Mike Young has found his replacement for Mike Jones on his Virginia Tech staff hiring Penn State assistant J.D. Byers as reported by some Twitter insiders initially and then by Jon Sauber of the Centre Daily Times in State College, PA with the Big Dawg Sports Talk show hosted by Rick Watson on local radio in the New River Valley confirming the news.
Just in from a STRONG source in State College
— The Coaching Portal (@TheCP_Hoops) April 7, 2023
JD Byers is on the move to Virginia Tech
Wife coaches at VTech https://t.co/HxKyKvWRiJ
Can confirm report from @TheCP_Hoops that JD Byers will be filling the open staff spot at Virginia Tech.
— Trilly Donovan (@trillydonovan) April 7, 2023
Source: JD Byers is taking the open Virginia Tech assistant position to join his wife — Marci — who is the school's volleyball coach.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) April 7, 2023
Jimmy Martelli will be promoted from chief of staff to Byers' now-former position as assistant coach.https://t.co/6iv7CMTyRM
Now confirmed to me by Coach Byers! Mike Young has replaced Mike Jones on his staff with long time VCU assistant JD Byers. JD just recently followed Mike Rhoades to Penn State. Coach Byers wife Marci is the head volleyball coach at Tech… pic.twitter.com/umZzYBKuHV
— Big Dawg Sports Talk (@bigdawgsportst1) April 7, 2023
Byers had followed Mike Rhoades from VCU following Rhoades taking the opening with the Nittany Lions though his stay in State College will obviously be very brief. The report from Sauber says Byers will take the same position at Virginia Tech which would likely mean the second assistant spot. If that is the case, then it likely means Tech's current #2 assistant Christian Webster would likely get the bump to the top assistant spot Mike Jones previously held.
Byers had been an assistant at VCU for the duration of Rhoades' tenure in Richmond from 2017-23. Prior to VCU, Byers was an assistant at Rice from 2014-17 for Rhoades after spending the 2010-11 season at Saint Francis (PA) and 2011-14 at Radford. He has deep ties to the Commonwealth of VA beyond his time at VCU and Radford having been an assistant at Randolph-Macon from 2007-10.
There is a notable connection to Virginia Tech for Byers as his wife is Marci Byers, the current head coach of the Virginia Tech Volleyball program.
We will have more as this story develops.
