Virginia tech ranked in ap poll; projected to finish fourth in acc

Jack Brizendine

Staff Writer

October 20, 2021

BLACKSBURG — Virginia Tech will enter the 2021-22 season as a ranked team for the only the second time in program history.

VT was slated in at the No. 24 spot in the preseason Associated Press Poll released Tuesday.

It’s the first time in twenty-two years that the Hokies have had a spot in the Top 25 to begin the year.

The ranking also marks the first time Virginia Tech has been ranked at any point since Jan. 23, 2017, when the team was ranked No. 17.

Tech is one of five ACC teams ranked in the AP Top 25 to begin the year. The others being NC State (No. 5), Louisville (No. 6), Florida State (No. 16) and Georgia Tech (No. 17). Tennessee, who travels to Cassell Coliseum and faces the Hokies on Dec. 5, is No. 15 in the rankings.

The ACC released its preseason predicted order of finish from its Blue Ribbon Panel and head coaches, in which Tech was picked to finish fourth. It’s the highest predicted order of finish for the Hokies since the school joined the ACC in 2004. The Hokies only trailed NC State, Louisville and Georgia Tech for the top spot.

The Top 25 appearance and high conference expectations comes on the heels of a 2020-21 campaign that featured an NCAA tournament appearance and a first round win against Marquette, 70-63.

Despite being blown out by Baylor in the second round of the tournament 90-48, Virginia Tech demonstrated significant growth to finish the year, winning eight of its final eleven games.

The Hokies return nine players from last year's squad, including the entire starting five. VT also added three players via the transfer portal in guard Emily Lytle (Liberty), center Rochelle Norris (West Virginia), and guard Kayana Traylor (Purdue). Norris, a 6-foot-5 center, will miss the entire year after tearing her ACL in a freak accident, head coach Kenny Brooks said.

Both junior center Elizabeth Kitley and fifth-year guard Aisha Sheppard were named to the All-ACC Preseason First Team on Wednesday morning. Kitley received the second-most votes (42) for ACC Preseason Player of the Year, which was awarded to NC State’s Elissa Cunane, while Sheppard received one.

Kitley, listed at 6-foot-6 after growing an inch over the offseason, averaged 18.4 points and 10.4 rebounds per game in 2020-21. It comes after she was named to the All-ACC First Team, was the 2021 VaSID Player of the Year and a finalist for the Lisa Leslie Award, which is given out to the nation’s best center.

Sheppard, a 5-foot-9 guard from Alexandria, Va., returns for one final season, using her extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA over the offseason.

Sheppard ranked third in the conference in scoring with 17.7 points per game, but chose to return to Tech to write her last chapter on her illustrious career as a Hokie.

At season’s end, she’ll walk away as the most decorated player in the program’s history.

A 2020 and 2021 All-ACC First Team Coaches pick. A 2021 First Team All-ACC Blue Ribbon Panel selection. The all-time record holder in 3-point field goals made in school history. And by the end of the year, Sheppard will likely be the all-time scoring leader, needing just 345 points to break it.

Virginia Tech looks poised for a standout season in year six of the Kenny Brooks era when it opens its season at home against Davidson on Nov. 9.