Virginia’s Blacksburg — The top-ranked women’s basketball player in the country has committed to Virginia Tech. The nation’s top-ranked high school player, Ava Thompson, a dynamic 6’2″ point-forward from Chicago, has formally committed to play for the Virginia Tech Hokies. This is a historic moment for Virginia Tech women’s basketball as the rising ACC program stunned the women’s basketball world by selecting it over perennial powerhouses South Carolina, UConn, LSU, Stanford, and Iowa.
Iowa, Stanford, LSU, UConn, and South Carolina form an incredible recruiting alliance.
With her family by her side, Thompson made the announcement during a nationally streamed ESPN broadcast. She wore a maroon and orange Virginia Tech cap and grinned through tears as she made the choice that would alter the course of Hokies basketball for years to come.
I was looking for a school where I could develop both personally and as a player. “Coach Brooks had faith in me right away,” Thompson remarked. “It feels like home at Virginia Tech.”
With her family by her side, Thompson made the announcement during a nationally streamed ESPN broadcast. She wore a maroon and orange Virginia Tech cap and grinned through tears as she made the choice that would alter the course of Hokies basketball for years to come.
I was looking for a school where I could develop both personally and as a player. “Coach Brooks had faith in me right away,” Thompson remarked. “It feels like home at Virginia Tech.”
Christy Winters-Scott, an ESPN recruiting analyst, remarked, “She has college-ready skills and pro-level poise.” “Ava’s decision to attend Virginia Tech indicates that the Hokies are a destination and no longer underdogs.”
Beating the Blue Bloods The recruitment landscape was rocked by Thompson’s decision. Dawn Staley of South Carolina, Geno Auriemma of UConn, and Kim Mulkey of LSU were thought to be the front-runners. Official visits were also made to Stanford and Iowa, both of which went above and beyond.
But in the end, Thompson was convinced by Blacksburg’s close-knit family environment and Coach Brooks’s vision, which gave her the flexibility to lead, create, and flourish in a system built around her diverse skills.