Eight Virginia Tech Players That Benefit VT Most With The New Eligibility Rules

The NCAA's new five-in-five eligibility rule gives athletes more flexibility and reshapes roster planning. Here are the eight Hokies who benefit most.

Virginia Tech Athletics

The NCAA's newly approved five-in-five eligibility model has reshaped the outlook for rosters across college athletics, and Virginia Tech is no exception. By simplifying eligibility rules and granting athletes additional flexibility, the change impacts players at every stage of their careers. Here are eight players across five sports that I think serve the most benefit to Virginia Tech by receiving an extra year of eligibility.

The eight players listed (five sports) are not listed in any particular order.

1. Luke Reynolds, Tight End

This note is contingent upon Reynolds not testing the NFL Draft waters after the 2026 season; as a true junior, he has the benefit of a 2027 campaign, should he choose to use it. With the new NCAA eligibility rules, redshirts essentially fall by the wayside. Reynolds — along with wide receiver Ayden Greene — is one of the few players on the football roster that did not use a redshirt, essentially giving him the benefit of using all five years of eligibility should he choose. Reynolds totaled 368 receiving yards on 35 catches over two years at Penn State.

2. Mia Pozzi, Lacrosse

Virginia Tech lacrosse rarely sees redshirts be utilized, except in a medical case. Graduate students are not common, but three were present on the Hokies' roster this past season: attacker Kate Elam, plus goalies Malie Follet and Aaliyah Jones. That essentially becomes a fifth-year player under the new NCAA guidelines, and it obviously gives every player that wasn't a senior this past season an extra year. Virginia Tech won't have to graduate the six rising seniors on its roster — midfielders Jess Kent and Lauren Kelly, attacker Cassandra Montgomery, defender Zoee Stencil, Pozzi and midfielder Jane Brewer — and it will receive the benefit of another year.

Had the five-in-five rules not have passed, Virginia Tech would have lost its second-most productive offensive player in Pozzi following the 2026 season. The Baldwinsville, N.Y. native holds the third-most draw controls in a season in program history with 104, and she scored 26 goals last season. In 2025, she scored 34 goals and she was named All-ACC Third Team.

3. Anna Weir or Hannah Pachan, Women's Soccer

Like sports such as softball or lacrosse, redshirts aren't typically used unless in medical cases. The women's soccer team finished 4-10-4 last season, though several bright spots emerged. As a freshman, Pachan totaled five goals and five assists, ending up with 15 points — second-most on the team behind outgoing attacker Natalie Mitchell (graduation). Weir's six goals were second-most on the team behind Mitchell, while her point total of 13 was third behind Mitchell (18) and Pachan (15).

Virginia Tech was 2-6-1 on the road, and it stumbled to a 0-8-2 finish in conference play last season after being ranked as high as No. 14. Weir receiving an additional year heading into her senior season, along with Pachan entering her sophomore year, gives Virginia Tech the opportunity to build around its roster with less immediate turnover and a more gradual approach to the future.

4. Amani Hansberry, Basketball

Hansberry averaged a team-high 14.3 points per game last season, and he's the leading rebounder that's returning. With Tobi Lawal off to the NBA — he was drafted No. 48 by the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday — Hansberry taking another jump in his game could aid Virginia Tech heavily in its quest to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2021-22 season. Hansberry was the lone All-ACC nod for the Hokies last season, qualifying for an Honorable Mention bid.

5. Emma Mazzarone, Michelle Chatfield or Jordan Lynch, Softball

Lynch was not set to graduate until the 2028 season, but her receiving of an extra year — should she use it — gives Virginia Tech the access to a potent weapon at the plate for another year. In her freshman year, Lynch set the then-program-record for doubles with 18 and was named All-ACC Third Team. This opast season, Lynch started all 60 games, pacing the team in batting average (.414) and home runs (18), being named All-ACC Third Team.

Chatfield, meanwhile, was set to graduate after the 2027 season. She started all 60 games at first base, and hit .377 with 15 home runs and 51 RBI en route to an All-ACC Second Team nod. The 6-foot junior from Lovettsville, Va., set the new single-game program record for RBI with nine against North Carolina in a 14-5 victory.

Mazzarone settled into an upgraded role, jumping from 92.2 innings of work as a sophomore in 2025 to 134 as a junior. She pitched a 3.13 ERA and struck out 172 batters, holding her opponents at the dish to a .189 batting average.

All three now having an extra year of eligibility at their disposal affords head coach Pete D'Amour the opportunity to construct his roster with less short-term turnover in mind and punts the question of having to replace eight rising seniors on the 2027 roster to another year down the road.