What Elizabeth Kitley's decision means for Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech center Elizabeth Kitley and guard Cayla King announced they would return to the Hokies, according to a Monday release from Virginia Tech.

"Dear Hokie Nation. I'm back!" Kitley wrote in a Sunday tweet.

Kitley, a two-time ACC Player of the Year and a former five-star recruit from Summerfield, North Carolina, led the Hokies in points, rebounds and blocks per game in the 2022-23 season. King scored 8.3 points and grabbed 3.3 rebounds per game, putting her in fifth place on Virginia Tech for both categories. 

The Hokies went 31-5 last season, earning a 14-4 record against conference opponents and a 16-1 record at home.

Senior guard Ashley Owusu and freshmen guards Charlise Dunn and Maddie Vejsicky entered the transfer portal, according to the Roanoke Times. Owusu played for 15.2 minutes per game in 17 games, while Dunn and Vejsicky combined for a total of 14 games played last season.

Kitley was projected to go to the Atlanta Dream with the No. 8 pick in ESPN's WNBA mock draft. She's the program's all-time leading scorer as of this season, averaging just over 18 points per game in three of her four seasons spent with the Hokies, according to ESPN women's basketball reporter Alexa Philippou. 

The news of Kitley and King's return means everything for a team that made its way to the Final Four before falling to the LSU Tigers. 

Kitley's experience and talent worthy of the WNBA will be a highly welcomed part of a Virginia Tech team looking to make another run for a National Championship. In an exciting NCAA tournament with a championship game that drew in an average of 9.9M viewers, one can hope the return of some of the NCAA's brightest stars will provide another memorable year of basketball in the tournament and beyond.