An early read on the 2023 college football recruiting classes shows Virginia Tech and new head coach Brent Pry at No. 28 and Virginia, with Tony Elliott at the helm, at No. 76.
The Hokies are listed with eight three-star recruits, four from the state of Virginia, including wide receiver-defensive back Marcell Taylor from Radford and and offensive lineman Hannes Hamner from North Cross in Roanoke. (For more on Hamner, who is from Germany, see this previous column.)
Duke and Connecticut were two of the teams pursuing Cole Surber, a 6-foot-6, 275-pound offensive lineman from Nokesville in the Patriot League. Surber is rated the No. 24 in-state prospect for 2023.
Earlier this week, the Cavaliers took a commitments fron Donte Hawthorne, a running back from Massaponax High School who is transferring to Colonial Forge in Stafford for his senior year.
The Cavaliers earlier had landed Delaney Crawford, a quarterback from California, where he was a state champion in the 300 hurdles.
Transfers
Malachi Poindexter, a walk-on for the Virginia men’s basketball team over the past two seasons, has transferred to Illinois State. He played in 19 games for UVa over the past two seasons.
Brian Edgington, a right-handed pitcher for Elon, says he will be transferring to UVa for his final season of eligibility. Edgington, from Hatboro, Pa., was 6-4 this past season and had a team-leading 86 strikeouts in 82 innings.
More players could become available with word that Clemson has fired baseball coach Monte Lee after seven seasons. Lee had a 242-136 record. It followed two seasons in which the Tigers did not make the NCAA Tournament.
On the way back
A dropoff for Virginia after back-to-back national championships in men’s lacrosse isn’t likely to last very long. The Lacrosse Playground lists Virginia with the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, with three of the top 10 players overall. National champion Maryland had the No. 7 class.
Around the ACC
Wake Forest junior Jake LaRavia has decided to stick with his plans to enter the NBA Draft after averaging 14.6 points and 6.6 rebounds this past season. He is projected as a late first-round pick or second-rounder.
Other likely underclassmen from the ACC would be Duke’s Paolo Banchero, Mark Williams and A.J. Griffin, as well as Notre Dame’s Blake Wesley. Auburn’s 7-foot-1 Walker Kessler, appears to be bound for the pros after beginning his career at North Carolina.
Word Wednesday was that Justyn Mutts will be returning to Virginia Tech for another year, same as N.C. State’s Dereon Seabron.
Coaching change
Tiffany Pins is the new women’s soccer coach at Washington and Lee, where predecessor, Neil Cunningham, stepped down to become the athletic director at St. Andrew’s School in Middletown, Del. Pins previously was the women’s coach at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa.
New AD
Blake James is the new athletic director at Boston College after a previous stint at Miami.
“To be certain, it will be terrific to have him back around our ACC table,” ACC commisioner Jim Phillips was quoted.