2026 EDGE Kamdon Gillespie decommits from Virginia Tech

Cornelius (N.C.) Mooresville three-star EDGE Kamdon Gillespie has decommitted from Virginia Tech, he told Chaz Media on Wednesday evening via Instagram.

Pledged to the Hokies since June 14, Gillespie is now the second prospect to decommit from the ACC school following the firing of head coach Brent Pry on Sunday.

Gillespie is the No. 892 overall prospect and No. 85 EDGE in the 2026 cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all major recruiting media companies. He’s also the No. 35 player in North Carolina.

Upon the news that Pry was being let go in Blacksburg, Gillespie initially told Rivals’ Chad Simmons that he was still committed, but waiting to hear from the coaching staff. He now follows four-star offensive tackle Thomas Wilder as commits who have backed off their pledge to the ACC program.

Gillespie initially chose Virginia Tech over Georgia Tech in June. USF was his other top school this summer, while the likes of Boston College, Vanderbilt and James Madison have also offered.

The VT class is now down to nine commits and ranks No. 79 nationally, according to the Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings. The top-ranked commit in the class, four-star EDGE Andrew Rogers, is now trending to flip to Tennessee, per the Rivals Recruiting Prediction Machine.

Virginia Tech fires Brent Pry

The Hokies fell to 0-3 on Saturday following a 45-26 loss to Old Dominion. That defeat dropped Virginia Tech to 16-24 under Pry. Prior to the game against Old Dominion, Pry told media that he was trying to block out the growing negativity around the program.

“I think you guys know I’m always going to find the positives,” he said. “I think the guys need to, you know, the external noise is always, if you lose, it’s negative. We don’t want them listening to that. Listen to what’s fair, where the expectations weren’t met, where we have to be better, you see it, we see it, as coaches and players. But let’s not lose sight of the team that we’ve been at times, also that’s a pretty good football team.”

Following that loss however, it was evident that the marriage between Virginia Tech and Pry could not go on for much longer. The former Penn State defensive coordinator was hired in Nov. 2021 as Tech’s next head coach, replacing Justin Fuente. Fuente experienced much more success than Pry during his stint in Blacksburg (2016-21), as he went 43–31 overall and 28-20 in the ACC across six seasons.

On3’s Daniel Hager contributed to this story.

This story will be updated.