Marty Gordon
NRVsports@mainstreetnewspapers.com
Virginia Tech men’s basketball associate head coach Chester Frazier has been named to the seventh annual Silver Waves Media Most Impactful High Major Assistant Coaches list.
Frazier, who returned to Blacksburg in the summer of 2025, has helped the Hokies to a 13-4 start to the season (2-2 ACC). He has more than a decade of coaching experience from the ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten conferences.
Frazier, an Illinois alumnus, spent three seasons (2021-24) at his alma mater as an assistant coach under Brad Underwood, prior to WVU. The Baltimore, Md., native helped lead the Illini to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2024, an NCAA Second Round appearance in 2022 and an NCAA tournament appearance in 2023. He helped guide Illinois to the Big Ten regular season championship in 2022 and Big Ten tournament championship in 2024. Illinois won 72 games in three seasons with Frazier on staff.
During his first stint at Virginia Tech (2019-21), Frazier served as associate head coach, helping guide the Hokies to a third-place ACC finish and an NCAA tournament appearance in 2021.
Cormack named head coach
Radford Athletics announced Tuesday morning that Andy Cormack has been promoted from the interim tag and named the 10th head coach of the Radford University Men’s soccer team in program history.
Cormack is elevating into the position after spending the last three seasons with the Highlanders. He spent his first two seasons as an assistant coach before being promoted to Associate Head Coach for the most recent 2025 Fall campaign. At the conclusion of the 2025 season, Cormack was named interim head coach.
ACC wrestling championships in Blacksburg
Tickets are on sale now for the 2026 Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestling Championship hosted by Virginia Tech Sunday, Mar. 8, at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg.
Virginia Tech is hosting the ACC Wrestling Championship for the first time since 2019.
Five ACC teams have been ranked all season long in the NWCA Division I Men’s Wrestling Coaches Poll, led by Virginia Tech and NC State ranked in the top 10.
All ticket sales are digital and can be purchased online.
RidgeYaks coaching staff
The Salem RidgeYaks, in conjunction with the Boston Red Sox, have announced their coaching staff for the 2026 Carolina League season. The staff is highlighted by the return of manager Ozzie Chavez and four coaches from the 2025 Salem staff. Nelson Paulino (Hitting Coach), Alex Reynolds (Pitching Coach), Kyle Schmidt (Defensive Coach), and Brenden Argomaniz (Assistant Pitching Coach) all return to Salem for the 2026 season.
New additions to the RidgeYaks’ coaching staff include Ivan Quackenbush (Assistant Hitting Coach), Jessica von Kessel (Athletic Trainer), and J.P. Echeverría (Strength and Conditioning Coach), completing the club’s 2026 staff.
Chavez returns for his second consecutive season as Salem’s manager after leading the club during the 2025 campaign. Now entering his fourth season with Salem, Chavez previously spent two seasons as the club’s bench coach before being promoted to manager ahead of the 2025 season.
Hokie wrestling rolls in win
In one of wrestling’s most unique experiences, No. 7 Virginia Tech (6-2, 1-0) put on a show in their annual dual on stage with a 39-0 victory over visiting App State (5-5, 2-0) in a sold-out Center for the Arts on Friday night. The Hokies won all ten bouts against the Mountaineers with six coming by way of bonus point and winning both ranked bouts including an upset victory by Jaden Bullock over No. 25 Tomas Brooker to highlight the evening.
Redshirt senior Jaden Bullock avenged a loss just two weeks prior with an exciting 8-6 decision victory over No. 25 ranked Tomas Brooker at 184-pounds. Brooker took their first meeting at Southern Scuffle via 4-2 decision, but it was Bullock flipping the script in Blacksburg. Bullock notched two takedowns in the first period which proved to be the difference maker for the Hokies.
No. 4 Eddie Ventresca continued his impressive form with another takedown clinic to secure the 20-5 victory. Ventresca poured on three takedowns in the final minute to register the tech fall for the Hokies at 125-pounds against Colby McBride.
At 141-pounds, another freshman from the highly lauded Hokies recruiting class made his dual debut. Drew Gorman erupted for a 16-0 tech fall over Aldo Hernandez to add to the tally for the home team – notching a takedown, three sets of four-point nearfalls, and an escape to secure his first dual start.
No. 10 Collin Gaj continues to move up the rankings, adding another ranked victory to his resume with a 10-2 major decision over No. 33 Kaden Keiser. Leading 4-2 with less than a minute left, Gaj converted a takedown into nearfall for a quick six points added to the final score and securing the victory at 149-pounds.
Mac Church took the mat at 165 pounds to the tune of a 9-0 major decision over Anthony Conetta. A takedown to four nearfall in the second period for Church was the difference along with an escape and riding time point for yet another bonus point victory for the Hokies.
Redshirt junior Sergio Desiante blitzed Joe Zovistski to a 18-2 technical fall in just 4:32 at 174-pounds. Desiante put on a takedown clinic with four takedowns and then adding nearfall points to add more to the total bonus tally for Tech.
Finishing off bonus points was No. 17 Sonny Sasso at 197-pounds with an 8-0 major decision. Sasso controlled Logan Eller with two takedowns, a riding time point, and an escape to get back into the win column.
