Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG, Va. – Head Coach Jim Thompson is thrilled to announce the signing of freshman Sutton Severance and transfer Carson Baker to join the Hokies for the upcoming season.
Sutton Severance (Fr.)
Charleston, S.C.
LTP Scholars
Sutton Severance is an incoming freshman joining the Hokies for the 2026-27 season. Severance is a five-star recruit, ranked a No. 2 recruit in South Carolina.
Across his junior career, Severance has ranked as high as No. 19 in the country in singles and No. 7 in doubles.
In 2024, he finished as runner-up in doubles at the USTA National Clay Court Championship. Severance placed third in the USTA national championship in doubles in Kalamazoo, as well as third in the USTA National Doubles Championship.
“Sutton is a five star recruit from Charleston, S.C. and we could not be more excited to have him in our program,” said head coach Jim Thompson. “He trained at the Randy Pate tennis academy and is considered one of the top-50 recruits in the country. He has been mentored and coached by Randy Pate, Mike Sell and Patrick Hieber.
“Sutton has a very good serve and hands at the net where he has had great success in doubles. Besides his tennis, Sutton is a very good student and comes from a wonderful family. We see great potential for him to develop in our program and be a leader on our campus!”
Carson Baker (Sr.)
Charleston, S.C.
ICL Academy
Ole Miss, Boise State
Carson Baker joins the Hokies for his senior year after spending one year at Ole Miss and two years at Boise State. He has a career 51-37 singles record and 58-37 doubles record.
In his stint at Boise State, Baker earned the All-Mountain West singles and All-Mountain West doubles honors in both his sophomore and junior years.
In his junior spring, Baker competed in 29 matches for the Broncos, notching a 19-8 dual singles record, which included four match-clinching victories. He posted a 21-13 singles mark across the fall and spring.
Baker played at No. 1 doubles across both seasons at Boise State, garnering a 25-14 record his junior year and 20-15 record his sophomore year. He ended his sophomore campaign with a team-best 42 combined victories across singles and doubles, going undefeated in singles conference play, with a 22-14 overall singles tally.
At Ole Miss, Baker earned an ITA All-Academic honor, going 8-10 in singles and 13-8 in doubles in the spring.
Prior to college, Baker was ranked No. 1 in USTA 14U singles and doubles, as well as top-10 in 16U singles and doubles. He also ranked as high as No. 254 in ITF junior rankings.
“Carson is also from Charleston and is transferring to Virginia Tech with a very established record in college tennis,” said Thompson. “We see potential for Carson to make an immediate impact in our lineup.
“He was a 5-star recruit out of high school and has been coached by his father Mike Baker, who runs the Rise Tennis Academy. Carson has a good serve and powerful forehand. He also comes from a wonderful family. We are super excited to welcome Carson to Virginia Tech!”