Ryan Jones Jr. committed to Virginia Tech on Monday. (Will Stewart)


Ryan Jones Jr.
Power Forward, Class of 2024
The Rock School, Gainesville, Fla.
6-8, 225

On Monday, four-star and top-70 forward Ryan Jones Jr. committed to Virginia Tech and Mike Young. He is the second commit in Tech's 2024 class, joining Tyler Johnson, and the fourth-highest rated recruit in program history.

A 6-8, 225-pound forward/center from Gainesville, Fla., Jones visited Blacksburg in early September and committed a month later. He chose the Hokies over Florida, though he had a plethora of offers, ranging from LSU, Miami, NC State and Illinois to Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Louisville and Xavier.

Jones is a consensus four-star and top-100 prospect by recruiting services. Here are his rankings in the class by outlet:

ESPN: No. 63
Rivals: No. 67
247Sports: No. 69
On3: No. 98

According to the 247Sports composite rankings, Jones is just ahead of Rodney Rice in the program's all-time commits. He's behind Dorian Finney-Smith (2011), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (2017) and Landers Nolley (2018).

Jones is the third top-100 player to commit to the Hokies in Young's tenure in Blacksburg, joining Joe Bamisile (No. 98, class of 2020) and Rice (No. 73). At No. 67 according to the 247Sports composite, he's Tech's highest-ranked recruit in the Young era.

Funnily enough, the lowest-rated recruit in the Mike Young era was the ACC tournament MVP when the Hokies won in 2022.

Jones' commitment gives the Hokies 10 scholarship players for 2024-25, two of which are big men. Centers Lynn Kidd and Mylyjael Poteat also have the option to return for next season thanks to COVID.