Aniya Trent and the Hokies will play two games in Niceville, Fla., in November. (Jon Fleming)

Hokies women's basketball will play in the 2026 Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla., the tournament announced on Thursday morning.

Virginia Tech will play UT Martin in the first round of the event on Monday, Nov. 23, at 2:30 p.m. ET. It'll meet one of Alcorn State or Michigan State, the event's other two participants, on Tuesday, Nov. 24.

The Skyhawks were 13-17 (9-11 Ohio Valley) last year under head coach Kevin McMillan, who completed his 17th season at the helm. It'll mark the third meeting, with Tech beating them in Puerto Rico in 2021 and Blacksburg in 2002.

A potential championship game against the Spartans is enticing. Michigan State went 23-9 last season and beat Colorado State in the NCAA Tournament before losing to Oklahoma. Meanwhile, UT Martin and Alcorn State finished 259th and 307th in the NET rankings, respectively.

Nebraska won the tournament's Beach Bracket last season, beating Virginia 91-82 in the championship game. This is the third year of competition on the women's side, with the men's event having existed since 2014.

More Non-Conference News


Tech women's basketball's non-conference schedule is gradually coming together. When its game against Tennessee in the SEC/ACC Challenge was released in early June, it had five other games on the docket: North Carolina Central, Delaware, James Madison, La Salle and Appalachian State.

The Hokies' MTE (multi-team event) has now been announced. On top of that, Tech Sideline obtained contracts for three other home games via public records requests. They are:

  • Sunday, Nov. 29, vs. UNC Greensboro — $20,000
  • Sunday, Dec. 13, vs. Campbell (doubleheader with men's basketball vs. Radford) — $25,000
  • Monday, Dec. 28, vs. College of Charleston — $25,000

The Camels and Cougars were a combined 47-18 (29-7) last season in the Southern Conference, with Charleston reaching to the NCAA Tournament and bowing out in the first round at Duke.

As a result, Virginia Tech women's basketball's non-conference slate for 2026-27 currently looks like this:

(David Cunningham)

Men's Basketball Dates Set

In that same public records request, Tech Sideline received contracts for some men's basketball games, including: 
  • Friday, Nov. 13, vs. Mount St. Mary's — $90,000
  • Monday, Nov. 16, vs. Richmond — $50,000
The game against the Spiders was previously reported, but the date has officially been set. Also, with the Hokies' three-game series with West Virginia, there is no payment from either side since it's a home-and-home. For the 2028 neutral-site contest in Charleston, W.Va., they're splitting the revenue down the middle.

At the moment, Virginia Tech men's basketball's non-conference schedule for 2026-27 looks like this:

(David Cunningham)

For more information on future basketball schedules, click here.