Ben Hammond, who is ranked the No. 5 high school senior in the commonwealth by ESPN, has committed to the Virginia Tech men’s basketball program.
Hammond announced his decision on Twitter on Monday.
The 5-foot-11, 155-pound Hammond has been a standout point guard at national powerhouse St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly. He averaged seven assists as a senior this year, earning a spot on the Washington Post’s All-Metro first team.
He is rated the No. 28 high school senior point guard in the nation by ESPN.
Hammond signed with Atlantic 10 member Rhode Island last fall but reopened his recruitment last month.
He is one of five St. Paul VI Catholic players ranked among the top six players in the commonwealth by ESPN, along with No. 1 Pat Ngongba, a Duke signee who is the son of former Radford women’s basketball coach Tajama Ngongba; No. 2 Darren Harris, also a Duke signee; No. 3 Isaiah Abraham, a UConn signee; and No. 6 Garrett Sundra, a Notre Dame signee.
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Hammond helped his team win the Virginia Independent Schools Division I state title for the third straight year. He made the VIS Division I all-state first team.
Hammond’s squad also swept the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles this year.
The 35-3 team beat IMG Academy and Link Academy in the Chipotle High School Nationals tournament in Indiana before falling to Montverde Academy in the title game last month. Hammond had 20 points and 13 assists in the team’s quarterfinal win over IMG Academy. He had 11 points and nine rebounds in the semifinal win over Link Academy.
St. Paul VI Catholic was crowned the national champ by MaxPreps after finishing No. 1 in the final MaxPreps Top 25.
Hammond scored more than 1,000 points in his high school career. He won more games in his career than any other player in St. Paul VI Catholic history.
He becomes the 11th player set for coach Mike Young’s 2024-25 roster.
Hammond is Young’s fifth addition of the spring, joining four transfers — former College of Charleston forward Ben Burnham, former California guard Rodney Brown Jr., former Temple point guard Hysier Miller and former VCU forward Toibu Lawal.
Hammond will be one of three freshmen on the 2024-25 roster, along with fellow high school recruits Ryan Jones Jr. and Tyler Johnson. Jones is rated the No. 70 high school senior in the nation by ESPN and the No. 9 center in that class. Johnson is rated the No. 31 small forward in that class by ESPN. Jones and Johnson signed with Tech last fall.
The roster also includes returning Hokies Mylyjael Poteat, Brandon Rechsteiner, Jaydon Young and Patrick Wessler.