The Texas Longhorns are one of eight programs showing “strong interest” in Virginia Tech Hokies transfer guard Neoklis Avdalas, according to a Friday report from Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.
The 6’9, 215-pounder from Greece has three seasons
of eligibility remaining and could make a quick decision since he’s not taking official visits, a potential indication that NIL will be a major factor in his portal recruitment.
After two seasons playing in the top-tier league in Greece and participating in the 2025 NBA Combine, Avdalas was a summer addition for Virginia Tech. A consensus four-star prospect, Avdalas was ranked as the No. 2 international signee and the No. 50 player in the 2025 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
In one season in Blacksburg, Avadalas showed promise, starting all 31 games for the Hokies and averaged 12.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in 31.6 minutes per game, reaching the 30-point plateau twice as a freshman.
While the playmaking ability of Avdalas was impressive, he was inefficient as a shooter, making 38.6 percent overall because he was a less than 30-percent shooter from the mid range on a high volume of shots and a 31.4-percent shooter from three on an even higher volume of shots. Around the rim, Avdalas was an average finisher for his size and had a low free-throw rate.
So Avdalas was unable to achieve his goal of becoming a lottery pick in this year’s draft and needs plenty of development just to become a first-round draft pick next season, but he’s a valuable player in the portal with 247Sports ranking him as the No. 20 player overall and the No. 3 shooting guard.
