Tobi Lawal is returning to Virginia Tech for 2025-26. (Jon Fleming)

On Tuesday afternoon, Virginia Tech forward Tobi Lawal announced he's returning to the Hokies for the 2025-26 season.

"We're excited to have Tobi back in the maroon and orange," Tech head coach Mike Young said in the school's release. "He approached the draft process the right way — with maturity, determination and an eagerness to grow. The feedback he received will only elevate his game, and we're thrilled about what's ahead for him and for our program."

In mid-April, Lawal entered the NBA Draft while maintaining his final year of college eligibility, which allowed him to get feedback from NBA scouts at various combines. It was the same route Keve Aluma and Justyn Mutts took in 2021 and '22, respectively, and Lawal ultimately decided to come back to Blacksburg — what he said he'd do if he returned to school.

"I'm thankful for the opportunity to explore the draft and learn from the experience," Lawal said. "It gave me a clear view of the areas I need to keep improving — fine-tuning my all-around game, gaining experience from more game reps and challenging myself to guard the opponent's best player every night. I'm excited to be back at Virginia Tech with my teammates and coaches to keep chasing our goals."

He led the Hokies in scoring (12.4 points per game) and rebounding (7.0 rebounds per game) this season after transferring from VCU. He was one of four players in the ACC that did so along with Donald Hand Jr. (Boston College), Cooper Flagg (Duke) and Maxime Raynaud (Stanford).

The high-flying forward (6-8, 200) from London, England, shot 55.9 percent from the floor (128-of-229) this year and started 30 games. He missed the Syracuse and North Carolina contests at the end of the regular season due to illness and a lower-body injury.

Outside of that, Lawal had six double-doubles and scored in double figures 20 times. His career-high in rebounding came in a win at Florida State (13) while he had a personal-best 23 points vs. Virginia.



"He's the best athlete I've had the opportunity to coach," Tech head coach Mike Young said of Lawal and his 49.5-inch vertical during the season.

He's a late bloomer who started basketball at the age of 16 after playing soccer and running track. He moved to the United States and starred at Lee Academy in Maine before being recruited to VCU by now-Hokies assistant J.D. Byers. In two seasons with the Rams, he played in 63 games, starting once. He averaged 7.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game as a sophomore.

One of his biggest areas of improvement from Richmond to Blacksburg was his 3-point shooting. Lawal was just 3-of-7 from deep at VCU and wasn't really a threat to stretch the floor. That changed this year as he knocked down 23-of-61 triples (37.1%). He had three separate games — at No. 4 Duke, vs. NC State and at Georgia Tech — with three makes.

Lawal had until May 28 at 11:59 p.m. ET to make a decision on whether to stay in the NBA Draft or return to college. With his announcement, Virginia Tech has 12 scholarship players for the 2025-26 season. Here's a breakdown of the much-improved roster: