Virginia Tech hosts Coppin State on Tuesday at Cassell Coliseum, and the matchup arrives with both programs trying to show something different from last season. Virginia Tech is coming off a 19-13 year and returns three starters, while Coppin State is trying to move past a 7-24 season that ended with its postseason off the table.
That is why this game is drawing attention now. Virginia Tech turned down an invite to the NIT last year after its season ended with a loss to Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament, so Mike Young gets a group that already knows part of the routine. Coppin State, meanwhile, has its postseason path back in play for 2026-27, giving Larry Stewart a reason to frame Tuesday as more than just an early nonconference test.
Stewart enters his fourth season at Coppin State with a 15-75 record over his first three years, and he brings back two of his five starters along with 10 players from last season's team. The Eagles did show a short burst in February with a four-game win streak, but they also closed with losses to Norfolk State, Howard and Morgan State after finishing 5-9 in the MEAC and behind Howard, Morgan State, NC Central, Norfolk State, South Carolina State and Maryland Eastern Shore in the standings.
Virginia Tech has a different kind of continuity. Young is in his eighth year, and the Hokies return three of their five starters, including Amani Hansberry, Tyler Johnson and Ben Hammond. Hansberry averaged 14.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game last season, and that production is part of why Virginia Tech finished 19-13 overall and 8-10 in the ACC, even if it ended the regular season on a 2-4 run over its final six games.
The wrinkle for Coppin State is that last year's suspension tied to poor Academic Progress Rate scores no longer blocks a postseason chase. The MEAC Tournament is back in play, and so is the NCAA Tournament if the Eagles can turn returning pieces into more than a rebuilding note. For Virginia Tech, the question is narrower: a veteran roster with three starters back should have the edge, but the numbers from last season suggest Tuesday may be tighter than the name brands imply.
By the time the teams tip at Cassell Coliseum, Coppin State will be trying to prove that a difficult 2025-26 season was only a reset, not a ceiling. Virginia Tech will be trying to make sure the first step of its new season does not turn into an early warning.
