On Tuesday night, Virginia Tech guard Hunter Cattoor announced he's returning to Virginia Tech for a fifth and final season.
https://twitter.com/CattoorHunter/status/1648468972352999434
"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.
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.
