On Wednesday evening, Virginia Tech men’s basketball forward Jalen Haynes put his name in the transfer portal.
A 6’8″ freshman from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Haynes appeared in nine games for the Hokies in 2021-22. He played 25 total minutes and scored seven points between two games (Saint Francis (PA) and St. Bonaventure). Haynes participated in just two of 20 ACC games: North Carolina (Jan. 24) and Pitt (Feb. 7), his last appearance.
Head coach Mike Young told reporters after the Louisville game on March 1 that Haynes was focusing on academics at that time and wasn’t with the team. He did not appear in the final 11 contests of the season.
Out of high school, Haynes chose the Hokies over Mississippi State, Boston College and UCF. He played a year of prep ball at Monteverde Academy in Florida, the same school former Hokie Justin Bibbs attended.
The departure of Haynes opens up another scholarship for Young & Co. for the 2022-23 season. Previously, Tech had committed 12 of the 13 available scholarships, leaving just one open.
Thanks to the NCAA granting players a COVID year of eligibility, Justyn Mutts and Keve Aluma both have the option of returning 2022-23. However, unlike this past season, their scholarships would count against Virginia Tech’s numbers.
Here are two breakdowns of the scholarship outlook. First, by academic year; Second, by projected position.
As far as 2022 targets go, the Hokies reached out to 6’7″ SF Tyrell Ward out of DeMatha Catholic. Originally committed to Xavier, the four-star was released from his NLI over the past few days after the Musketeers changed head coaches. The connection with Mike Jones, the former DeMatha coach, and his current teammate, Tech commit Rodney Rice, could certainly play a factor in his decision.
Tech currently has a four-man signing class for 2022. Three have signed their NLI to the Hokies, while one is a commit. A breakdown by height:
Rodney Rice: 6’4″ G, Hyattsville, Md. (Signee)
MJ Collins: 6’4″ G, Rock Hill, S.C. (Signee)
Darren Buchanan Jr.: 6’7″ F, Washington, D.C. (Commit)
Patrick Wessler: 7’0″ C, Charlotte, N.C. (Signee)
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Speaking of transfers, Bamisille is back in the portal, as is Michael Durr. (He committed to Tech as
a transfer from South Florida, but then went to Indiana.)
Looking at Durr’s stats for this past season @ IU, nothing suggests VT would be interested in reconnecting with him. Hopefully we sign Ward!
Hopefully he will be the only one to transfer out. We shall see.
Do we have any sense of whether Mutts and Aluma are planning to return? That seems like it would be an incredible team with them both back.
Of course, Tech would love to have these two players (and good men) back. But how would it benefit them, other than experiencing again the excitement of ACC competition? Maybe they could improve their pro prospects, but returning to Tech isn’t the only way to do that.
Focus on academics says it all. Bye Felicia
terrible comment
If we could snag Tyrell Ward, this class would go from good to great. 🤞🏻
Don’t all the players on the roster during the 2020-21 COVID protocol season get an extra year of eligibility? The 3 guys who were freshmen that year don’t have that trailing asterisk
Maddox
N’Guessan
Kidd
Yes, the graphic is off by a year
That NCAA tournament during 2024-25 season is going to be ripe for cinderella teams from small schools with numerous 5th year seniors who got to play all 5 yrs.
How is that different from the other 4 years?
Why couldn’t Mutts use an academic scholarship for another year and save a scholarship for Aluma?
1) He’d have to apply for and be selected for an academic scholarship?
2) As a he has multiple degrees already, there may not be many scholarship programs that he’s eligible for.
He could apply for a graduate program that have stipends and still participate as an athlete if he has college eligibility remaining.
Why would he?
Wasn’t it reported that all VT players held a 3.0 gpa or better… or am I misremembering it? Or maybe I’m making to broad of an assumption regarding Jaylen’s reason for leaving?