Sophomore guard Jaden Schutt announced his commitment to Virginia Tech for his junior season via Instagram May 11, after entering the transfer portal April 15.
Head coach Jon Scheyer had already announced in November that Schutt would be redshirting for the entire year after suffering an injury in the fall. He got surgery on his knee earlier this year. Schutt was already likely to struggle to find minutes in the 2023-24 season due to the stacked incoming and returning classes of guards, including freshmen Jared McCain and Caleb Foster, sophomore Tyrese Proctor, junior Jaylen Blakes and senior Jeremy Roach.
While Schutt did manage to find some minutes during his freshman year as a strong perimeter shooter with an above-average 6-foot-5 frame, he never really settled into a consistent role coming off the bench. He averaged just 2.1 points and seven minutes per game, appearing in 14 contests. His career high in points and minutes came against Maryland Eastern Shore, where he scored nine points in 19 minutes on the floor.
Schutt’s upside as a solid three-and-d player will make him an attractive target in the portal for coaches looking for rotation pieces, as he looks to find more success elsewhere. He would likely have been competing for playing time once again, with another strong incoming class including guard/forward combos like Darren Harris, Isaiah Evans and Kon Knueppel II.
Schutt’s departure marked the sixth for the team this offseason, as classmates Christian Reeves and Mark Mitchell and junior Jaylen Blakes entered the portal while Jared McCain and Kyle Filipowski declared their intent to enter the NBA Draft.
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Martin Heintzelman is a Trinity junior and Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.