The Virginia Tech men鈥檚 basketball team is adding a 6-foot-11, 220-pound post player from Washington, D.C.-area powerhouse DeMatha Catholic High School.
Center/power forward Solomon Davis, who is graduating from DeMatha next month, has verbally committed to the Hokies.
Davis said Friday in a phone interview that he informed the Tech staff of his decision Wednesday. Davis鈥 AAU team, Virginia Elite, tweeted the news of his commitment Thursday night.
He becomes the third high school senior in the 2025 graduating class to commit to the Hokies. The other two 鈥 Christian Gurdak and Sin鈥機ere Jones 鈥 signed last fall.
Davis had a few small-college offers and was in contact with a few other NCAA Division I schools, but he did not have any Division I offers until Tech made an offer this week.
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鈥淚t means the world to me that Virginia Tech was able to see what I have,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 worked my butt off. A couple months ago, I think nobody really knew who I was. I did suffer some previous injuries beforehand; it kind of made me who I am. I stuck to the process and kept working hard.
鈥淰irginia Tech being able to see me, no matter the rankings or stars, them seeing that I鈥檓 a good player and have a high motor and high skill, that means the world to me.鈥
Davis said he was hurt last spring, so he did not get much exposure on the AAU circuit at that time. He figures his play for his AAU team this spring put him on the Division I recruiting radar.
He spent his entire high school career at DeMatha Catholic, which is located in Hyattsville, Maryland. He was on the varsity team as a junior and senior.
鈥淚鈥檝e always had a strong work mentality,鈥 he said. 鈥淎fter practice I would get in the gym or get in the weight room or work on something or watch film. I knew that eventually I was going to get picked up by a Division I school. 鈥 I鈥檝e earned it and I worked hard to get it.鈥
Davis, who visited the University of Richmond last month, plans to visit Tech this weekend.
鈥淭o be seen by such a powerhouse of a school with such great culture, it was amazing,鈥 Davis said of Tech. 鈥淚t was a great fit for me to develop as a player, develop academically.
鈥淚鈥檓 very grateful that Virginia Tech is taking me in.鈥
Davis said he is ready for college basketball.
鈥淚 like playing off the pick and roll 鈥 pick and pop,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 have a good post-up game. I can finish off the defense. 鈥 I love playing above the rim and being able to finish strong.鈥
Davis said he will be a 鈥渟ponge鈥 when he joins the Hokies.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e getting a hard worker, a player who can get in the game and do what the coach asks, be a good teammate as well,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hey can expect a high motor 鈥 getting loose balls, rebounding the ball, defending well, blocking shots.鈥
The addition of Davis gives the Hokies 11 scholarship players for next season鈥檚 roster, including Tobi Lawal, who has entered the NBA Draft while maintaining his college eligibility. Lawal鈥檚 return to Tech is a safe bet because he was not among the draft prospects who have been invited to participate in the NBA G League Elite Camp or the NBA Draft Combine.
Lawal is one of four returning scholarship players, along with Tyler Johnson, Ben Hammond and Jaden Schutt.
Tech coach Mike Young added three players from the transfer portal last month 鈥 former West Virginia forward Amani Hansberry, former Delaware point guard Izaiah Pasha and ex-UNLV guard Jailen Bedford.
Young also added Antonio Dorn, a 21-year-old center from Germany, last month.
