Marty Gordon
NRVsports@mainstreetnewspapers.com
William & Mary recently announced head volleyball coach Ryan Adams is resigning after three years at the helm of the Tribe’s program, and Radford High School alum Emma Minnick has been named interim volleyball coach.
W&M will begin the search for Adams’ successor immediately. Minnick joined the team’s staff as an assistant coach in 2023. She earned her Master of Business Analytics degree at the Raymond A. Mason School of Business in 2023 while completing her collegiate playing career at W&M.
Minnick is a 2019 graduate of Radford High School and was a member of the 2015 and 2018 state championships. She was named state player of the year her senior year along with a host of other awards.
Minnick had an impressive collegiate career as a setter, spending her first three years at Charleston Southern (2019-21) before transferring to W&M where she played two seasons from 2022-23.
Over the course of her career, she amassed over 2,400 assists with 6.35 assists per set and totaled 740 digs. In her final season in 2023, Minnick led the Tribe with a career-high 30 aces on the season and recorded five double-doubles with double-digit assists in all but one of the Tribe’s matches.
Clark into Portal
Former Radford High School and current Elon University football standout Landen Clark has entered the transfer portal. He recently earned Co-Offensive Rookie of the Year honors for the Coastal Athletic Association.
This season, Clark broke Elon’s single-season FCS rushing touchdown record (11), ranked second among CAA quarterbacks with 614 rushing yards, threw for 2,321 yards, ranking sixth in the CAA and second among CAA freshman quarterbacks, accounted for 29 total touchdowns (18 passing, 11 rushing), the second most in a season in program history, and ranked fourth in the CAA in total offense (2,935 yards).
In his final year at Radford High School, he led the Bobcats to a 15-0 record and the program’s first state championship in 51 years in 2023. He finished with more than 4,300 yards and 71 total touchdowns.
The transfer portal opens Jan. 2 and closes Jan. 16.
Hokie earns all-region
Virginia Tech’s Natalie Mitchell caps off her college career by being named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Atlantic Region Fourth Team for the second straight year.
The senior led the team this season with 18 points, scoring seven goals and recording four assists. Mitchell started in every game for the Hokies, playing in 1,385 minutes and surpassing the 5,000-career minute mark against Wake Forest.
She recorded a career-high five points against Clemson on Aug. 21, as she scored a brace and notched an assist in the Hokies’ 4-0 win.
Mitchell finished her college career with 24 goals and 19 assists for 67 career points. She played and started in every game of her four years as a Hokie.
Ripkens to Tech baseball night
Welcoming Mid-Atlantic headliners Bill Ripken and Cal Ripken Jr. as keynote speakers at its annual preseason banquet, the Virginia Tech baseball program has opened public registration for its 18th annual Baseball Night in Blacksburg, to be held Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, at The Inn at Virginia Tech.
Evan Hughes, master of ceremonies and the voice of the Virginia Tech baseball program, will invite head coach John Szefc to preview the Hokies’ upcoming 2026 season before entertaining the Ripken brothers in an authentic Q&A.
All Baseball Night in Blacksburg proceeds will go to support the Virginia Tech baseball program.
Bill Ripken and Cal Ripken Jr. – brothers, Baltimore Orioles teammates and Mid-Atlantic baseball icons – will become the Hokies’ next feature VIPs in a long line of notable headliners, including Cal in 2008. Past banquets have included memorable keynote speakers like Mike Williams (2010), Billy Wagner (2011, 2025), Bobby Valentine (2012), Chuck Hartman (2014), Tim Kurkjian (2018), Ken Rosenthal (2020), Jeff Passan (2022), Chipper Jones (2023), Roger Clemens (2024) and others.
