Virginia Tech Athletics announces extensions for six head coaches

Virginia Tech Director of Athletics Whit Babcock announced Friday that the contracts or letters of appointment of six Tech head coaches have been extended as indicated below. Mike Young (men’s basketball) and John Szefc (baseball) are both under contract through the 2027 seasons, while Dave Cianelli (track and field, cross country) is under contract through 2024. The other three coaches have had their letters of appointment extended through the dates indicated below.

“All of these coaches have displayed their commitment to helping our student-athletes develop in many areas of their lives, while upholding our high standards of academic and athletic excellence at Virginia Tech,” Babcock said. “Based on a number of factors, we felt it prudent to extend the agreements of all these coaches. We are proud of our entire roster of head coaches at Virginia Tech and we are particularly pleased that we have retained the talents of these six individuals for the Hokies going forward.”

Young earned ACC Coach of the Year honors in 2020-21, guiding the Hokies to the NCAA Tournament in his second year at the helm of the program. The Radford, Virginia, native guided the Hokies to a 4-0 record against AP Top 25 opponents last season, including victories over Virginia, Duke, and Villanova. Young owns a 31-23 record in two seasons with the Hokies, including a 22-8 home mark at Cassell Coliseum. The 2019 Sporting News National Coach of the Year arrived in Blacksburg following a record-setting 17-season tenure at Wofford. He owns a 330-267 career record as a head coach.

Szefc guided the Hokies to 16 ACC victories in 2021, Tech’s highest conference win total since 2010. Szefc’s squad opened the 2021 ACC season with series wins at No. 6 Miami and against No. 25 North Carolina. The Hokies also registered a three-game sweep at No. 15 Pitt. The Hokies finished the 2021 campaign at 27-25 overall, marking Tech’s best seasonal victory total since 2013. Szefc came to Tech after leading Maryland to three NCAA appearances and a 180-122 record as the Terrapins’ head coach, ending that school’s 43-year NCAA Tournament drought. He owns a 477-349-3 career head coaching record.

Cianelli has arguably led Tech’s most habitually successful program during his 21-year tenure leading the track and field/cross country teams for the Hokies. Under his tutelage, the men’s indoor track squad won the 2021 ACC indoor title by the largest margin in modern conference history. It marked the 17th overall team ACC championship claimed by the Hokies under Cianelli. His teams have produced 17 NCAA individual champions, 310 All-America honors achieved by 110 student-athletes, as well as eight Olympians, such as Kristi Castlin and Queen Harrison.

Robertson has built Tech’s women’s golf program from its inception and guided the Hokies to the third round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history in 2021. Under her leadership, Tech has qualified for the NCAAs for three straight years and achieved its highest-ever national ranking this past season, reaching No. 14 in the Golfstat rankings. A finalist for the WGCA National Coach of the Year, Robertson has tutored individual standouts Amanda Hollandsworth and Emily Mahar, who have both qualified and competed at the U.S. Women’s Open.

Thompson has served as men’s tennis coach since 1998, making him the longest-tenured active head coach at Virginia Tech. Since his arrival in Blacksburg, the program has made the NCAA Tournament on 15 occasions, including 12 berths over the past 14 seasons. Thompson has coached a pair of All-America performers in Aaron Marchetti (1999) and Joao Monteiro (2016). In addition, he has helped produce 25 All-ACC honorees, including Amerigo Contini and Andreas Bjerrehus, who both earned all-conference honors four times apiece for the Hokies.

Zawacki-Holdren has guided Tech’s women’s tennis program since 2004. The Hokies own a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, including a 2015 campaign that saw Tech reach the second round for the initial time in program history. In her 18 years at the helm, Zawacki-Holdren has produced eight nationally-ranked singles players, four nationally-ranked doubles teams and seven All-ACC selections, including first-team All-ACC honoree Francesca Fusinato.