Virginia Tech has made another splash in the transfer portal landing a commitment from North Carolina transfer PF Tyler Nickel as first reported by Joe Tipton of On3.
Nickel becomes the second transfer addition this offseason joining ODU SF/PF Mekhi Long. He chose the Hokies over interest from many schools according to Jamie Shaw of On3 including Iowa, Penn State, Marquette, South Carolina, Mississippi State, VCU, Cincinnati, and more.
Nickel spent one season at North Carolina playing limited minutes for the Tar Heels averaging 2.1 points in 6 minutes per game. He has three years of eligibility remaining.
He was previously a four-star, top 100 recruit out of Elkton, VA who had the Hokies as a finalist in his recruitment before choosing the Tar Heels.
This is another great addition for the Hokies and gives the Hokies more versatile size at their forward positions along with ODU transfer Mekhi Long. Nickel should be able to come in and compete for the starting power forward role left vacant by Justyn Mutts against Long and potentially John Camden with Nickel and Long giving Tech the versatility to go with some bigger lineups. His above-average shooting range also fits well into an offense that values space and loves to work with a 4-out, 1-inside setup.
Nickel also gives the Hokies another piece of a strong long-term corps of guys with 3 years of eligibility or more along with Rodney Rice and MJ Collins.
With Nickel on board, the Hokies seem likely done in the transfer portal unless one of either Grant Basile or Hunter Cattoor decide not to use their COVID year, or if the Hokies have a surprise portal departure.
