Marty Gordon
Seniors Cori McMillan and Bre Peck were named to Softball America’s Preseason Top 100 list. McMillan led the way for the Hokies at No. 18 while Bre Peck was ranked No. 77.Additionally, McMillan was named a Softball America Preseason First Team All-American.
Both Hokies had stellar junior seasons on the field. McMillan, who garnered NFCA Second Team All-American honors last season, set Virginia Tech’s single-season program home run record with 21 in her first year after transferring from Radford. The Greensboro, N.C., native finished the year batting .379 while also setting the new program record with her .869 slugging percentage. Her 64 RBI led the Hokies and she was a First Team All-ACC selection.
Peck, a second team All-ACC honoree last season, has been a staple for Virginia Tech at third base since her rookie campaign. The Royersford, Pa., native finished the 2024 season batting .345 with 13 home runs. She was one of four Hokies to start in all 55 games last season and finished second on the team with 51 RBI. Peck was also one of four Hokies last season to record at least 60 hits.
Virginia Tech kicks off its season at the Charleston Invitational (Feb. 7-9) in Charleston, S.C. and will face Fordham, North Dakota State and the College of Charleston.
Big South on ESPN
The Big South Conference announced today that the 2025 Hercules Tires Big South Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship Games on Sunday, March 9 will be broadcast live on ESPN2. The men’s final will air at 12 p.m., with the women’s contest scheduled for 6 p.m.
The women’s final will be carried live on a national linear network for the fourth consecutive year in 2025, and the second-straight time on ESPN2. The women’s 2022 and 2023 championship games aired on ESPNU before the move to ESPN2 in 2024.
In addition, the game times for the entire Hercules Tires Big South Basketball Championships have been finalized and are listed below. Each of the preliminary rounds will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Tickets for the 2025 Hercules Tires Big South Basketball Championships at Freedom Hall Civic Center in Johnson City, Tenn., are on sale online at www.BigSouthSports.com/Tickets. Full ticket booklets covering all 16 games over nine sessions feature courtside seating ($650) and general seating ($250) for the March 5-9 tournament.
Separate men’s and women’s booklets for the respective eight games and five sessions cost $350 (courtside) and $150 (general).
For additional details, visit the official Hercules Tires Big South Basketball Championship home page at http://www.bigsouthsports.com/HoopsChamps25.
RU player of week
Radford University guard Zion Walker (Burlington, N.C.) is the Big South Conference Freshman of the Week for games played Dec. 28-Jan. 5.
Walker turned in 20.5 points, 3.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds for the Highlanders last week. He opened with 11 points, three assists and two rebounds in just 14 minutes off the bench at High Point on Jan. 2. Walker then dropped in a career-high 30 points in Saturday’s win over Winthrop, along with four assists and four rebounds. He became just the second freshman in school history to score 30 points in a game and the first since 1994-95. For the week, Walker was 12-of-18 from the floor (66.7 percent), made two-of-four three-pointers and was 15-of-17 from the charity stripe (88.2) in 42 minutes played.
