BLACKSBURG, Va. — Megan Duffy has never suffered a losing season as a head coach.
But now Duffy has a new task. As the new coach of the Virginia Tech women’s basketball team, she will try to keep the Hokies a consistent winner even though she must replace two All-Americans.
“The stability of knowing there’s been teams that have gone through here to win championships and to do it at a high level on the national scene, going to a Final Four, … there’s tradition here, and that means a lot,” Duffy said Friday morning at her introductory news conference at Cassell Coliseum.
“This is a little bit of a volatile time. There’s a lot of uneasiness with rosters changing, the transfer portal, NIL coming into play more than it ever has been. … The thing that I’m excited about is I think we can have all the perks and the glitz and the glamour and still stay true to who we are in Hokie Nation.
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“If we can get the right people again to fill out an incredible roster, I think the sky’s the limit. … I’m very hopeful that we will have a great team by the time it’s all said and done.”
Duffy, 39, stepped down as Marquette’s coach Wednesday to take the Tech job. She agreed to a six-year contract worth $5.5 million in total play.
She succeeds Kenny Brooks, who left Tech last week to steer Kentucky.
“We felt Coach [Duffy] has the ability to succeed at an elite level,” Tech athletic director Whit Babcock said at the news conference. “She will help us retool and build our program, keeping and elevating the Hokies on the national stage.”
Tech players Carleigh Wenzel, Matilda Ekh, Rose Micheaux, Samyha Suffren and Mackenzie Nelson attended the news conference. Duffy said Carys Baker was attending a class.
Duffy said she feels confident that all six of those players will return to Tech next season.
“I think we’re in good shape,” said Duffy, who flew to Blacksburg on Wednesday. “We spent a lot of time yesterday trying to see where everybody’s head’s at with staying on the roster. This transfer portal is literally changing second by second. … If we can get that core set, then it’ll help me kind of understand what we need to bring in.
“We’re working hard to build those relationships, talk to their families, make sure we’re on the same page.”
Suffren entered the transfer portal last week, but she has withdrawn from the portal.
Wenzel had tweeted Wednesday that she will be returning to Tech next season, but the other five have not announced their plans.
Brooks signed three recruits last fall. Duffy said Wednesday morning that it looks like two of them, Lexi Blue and 6-foot-7 center Clara Silva, are “going to be somewhere else.” She said she talked with both of them.
Sure enough, Blue announced her commitment to Kentucky on Wednesday afternoon on Instagram. She is rated the No. 38 high school senior in the nation by ESPN,
The third signee, Myah Hazelton, wrote on Instagram last week that she was “fully committed” to Tech. Duffy said she spoke with Hazelton and “she seems really excited about coming here.”
Junior-college forward Amelia Hassett, who verbally committed to Tech in February, announced her commitment to Kentucky on Thursday.
Three-time All-American center Elizabeth Kitley and fellow graduate student Cayla King attended the news conference. Each was in her final year of eligibility this season, as was Olivia Summiel.
Duffy will also have to replace third-team All-American point guard Georgia Amoore and freshman reserve center Clara Strack. Each announced her commitment to Kentucky on Thursday night.
Brooks guided Tech to the 2023 ACC tournament title, the 2023 Final Four and this year’s ACC regular-season title.
Babcock thanked the 2023-24 Hokies for having “elevated our candidate pool for this position.”
Brooks spoke glowingly at his Kentucky press conference last week about his new school’s resources and about being part of the mighty Southeastern Conference amidst a changing college sports landscape.
Does Duffy feel she has the resources she needs to keep Tech a consistent winner?
“I do,” she said. “The resources are here. The fan bases are here. That was a lot of the conversation Whit and I had of, ‘What does it look like with our resources, from staff to our budget, what can we even expand here moving forward?’
“The NIL environment is really strong, so I’m really confident that we have what we need. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think we had what we need.
“Looking forward to work with our team [in] enhancing it.”
Duffy steered Miami of Ohio two two WNIT berths in her two years at the Mid-American Conference school before taking the reins at Big East member Marquette. The former Notre Dame and WNBA point guard guided Marquette to five winning seasons, three NCAA bids and one WNIT berth.
But Duffy, the 2000 Big East coach of the year, was intrigued with the vacancy at Tech.
“There was just something about maybe taking [a job] one notch up,” she said. “The fact that this program had been to a Final Four, had won ACC championships, it’s kind of that next echelon that I was looking forward to.”
Duffy will reap $800,000 in total pay from Tech in the 2024-25 season. By comparison, Brooks was set to make $975,000 in total pay from Tech in the 2024-25 season and will instead make $1.3 million in total pay from Kentucky for that season.
Duffy will make $825,000 in total pay in the second year of her deal and $900,000 in her third year. She will make $925,000 in total pay in the fourth year of her deal, $1 million in her fifth year and $1,025,000 in the 2029-30 season. That does not include performance bonuses.
She will have a salary pool of $1,050,000 for 10 full-time staff members, including assistant coaches.
Duffy had a $400,000 buyout in her Marquette contract that Tech will be paying her former school. By comparison, Brooks had a $750,000 buyout that Kentucky will be paying Tech.
Duffy is 154-65 as a head coach, including 110-46 at Marquette.
“I’ve been a winner. I don’t know anything else,” Duffy said.
Babcock said Duffy’s Midwest recruiting connections could be an advantage for Tech.
Duffy led Marquette to NCAA tournament berths in 2021, 2023 and this year.
“Coach Duffy’s name came up early and often in the search process,” Babcock said.
Tech fans attended the news conference.
“Every single candidate that we talked to brought up our fan base — the passion of it, the sellouts,” Babcock said.
