Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech women’s basketball team is gearing up to make its return to Cassell Coliseum as the 2025-26 season inches closer. Led by head coach Megan Duffy in her second season with the program, the Hokies are loaded with a plethora of incoming talent, including several can’t-miss transfers and freshmen athletes fans should keep their eyes on. Based on the news that season tickets have already sold out for the 2025-26 season, it’s evident that Hokie Nation is excited for what’s to come when the season kicks off on Nov. 4.
Duffy returns to Blacksburg for her second season at the helm. In her inaugural season with the Hokies, Duffy’s squad posted a 19-13 record and won 12 games inside Cassell Coliseum. The former Notre Dame point guard also logged nine conference victories in her first season, the most recorded by a first-year women’s basketball head coach at Virginia Tech.
A hallmark of Duffy’s first season was undoubtedly her commitment to player development throughout the season. Under her tutelage, players such as Carys Baker and Carleigh Wenzel saw their averages double. Baker logged 6.3 rebounds per game while Wenzel led the squad with 14.0 points per game. Baker saw her production exponentially grow between her first and second seasons as a Hokie. Her clutch shooting and ability to penetrate the paint came up big for Tech several times last fall, including her 23-point effort against Miami that featured seven 3-pointers. The improvement of several student-athletes serves as a testament to Duffy and company’s core value of relentless growth.
The 2025-26 iteration of Virginia Tech women’s basketball welcomes a talented mix of returning players and newcomers who are sure to make an impact. The roster, which is comprised of three transfer students and four freshmen alongside six returners, features athletes who can execute at a high level on both sides of the court.
Of the three transfers joining Duffy and the Hokies this fall, senior Kilah Freelon arrives with the most playing experience. Freelon joins Tech after a three-year stint at Texas Tech, where the Denver, Colo. product featured in 95 games with 43 starts for the Red Raiders. The forward finds herself in Blacksburg bringing a career 50% shooting percentage from the floor.
Alongside Freelon comes two Big Ten players in graduate student Mel Daley and junior Sophie Swanson. Daley joins the Hokies after spending time at Northwestern, where the Hastings, N.Y. native featured in 94 games with 30 starts over four years as a Wildcat. The guard was the second leading scorer for the Northwestern squad last fall behind 11.7 points per game on 47 percent shooting and averaged 3.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.1 steals per game during the 2024-25 season. Swanson, who started eight times in 28 games as a sophomore in 2024, averaged 8.0 points over 55 total appearances for Purdue. Her sharpshooting from beyond the arc was evident over the pair of seasons spent with the Boilermakers, as her 4.8 three-pointers per 40 minutes in 2023 was a top mark amongst Big Ten freshmen.
Kate Sears, Aniya Trent, Amani Jenkins and Špela Brecelj comprise the freshman class this season, the four joining the team after wildly successful careers in their own regard. The freshman class Duffy recruited this year is a group Hokie Nation should keep their eyes on, with Jenkins and Sears ranked as ESPN top-100 prospects and Brecelj bringing a wealth of international experience.
Kayl Petersen and guards Mackenzie Nelson, Samyha Suffren and Leila Wells join Baker and Wenzel as returners.
During the 2024-25 season, Nelson established herself as a vital guard for the Hokies, finishing the regular season with back-to-back double figure scoring games at Boston College (11) and Clemson (14). Suffren returns to the court after a season-ending shoulder injury that limited her to 10 games a season ago. Wells, the sophomore guard, provided notable contributions last season, possessing a multifaceted skill set to impact play in many ways. Petersen’s length on the boards led to 94 rebounds over 32 appearances and a team-high 31 blocks.
The Hokies will open their season at home on Nov. 4 against Towson at 6 p.m. ET and continue with non-conference play, featuring an exciting ACC/SEC Challenge game vs. Florida on Dec. 4 which can be seen on ESPN2, until hosting Duke on Dec. 7. The contest against the Blue Devils, a nationally-televised game, serve as one of two conference matchups in 2025, the other being a road contest against Florida State on Dec. 18. ACC play begins in earnest in the new year with a home game against Miami on New Year's Day.
The Hokies' Feb. 1 matchup versus Virginia will serve as a celebration for 50 seasons of varsity women’s basketball at Virginia Tech. The Hokies have won six of the last eight Smithfield Commonwealth Clash meetings.
While season tickets have already sold out for the 2025-26 season, be sure to purchase single-game tickets to see the Hokies take the court this winter!