Elizabeth Kitley will not suit up for Virginia Tech in the 2024 NCAA Women's Tournament due to a season-ending knee injury, the three-time All-American announced on social media Thursday. Virginia Tech coach Kenny Brooks confirmed the grad student center tore her ACL two weeks ago.
"This is not at all how I anticipated ending this year with my team, but I'm so proud of all of our accomplishments, and I'm excited to see my girls continue to compete," Kitley wrote. "Thank you to all of Hokie Nation for being so supportive during this tough time. I'm looking forward to making a strong comeback."
Kitley suffered the injury during her team's loss to Virginia on March 3. With six minutes remaining in the third quarter, Kitley hit a jumper to tie things up at 41-41. However, she seemed to have injured her leg when she landed and soon collapsed on the floor.
"It's probably been the hardest two weeks I've ever had coaching." Brooks said, per ESPN.
Kitley helped take Virginia Tech to the program's first ever Final Four last year. She was leading the Hokies with 22.8 points and 11.4 rebounds per game this season.
The ACC Player of the Year three years running, Kitley's list of accolades is quite long. She was named first-team All-ACC four times and made the conference's All-Defensive Team three times. Kitley also became the ACC's all-time leader in rebounds on Dec. 21, surpassing former Virginia Tech forward Regan Magarity.
The fourth-seeded Hokies will play their first round game against No. 13 seed Marshall on Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
