt Lake Community College. Copeland canned 109 3-pointers in his lone year with the Hatters and totaled 29 points (8-of-11 from 3) against Rhodes, one of nine games where he passed the 20-point mark. Copeland provided team highs in points (495), made 3-pointers (109) and steals (50), logging six takeaways against West Georgia.
Isaiah Elohim: Elohim, who spent a year apiece at USC and Florida Atlantic before coming to Virginia Tech, averaged 12.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game for the Owls last season. Elohim totaled 20 points and eight rebounds against North Texas in the American Conference Championship's second round. He also scored 20 against East Carolina and 22 vs. Rice. Elohim scored double-digit points in 23 games and logged his first career double-double with a 15-point, 10-rebound performance vs. Tulsa. He was third in turnover rate in American Conference play (8.7%) and shot 46.5% from the field, including a 36.8% beyond-the-arc clip.
Ned Hull: The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Charlotte native spent three years at Elon; in 2025-26, he averaged 4.5 points per game as a reserve. He was 2-of-3 from 3-point range against Virginia Tech in the two schools' meeting on Dec. 20, an 82-81 overtime win for the Hokies. Hull scored double-digit points three times in 2025-26, scoring 15 points twice against William & Mary. In the latter instance, a 72-62 loss in the second round of the CAA Tournament, he was 4-for-8 from 3-point range, adding four rebounds and four assists.
Eltayeb Eltayeb: The 6-foot-8, 200-pound Sudanese guard took a post-graduate year at Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas, where he was named a Prep All-American. Eltayeb averaged 21.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.2 blocks per game, connecting on 72% of his field goals inside the 3-point line.
James Caldarella: Caldarella was a late addition to the team; the freshman from Barrington, Rhode Island, attended Cheshire Academy — the same school Hokies tight end Luke Reynolds attended — leading his team to the Division I and state title games at the AA class. Caldarella was named to the All-NEPSAC team and originally committed to Air Force before swapping to Virginia Tech.
Butta Johnson: A late addition to the team via a Class of 2022 injunction, Johnson comes to the Hokies by way of fellow ACC school Clemson. The 6-foot-4 guard spent one season at Clemson, where he averaged 6.3 points, and three at UAB. The Blazers made the NCAA Tournament in 2024. Johnson's averaged 7.6 points per game in his four years of college ball while knocking down 163 triples at a 34.7% shooting clip from 3-point range.

Virginia Tech starts the season with back-to-back home games against Coppin State and Mercer on Tuesday, Nov. 3, and Thursday, Nov. 5, respectively. Both games tip off at 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on the ACC Network.

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