Hunter Cattoor Announces Return To Virginia Tech For Fifth Year

On Tuesday, Hunter Cattoor announced he’s returning to Virginia Tech for a fifth season. (Jon Fleming)

On Tuesday night, Virginia Tech guard Hunter Cattoor announced he’s returning to Virginia Tech for a fifth and final season.

“Hokie Nation, what a ride it’s been,” Cattoor said in a video he posted on Instagram. “These past four years have been the greatest of my life, from reaching 1,000 career points, our two NCAA tournament appearances and our first-ever ACC championship in program history. I want to thank Coach [Mike] Young, the rest of our coaching staff, my teammates and Hokie Nation for always supporting me.

“With that being said, I’ve still got one more year in me. Hokie Nation, let’s go!”

Cattoor was Mike Young’s first recruit at Virginia Tech in 2019. Come the fall, he’ll be the only player to be with Young for all five seasons in Blacksburg.

The graduate student from Orlando, Fla. is a three-time All-ACC Academic Team honoree. He’s played in 119 games over four seasons with the Hokies, starting 71. On top of that, he has recorded 1,076 career points. His 251 3-pointers ranks fifth in program history, a record that he’ll undoubtedly break in 2023-24. A.D. Vassallo is the all-time leader with 267 makes in 133 career games.

Cattoor greatly improved over the course of his career. After starting just five of the 53 games he played in as a freshman and sophomore, he has started 66 games since. He did miss a four-game stretch with a fractured elbow last season, but he still averaged 11 points per game.

Hunter Cattoor is a staple of Virginia Tech under Mike Young. (Ivan Morozov)

His basketball IQ is off the charts, and he grew into an extremely talented defender over four seasons while also being able to shoot the lights out from distance. That’s without mentioning his performance in the ACC tournament final in 2022 vs. Duke. He was named tournament MVP after dropping 31 points on 11-of-16 shooting (7-of-9 from three).

After Virginia Tech’s season came to an end at the ACC Tournament in Greensboro in March, Cattoor said “it’d mean everything” to get another opportunity to don the maroon and orange. He’ll get that chance come November.

Tech’s non-conference schedule for 2023-24 includes a one-off game in Charlotte vs. South Carolina on Veteran’s Day and, ironically for Cattoor, the 2023 ESPN Invitational in Orlando

After Grant Basile signed a deal to play basketball professionally in Italy, Cattoor’s decision to return is heartwarming for those around the program. He’s been a staple of Young’s teams with the Hokies on both ends of the floor.

With his decision, Tech returns a backcourt of Sean Pedulla, MJ Collins, Rodney Rice and Cattoor. It added Old Dominion’s Mekhi Long and North Carolina’s Tyler Nickel out of the transfer portal in March, too. Now, the Hokies have one remaining scholarship for 2023-24.

23 Responses You are logged in as Test

  1. From a VT alumnus, hey Hunter, with you coming back to help the program to another summit and to mentor the next group of future Hokies champions is a testament to your character and to the character of this program. Looking forward to seeing you on the court again in November… Go Hokies…

  2. I believe the man has a girl friend in Blacksburg, maybe even in Cassell. Always helps.

  3. Great news! Says a lot about Hunter’s love and commitment to the program and VT. GO HOKIES!!!

  4. Thank you Hunter, now help CMY find us a good 4 & 5 man in the portal. Welcome #0!

    1. And apparently an ever better person. Very classy. He will have great success in life after basketball. So proud he is a VT guy forever. AH.

  5. SUPER NEWS! He’s a terrific unselfish player I love following.

    But I never doubted this decision after the photo posted from Seattle!!

  6. answered (my selfish) prayer.

    we’re glad you’ll be at HOME one more year in H+H and Cassell.

    what’s your grad degree major?

    Go Hokies!

  7. Terrific news for HokieNation. What a special player. Can’t wait to tip it up this fall.

  8. Awesome news Hunter! Can’t wait to cheer you on next year! I think next year is going to be really special! Go Hokies!🏀🏀

  9. Most excited about his potential leadership role playing on a fairly young team as a whole. Also, he can show young players that it takes effort to play defense, but when youngsters see his D, hopefully they will want to emulate.

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