NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt men’s basketball has added Virginia Tech transfer Tyler Nickel to the 2024-25 roster, head coach Mark Byington announced Thursday.
A 6-foot-7 wing, Nickel comes to Nashville following a sophomore campaign with the Hokies where he averaged 8.8 points per contest. Nickel made seven starts at Virginia Tech last season and shot 39.9 percent (59-of-148) from beyond the arc.
“Tyler is a big wing who brings elite toughness and shooting,” said Byington. “There are so many nuances and underrated parts of his game that I am excited about everyone else seeing. He really fits our style and I expect a great year from him.”
Nickel scored a career-high 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting and 5-of-7 from three-point range in the Hokies’ 87-72 win over Clemson on Jan. 10. The outburst was one of 17 games in double figures for Nickel on the season. He also hit multiple three-pointers in 19 contests and three-or-more triples in 10 games.
He twice grabbed a season- and career-best seven rebounds, the most recent occurrence coming against Florida State in the ACC Tournament where he also scored 18 points. Nickel also produced a career-high six assists in the Hokies’ win over Virginia while adding 13 points and four boards.
Nickel tied for second in the ACC in points per game improvement in 2023-24, raising his scoring average by 6.7 points as a sophomore at Virginia Tech. He played his freshman season at North Carolina where he was a four-star recruit out of high school.
A native of Harrisonburg, Virginia, Nickel played his high school basketball at East Rockingham. He is the all-time leading scorer in Virginia High School League history with 2,909 points in 102 games. Nickel was the Virginia Player of the Year in 2022 and was rated the No. 3 recruit in the Commonwealth. On the AAU circuit, he played for Team Loaded.
Nickel enters Vanderbilt with two years of eligibility remaining.
