Mike Young’s 2024-25 roster continues to come together as Virginia Tech landed a commitment from three-star PG Ben Hammond out of Northern Virginia powerhouse Paul VI Catholic.
Hi Hokie Nation 🦃 #committed pic.twitter.com/hc9mZ8xNOH
— Ben Hammond (@theb3nhammond) May 6, 2024
Hammond, a former Rhode Island signee, chose the Hokies over fellow finalist Tennessee, where he was slated to take an official visit prior to making this decision. Among those who also showed interest in Hammond following his URI decommitment were Iowa, Providence, Butler, Georgia Tech, Penn State, VCU, and more.
He is the Hokies’ third high school addition this cycle joining four-star PF/C Ryan Jones Jr and three-star SF/SG Tyler Johnson. He is ranked as the fifth best player in Virginia by ESPN, eighth best by On3’s Industry ranking, and 10th best by 247 Sports’ internal and composite rankings.
The 5’11’’ Hammond had a strong senior season and decided to bet on himself by asking for his release from his NLI to Rhode Island. That decision clearly paid off with lots of power conference interest on his way to choosing the Hokies.
Hammond was a star for a loaded Paul VI team that also featured Duke signed Darren Harris, UCONN signee Isaiah Abraham, and Notre Dame signee Garrett Saundra
Even on that loaded team, Hammond was able to shine as a marquee scorer and a great faciliatator averaging 14 points, 6.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.4 steals per game according to ESPN’s SportsCenter Next. One of his best performances of the season came when he had 20 points, 13 assists, and zero turnovers in a victory over IMG Academy at the Chipotle Nationals, the closest thing to a high school basketball national championship tournament.
Hammond should be able to come in and immediately compete with rising sophomore Brandon Rechsteiner for the backup point guard job behind Temple transfer Hysier Miller. This should be a fascinating battle given what Hammond showed at the high school level along with the potential Rechsteiner has along with a year of collegiate experience under his belt, even with the fair share of struggles he had this past season.
With Hammond on board, the Hokies have two open scholarships remaining with both just about certain to go to transfers.
