Charleston Forward Ben Burnham Commits To Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech and Mike Young received their second transfer portal commitment of the offseason Thursday in College of Charleston forward Ben Burnham. He joins UTSA guard Jordan Ivy-Curry, who announced his decision Tuesday.

https://twitter.com/ben_burnham70/status/1775932345817686246?s=20

A 6-foot-7, 200-pound senior, Burnham started all 35 games this season for the Cougars (27-8), who won the CAA and were a No. 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament. He averaged 11.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game — in just 22.2 minutes per contest — while shooting 46 percent from the floor and 37 percent from 3-point range.

The Fort Mill, S.C., native scored in double figures in 23 contests, highlighted by a season-high 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting on Dec. 10 vs. Rhode Island. In a 109-96 defeat to Alabama in the first round of the Big Dance, he led the team with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting.

According to Ken Pomeroy, Charleston used Burnham on 24.2 percent of possessions, the second-most on the team. For comparison, Lynn Kidd was targeted on 23 percent of possessions this season for the Hokies. Tyler Nickel and Robbie Beran, two guys who played in a similar spot to Burnham for Tech this season, were at 16.6 and 14.5 percent, respectively.

Burnham is very good on the glass and ranked in the top 15 in the CAA in offensive rebounding percentage each of the last three years (8.7%, 8.2% and 8.6%, respectively). He’s an effective scorer, too. His in-conference offensive rating of 129.9 last year was third in the CAA while he ranked first in 3-point percentage (56.0%) and fifth in 2-point percentage (60.2%).

As a freshman at College of Charleston in 2021-22, he was a CAA All-Rookie Team selection after averaging 7.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. His scoring jumped up to 8.8 points per game as a sophomore and to 11.9 as a junior.

Burnham played against the Hokies on Nov. 20, 2022, in the final of the Charleston Classic in TD Arena. He chipped in nine points on 4-of-5 shooting in 13 minutes in a 77-75 victory over Virginia Tech. That season, he helped the Cougars to a 31-4 record and an NCAA Tournament appearances as a No. 12 seed.

In high school, he starred at Carmel Christian School in Charlotte, N.C., and was a two-time NCISAA all-state selection. He had two triple-double performances as a senior. Winthrop, Liberty and Mount St. Mary’s were among his other offers.

With the commitment of Burnham, the Hokies have eight scholarship players for the 2024-25 season. They have five open scholarships.

For a breakdown of who Tech is pursuing in the transfer portal, click here.