Virginia Tech men's basketball and Mike Young announced the hiring of Nelson Hernandez as the program's general manager on Tuesday evening.
Hernandez, who has deep recruiting ties, ventures to Blacksburg from West Virginia, where he spent last season as the Mountaineers' director of player personnel and recruiting. He reunites with assistant coach Chester Frazier and big man Amani Hansberry, who joined the Hokies in the last month.
He'll work closely with Tech's NIL collectives while overseeing the team's revenue-sharing approach and other related resources. In the NIL and soon-to-be revenue-sharing era where the landscape is constantly changing, he has a great feel for market value — a crucial piece of any successful program in today's age.
"Bringing Nelson on board as our general manager is a tremendous addition to our program," Young said in Tech's release. "The college athletics landscape is changing rapidly, and having someone with Nelson's experience, vision and organizational strength is critical as we navigate this new era. He's going to be instrumental in helping us build our roster and sustain success — on the court, in the locker room and throughout the entire program."
Hernandez brings over a decade of Division I experience to the Hokies. This is his ninth stop since 2010 after Utah State, Clemson, Wright State, VCU, LSU, Fresno State, Oklahoma State and West Virginia. He's served in various roles, from video coordinator and director of player development to director of basketball operations, recruiting coordinator and assistant coach.
He's been to five NCAA Tournaments — four at LSU and one at Utah State — and has worked for successful coaches like Stew Morrill, Brad Brownell and Will Wade. He was also at Oklahoma State under Mike Boynton — Young's associate head coach at Wofford in 2007-08.
Here's his résumé with a list of head coaches he's worked for:
"I'm incredibly excited to join Coach Young and the VT men's basketball program in this new capacity," Hernandez said in the release. "Virginia Tech is a special place with a passionate fan base and a strong foundation. I'm looking forward to helping elevate the program in every way I can — supporting our student-athletes, maximizing opportunities in the NIL and revenue-sharing space and working alongside a great staff as we navigate the future of college basketball together."
The Brooklyn, N.Y., native owns two degrees from Utah State — a bachelor's (2013) and a master's (2018 in education).
The Hokies have two transfer portal acquisitions this offseason in Hansberry (6-8, 240, Jr.) and Delaware point guard Izaiah Pasha (6-4, 190, So.). They currently have eight scholarship players for the 2025-26 season.