After landing talented combo guard MJ Collins at the beginning of the summer, Virginia Tech is looking to land some more of their top targets in the near future. The good news is they are right there in the battle for four-star SF Tyler Nickel, one of the top 2022 recruits in Virginia.
FINAL 5 💙@TiptonEdits pic.twitter.com/hYNdDWoAME
— Tyler Nickel (tnick) (@abg_tnick5) July 31, 2021
Virginia Tech made the top 5 for Nickel along with North Carolina, Iowa, LSU, and Butler. Missing the cut for Nickel included schools like N.C. State, Indiana, Creighton, Clemson, Cincinnati, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Penn State, VCU, Richmond, and others.
There's no doubt that Nickel is one of Tech's clear top overall targets this cycle along with four-star PG Rodney Rice. The Hokies were also the second school to offer Nickel after hometown JMU did in 2019 which likely is paying massive dividends especially since Mike Young was the Hokies' head coach when that happened.
On paper, Tech does feel like the favorite in many ways as the hometown school, but North Carolina also looks like a top challenger. Iowa also seems to be a threat in his recruitment as the Hawkeyes have an official visit already set up with him according to 247 Sports.
While recruiting in-state isn't as a big of a deal in basketball as in football due to the prevalence of private and prep schools, it still matters and landing Nickel would be huge for the Hokies in a class loaded with top end, in-state talent.
Keep an eye on Tyler Nickel as the Hokies are in great position for the Elkton, VA standout.
