About Club – Virginia Valley Vipers

ABOUT US

The Winchester-based Valley Vipers are proud to be in the heart of the Northern Shenandoah Valley. Winchester is one of the fastest growing localities in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Vipers are ready to grow with the rest of the region!

Despite its proximity to Washington, DC, Virginia has lacked a professional basketball team –until the Vipers. Choosing the symbolism of rebirth and transformation, Team Market Owners Rodney, Rze and Tina Culbreath established the Valley Vipers in 2022. We are excited to bring professional men’s basketball to the Commonwealth of Virginia, transforming our region and providing opportunities for athletes from all walks of life to compete at a higher level.

Mission:

Our Mission is to strengthen our community through positive, family-friendly entertainment and provide athletes with the financial opportunity to continue their passion while giving back to the community.

Photo of Rodney Culbreath. Rodney is a middle aged Black man with a slight amount of facial hair and very short black hair. He is smiling at the viewer.

Rodney Culbreath: Team Market Owner & General Manager

Rodney Culbreath is one of the three Team Market Owners of the Valley Vipers, along with his wife, Tina, and son, Rze. A proud parent of a young athlete, Rodney has always supported Rze’s basketball career. After Rze joined the Tri-State Admirals, Rodney and his wife Tina discovered they had a new opportunity to support their son and improve the Winchester community. Together, they founded the Valley Vipers through The Basketball League in 2022, bringing the first professional basketball to Virginia.
Rodney is also a founder of the I’m Just Me Movement, a nonprofit youth mentoring organization that is the charity of choice of the Valley Vipers. Rodney knows first hand the impact that positive role models can make in the lives of youth and hopes the Vipers can help inspire both youth and adults, whether on the court or in the community.

Photo of Rze Culbreath. Rze is a young Black man with short black hair and a black goatee. He is looking at the viewer with a serious expression.

Rze Culbreath: Team Market Owner

Rze Culbreath is one of the three Team Market Owners of the Valley Vipers, along with his parents, Rodney and Tina Culbreath. In addition to being a TMO, Rze is a professional basketball player, having played both for The Basketball League’s Tri-State Admirals and overseas in Armenia. He brings a unique perspective as a former player in The Basketball League to guide the organization.
Along with his parents, Rze also founded the I’m Just Me Movement, a nonprofit youth mentoring organization in Winchester, Virginia. He uses his platform as an athlete to help inspire the youth he mentors and help them reach their full potential.

Photo of Tina Culbreath. Tina is a middle aged Black woman with burgundy colored, curly hair. She is smiling slightly at the viewer.

Tina Culbreath: Team Market Owner

Tina Culbreath is one of the three Team Market Owners of the Valley Vipers, along with her husband, Rodney, and son, Rze. After supporting Rze’s athletic career for years, Tina and Rodney chose to found the Valley Vipers, expanding The Basketball League to Virginia.
In addition to founding the Valley Vipers, Tina also founded The I’m Just Me Movement, a youth mentoring nonprofit organization. Tina has dedicated her life to supporting the Winchester community and believes the Vipers will be an integral part of that mission through their community outreach.

Photo of Andrew Oates. Andres is a middle aged Caucasian man. Andrew is smiling at the viewer. He is bald and has a slight beard.

Andrew Oates: Head Coach

Andrew Oates is the Head Coach of the Valley Vipers and brings 13 years of coaching experience to the organization. Andrew has experience coaching on both the youth and college level, and most recently served as the Assistant Coach of the Clarke County High School Boys’ Basketball team. In that role, Andrew helped lead the team to a state berth during the 2021-2022 season.
Prior to coaching in Clarke County, Andrew was an Assistant Coach and Head of Player Development for the Shenandoah University Men’s Basketball team. During his tenure at Shenandoah University, he helped earn the single season record of ODAC wins in the university’s history. From 2009 to 2015, Andrew was the Head Coach of the Erick Green Premier AAU Showcase, leading his Under Armour Grassroots 16U/17U teams into a top program on the east coast. Andrew is excited to grow the Valley Vipers program and have a successful inaugural season!

Photo of Willie Lewis. Willie is a middle aged Black man with a big black beard and a bald head. He is smiling for the viewer.

Willie Lewis: Assistant Coach

Bio Coming Soon!

Malique Judd: Assistant Coach

Bio Coming Soon!

Sanford Silver: Assistant General Manager

Coming Soon!

Photo of Lin Hyunh. Lin is a young Asian American man who is smiling at the camera. Lin has short black hair and a thin black beard,

Lin Huynh: Talent Scout

Lin Huynh serves as the Director of Scouting in the National Capital Region (NCR) for the Virginia Valley Vipers. Lin is a proud native of Winchester, Virginia and currently resides in Centreville, Virginia. He also is a professional basketball agent at JCK Sports Group (JCKSG) which represents players in the NBA, G-League, and internationally.

Photo of Jason Hamm. Jason is a middle aged Caucasian man with a gray and brown beard and short gray hair. He is standing with his arms crossed with a confident expression on his face.

Jason Hamm: Sales Associate

Coming Soon!

Photo of Jazmine Smith. Jazmine is a young Black woman who is smiling at the viewer. Her hair is braided and tied up in a bun.

Jazmine Smith: Marketing Coordinator

Jazmine Smith joins the Virginia Valley Vipers as one of the team’s Marketing Coordinators. As a recent DMV transplant from Boston, MA, Jazmine has sought to reconnect with her love of basketball and felt right at home with developing Vipers. Off the court, Jazmine works in death penalty representation. In addition to playing basketball and running track for most of her life, Jazmine has recently taken up rugby and joined the Northern Virginia Women’s Rugby Club.

Kenny Gordon: Statistician

Kenny Gordon is the official statistician of the Virginia Valley Vipers.

Kenny was born and raised in Baltimore, MD. After spending a few years in Fairmont, West Virginia, Kenny and his wife of 32 years moved to Winchester, Virginia, where they have lived for the past 15 years. Kenny has been involved with sports for over 30 years, including coaching AAU Basketball and Pop Warner Football, serving as a coach for both middle and high school basketball teams, and coaching both youth and adults in various sports through Winchester Parks and Recreation. Currently, Kenny coaches in the Superb Basketball League and serves as the official scorekeeper for Division I Coppin State Basketball and Shenandoah University. Kenny is a family man with 3 children and 3 grandchildren, all of whom have kept him involved in sports over the years.