Marty Gordon
Former Christiansburg High’s Donovan Richardson proved this past week that he is one of the top triple jumpers in the country as he placed fourth at the Adidas Outdoor Track National meet. Richardson set a 47-6 and ¼ mark.
Camper to North Florida
Former CHS and Purdue pitcher Kayden Camper is on the moved. She has announced a commitment to North Florida.
Camper spent her freshman season in a limited role for Purdue and will now head to the Sunshine State.
North Florida was one win away in making this year’s Super Regionals before a loss in the playoffs to South Carolina.
New pitching coach at Tech
Adding a reputable name among pitching coaches to the Virginia Tech baseball staff, head coach John Szefc formally welcomed Doug Willey into the role of assistant coach, pitching on Friday.
Willey – who joins the Hokies following his three-year tenure as pitching coach at Xavier – possesses vast pitching development and technology experience at both the collegiate and professional ranks, including three seasons coaching within the Chicago Cubs organization.
Willey contributed to three consecutive 30-win seasons at Xavier from 2023 to 2025, leading the Musketeers’ pitching staff to the 2023 BIG EAST postseason crown and the 2023 NCAA Nashville Regional final. Among its high statistical marks during 2023, Willey’s staff placed among the top two BIG EAST squads and the top 50 NCAA Division I programs in ERA (4.55), hits allowed per nine innings (8.17), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.33), walks allowed per nine innings (3.38) and WHIP (1.28).
Assistant Lady Hokies coach
Virginia Tech women’s basketball head coach Megan Duffy tabbed Darren Guensch as an assistant coach Wednesday morning. With the Hokies, Guensch will play a key role in recruiting, player development, scouting and game planning.
“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Darren and his family back to the New River Valley! He has been a winner in each of his coaching stops,” Duffy said of Guensch. “His experience in recruiting, player development and game planning will impact our coaching staff and student-athletes immediately. Darren understands what it takes to build winning programs, and we look forward to him joining Hokie Nation.”
A 20-year veteran on the sidelines of D1 women’s basketball programs, Guensch brings decades of experience and ties to the Commonwealth. Raised in Leesburg, Guensch owns degrees from two different institutions in the state (Radford and George Mason) and has also spent time coaching at Mason, VCU and Richmond.
Guensch most recently served as the associate head coach at Missouri State for three seasons, where he helped the Lady Bears compile a 69-31 record and capture the 2025 Missouri Valley regular-season title. In each of his three seasons in Springfield, the Lady Bears reached the postseason, including two WBIT appearances and a trip to the WNIT in 2023. While training the point guards, Guensch guided three athletes to All-MVC selections and a Defensive Player of the Year accolade.
Babcock appointed to NACDA board
The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and new NACDA President, Sean Frazier, have appointed Virginia Tech Director of Athletics, Whit Babcock, to an Officer’s role where he will serve as Second Vice President for the 2025-26 academic year.
Babcock will work alongside Northern Illinois University’s Frazier, First Vice President Pennie Parker of Rollins College, Third Vice President Reagan Rossi of College of Idaho, and Secretary Christina Hundley of Paradise Valley CC.
Babcock has served on the NACDA Executive Committee since 2020. He was recognized as NACDA Athletics Director of the Year (ADOY) in 2017-18 and served as NAADD President in 2011-12.
Now in its 61st year, NACDA is the professional and educational Association for more than 24,000 college athletics administrators at more than 2,300 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. NACDA manages 19 professional associations and four foundations. In addition to virtual programming, NACDA hosts and/or has a presence at seven major professional development events in-person annually.
