Elizabeth Kitley, Aisha Sheppard Earn Preseason All-ACC Honors

Guard Aisha Sheppard and center Elizabeth Kitley received some major recognition as they were named to the Preseason All-ACC First Team on Wednesday.

After averaging a combined 36 points per game last season, the duo made program history by being the first Hokie teammates to make the 2020-21 All-ACC First Team.

The pair of teammates helped lead Virginia Tech to one of their best seasons in the Kenny Brooks era with a program record six-game winning streak and their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2006.

Sheppard has built a legacy in Blacksburg and she is coming off one of the best campaigns in her collegiate career.

The Honorable Mention AP All-American knocked down 87 three-pointers in 2020-21; and not only was that enough to break her own single-season record, but it also led the ACC and finished fifth in the nation in that category. Sheppard also holds the school record with 306 career triples.

Junior Elizabeth Kitley has been a crucial member of the Hokies ever since she stepped foot into Cassell Coliseum, and she looks to make a big jump into her third season.

During her sophomore season, she registered 13 double-doubles for the Hokies when averaging 18 points and 10 rebounds per game; there was no other Power 5 sophomore to bring in those numbers last winter.

While being named a Lisa Lesile Award finalist, which represents the nation’s best center, Kitley was the only player in the ACC to record 30 points a game multiple times last season.

Sheppard and Kitley were joined by Boston College’s Taylor Soule, Clemson’s Delicia Washington, Georgia Tech’s Lorela Cubaj and Lotta-Maj Lahtinen, Louisville’s Hailey Van Lith, N.C. State’s Jakia Brown-Turner and Elissa Cunane, and Notre Dame’s Maddy Westbled on the Blue Blue Ribbon Panel Preseason All-ACC First Team.

Cunane took home the honor of being named as the Preseason ACC Player of the Year with Kitley finishing second with 10 votes and Shepperd being tied for third with one vote.