What Improvements Do Virginia Tech's Returning Players Need to Make Next Season?

Virginia Tech men's basketball's offseason after the 2025-26 season is a good bit like the 2024-25 season. There won't be many returners from last year's roster. The 2025-26 roster returned just four players from the previous year's iteration, while the provisional 2026-27 roster features five returning players, only four of which have played at the collegiate level.

Ben Hammond headlines the group, and for him, the main focus is on finding a higher level of consistency, ascending into an All-ACC level guard as a junior. Against NC State on Feb. 7, the sophomore guard was held scoreless on a 0-for-9 clip from the field. Hammond, however, posted 10-plus points in each of his final eight games of the season, posting 23 points in the Hokies' season finale against Wake Forest.

If Virginia Tech is hoping for a strong 2026-27 season, another jump for Hammond is the key to that success. For forward Amani Hansberry, meanwhile, avoiding picking up fouls — especially early ones — is a must for Virginia Tech to entertain any hopes of NCAA Tournament contention. The forward averaged 14.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game last season, but in several key contests, he was unavailable for the tail end of games due to picking up fouls. Hansberry accrued 3.1 fouls per game and fouled out of five contests.

In nine other games, he picked up four fouls, including three straight ccontests against SMU (77-76 loss on Jan. 14), Notre Dame (89-76 victory on Jan. 17) and Syracuse (76-74 victory on Jan. 21).

Tyler Johnson is the third of the four returnees with collegiate production. The rising junior guard, who stands at 6-foot-5, 210 pounds, averaged 8.0 points per game and shot 53.3% from the field, including a 41.5% clip from deep. However, Johnson was sidelined for just over two months with a lower-body injury sustained during the tail end of the game against Elon Dec. 20. He did not play again until Feb. 28, logging two minutes against then-No. 18 North Carolina. Johnson slowly ramped up in the final three contests of the season, logging eight, 15 and 21 minutes against Boston College, Virginia and Wake Forest, respectively.

Finally, there's two players that I'll group together: sophomore forward Sin'Cere Jones and redshirt freshman center Solomon Davis. Davis, a 6-foot-11, 225-pound center from Hyattsville, Maryland, did not see game action in 2026. There can be no inherent improvement from a non-existant sample size.

With that, I'll say that Virginia Tech as a whole needs an area of improvement from the backup center spot. If Davis can fill the role left behind by German big Antonio Dorn, the Hokies should be in a tenable spot there, though depth at the position should be a priority to avoid stretching Davis too thin, too early.

In regard to Jones, the simple note is seeing development. The 6-foot-7, 230-pound forward totaled seven points across 11 games and averaged 6.4 minutes per game. He went 3-for-12 from the field and 0-for-7 from three-point range. If he can raise his shooting stroke to at least an average clip from beyond the arc, it provides the Hokies with another reliable offensive option when dealing with foul trouble.

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