2025–26 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team

2025–26 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball
2025–26 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Record	0–0 (0–0 ACC)
Head coach	Ryan Odom (1st season);
Associate head coach	Griff Aldrich (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Matt Henry (1st season); Bryce Crawford (1st season); Darius Theus (1st season);
Home arena	John Paul Jones Arena
	Seasons ← 2024–25 2026–27 →

2025–26 ACC men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Boston College	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
California	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Clemson	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Duke	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Florida State	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Georgia Tech	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Louisville	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Miami (FL)	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
North Carolina	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
NC State	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Notre Dame	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Pittsburgh	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
SMU	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Stanford	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Syracuse	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Virginia	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Virginia Tech	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–
Wake Forest	0	–	0	–	0	–	0	–

† 2026 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The 2025–26 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team will represent the University of Virginia during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They are led by first-year head coach Ryan Odom following the departure of interim head coach Ron Sanchez. They will play their home games at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia, as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Previous season

With the last-minute retirement of Tony Bennett and the appointing of interim head coach Ron Sanchez, the Cavailers started the season 3–0, including a ten-point victory over Villanova in the Hall of Fame Series. They then traveled to the Bahamas to participate in the Baha Mar Hoops Championship where their fortunes changed. They lost in the semifinals to eleventh-ranked Tennessee 64–42 and in the third place game against twenty second-ranked St. John's 80–55. They won two games against non-Power 4 opponents before losing their ACC–SEC Challenge game against thirteenth-ranked Florida 87–69. They followed that with a loss in their ACC opener against SMU. They finished their non-conference slate 2–1, with a loss against twenty first-ranked Memphis. They closed the 2024 portion of their schedule with an ACC win over NC State. The Cavailers had a rough start to the 2025 portion of the schedule, as they went on a five-game losing streak. The streak included two losses to Louisville, and losses in California to Stanford and California, and a loss in a rematch with SMU. They broke the streak by going 2–2 in their next four games. This streak included a loss in their rivalry game against Virginia Tech. The team went 4–2 over their next six games, which included a three game winning streak. They defeated Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, and won the rivaly rematch with Virginia Tech. However, they lost to third-ranked Duke and at North Carolina. They lost to thirteenth-ranked Clemson and defeated Florida State by three points in their next two games. The Cavaliers lost the regular season finale to Syracuse 84–70.

The Cavaliers finished the season 15–16 and 8–12 in ACC play to finish in a five-way tie for ninth place. The team finished atop the five-way tiebreaker and were the ninth seed in the 2025 ACC tournament. They faced eighth-seed Georgia Tech in the First Round. Despite defeating the Yellow Jackets during the regular season, they were defeated 66–60 in the tournament. They were not invited to the NCAA tournament or the NIT. Interim coach Ron Sanchez was not retained at the end of the season.^[1]

Offseason

Coaching Departures

Virginia Coaching Departures
Name	Position	Years on staff	New position
Ron Sanchez	Interim Head Coach	11	Associate Head Coach at Baylor
Jason Williford	Associate Head Coach	16	Assistant Coach at Georgetown
Orlando Vandross	Assistant Coach	10
Isaiah Wilkins		4	Assistant Coach at Cal
Brad Soderberg		10	Assistant Coach at Millikin
Kyle Guy	Special Assistant	1	Assistant Coach at Nevada
Chase Coleman	Graduate Assistant	2	Assistant Coach at Navy
Ronnie Wideman	Assoc. AD for MBB Admin	16	Assoc. AD at Virginia
Stelios Tzoutzis	Program & Operations Assistant	5	Assistant Coach & GM at Liberty

Player Departures

Virginia Player Departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Blake Buchanan	0	F	6'11"	225	Sophomore	Coeur d'Alene, ID	Transferred to Iowa State
Elijah Saunders	2	F	6'8"	229	Junior	Phoenix, AZ	Transferred to Maryland
Andrew Rohde	4	G	6'6"	202	Junior	Milwaukee, WI	Transferred to Wisconsin
Jacob Cofie	5	F	6'10"	230	Freshman	Seattle, WA	Transferred to USC
Dai Dai Ames	7	G	6'1"	190	Sophomore	Milwaukee, WI	Transferred to Cal
Bryce Walker	8	G	6'2"	205	Senior	Beltsville, MD	Graduated
Ishan Sharma	9	G	6'5"	192	Freshman	Milton, ON	Transferred to Saint Louis
Taine Murray	10	G	6'5"	208	Senior	Auckland, NZ	Graduated
Isaac McKneely	11	G	6'4"	188	Junior	Poca, WV	Transferred to Louisville
Anthony Robinson	21	F/C	6'10"	250	Freshman	Peachtree City, GA	Transferred to Xavier
TJ Power	23	F	6'9"	221	Sophomore	Shrewsbury, MA	Transferred to Penn
Christian Bliss	30	G	6'4"	198	Freshman	Queens, NY	Transferred to Delaware

Coaching Arrivals

Virginia Coaching Arrivals
Name	Previous position	Previous School	New position
Ryan Odom	Head Coach	VCU	Head Coach
Griff Aldrich	Head Coach	Longwood	Associate Head Coach
Matt Henry	Assistant Coach	VCU	Assistant Coach
Bryce Crawford
Darius Theus
Kelsey Knoche	Director of Operations		Director of Operations
Matt Hart	Director of Analytics		Director of Analytics
Billy Bales	Director of Video		Video Coordinator
Ahmad Thomas	Coordinator of Player Development		Director of Recruiting
Michael Crowder	Managing Director – Culture Formation & Program Development	Longwood	Director of Culture and Alumni Engagement

Incoming Transfers

Virginia incoming transfers
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school	Remaining years of eligibility
Malik Thomas	1	G	6'5"	205	Graduate Student	Fontana, CA	San Francisco	1
Sam Lewis	5	G	6'6"	210	Junior	Chicago, IL	Toledo	2
Jacari White	6	G	6'3"	180	Senior	Orlando, FL	North Dakota State	1
Martin Carrere	7	G/F	6'8"	180	Freshman	Pontonx-sur-l'Adour, France	VCU	4
Devin Tillis	11	F	6'7"	225	Graduate Student	Los Angeles, CA	UC Irvine	1
Dallin Hall	30	G	6'4"	197	Graduate Student	Plain City, UT	BYU	1
Ugonna Onyenso	33	C	7'0"	247	Senior	Owerri, Nigeria	Kansas State	1

2025 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Chance Mallory #14 PG	Charlottesville, VA	St. Anne's-Belfield School	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Mar 22, 2025
Chance Mallory #14 PG	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (83)
Silas Barksdale #21 C	Newport News, VA	Woodside High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Apr 2, 2025
Silas Barksdale #21 C	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (81)
Jonah Grünloh C	Löningen, Germany	RASTA Vechta	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Apr 28, 2025
Jonah Grünloh C	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Thijs De Ridder PF	Brasschaat, Belgium	Gitok Kalmthout	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	231 lb (105 kg)	Jul 7, 2025
Thijs De Ridder PF	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Overall recruit ranking: Rivals: 49 247Sports: 40 ESPN: –
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Virginia 2025 Basketball Commitments". Rivals. Retrieved July 15, 2025. "2025 Virginia Commits". Scout. Retrieved July 15, 2025. "2025 Player Commits". ESPN. Retrieved July 15, 2025. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout. Retrieved July 15, 2025. "2025 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved July 15, 2025. "Virginia 2025 Basketball Commitments". 247Sports. Retrieved July 15, 2025.

Roster

Players

2024–25 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	1	Malik Thomas	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	GS	Damien HS San Francisco	Fontana, CA
G	2	Chance Mallory	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Fr	St. Anne's-Belfield School	Charlottesville, VA
G	5	Sam Lewis	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jr	Simeon Academy Toledo	Chicago, IL
G	6	Jacari White	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	GS	Olympia HS North Dakota State	Orlando, FL
G/F	7	Martin Carrere	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	RS Fr	Limoges VCU	Pontonx-sur-l'Adour, France
F	11	Devin Tillis	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	GS	Windward School UC Irvine	Los Angeles, CA
G	12	Elijah Gertrude	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	179 lb (81 kg)	RS So	Hudson Catholic Regional	Jersey City, NJ
G	13	Desmond Roberts (W)	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	207 lb (94 kg)	RS So	St. Anne's-Belfield School	Charlottesville, VA
C	17	Jonah Grünloh	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	238 lb (108 kg)	Fr	RASTA Vechta	Löningen, Germany
F	21	Silas Barksdale	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Fr	Woodside HS	Newport News, VA
F	28	Thijs De Ridder	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	231 lb (105 kg)	Fr	Gitok Kalmthout Surne Bilbao Basket	Brasschaat, Belgium
G	30	Dallin Hall	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	197 lb (89 kg)	GS	Fremont HS BYU	Plain City, UT
C	33	Ugonna Onyenso	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	247 lb (112 kg)	Sr	Putnam Science Academy Kansas State	Owerri, Nigeria
F	35	Carter Lang (W)	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	238 lb (108 kg)	RS So	St. Anne's-Belfield School Vanderbilt	Charlottesville, VA

Head coach

Ryan Odom (Hampden–Sydney)

Assistant coach(es)

Griff Aldrich (Hampden–Sydney)
Matt Henry (Trinity)
Bryce Crawford (Ohio State)
Darius Theus (VCU)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: July 19, 2025

Coaches

Virginia coaching staff
Name	Position	Year with position	Year on coaching staff	Alma mater
Ryan Odom	Dean and Markel Families Head Coach	1	1	Hampden–Sydney
Griff Aldrich	Associate head coach			Hampden–Sydney
Matt Henry	Assistant Coach			Trinity
Bryce Crawford				Ohio State
Darius Theus				VCU
Kelsey Knoche	Director of Operations			Maryland
Matt Hart	Director of Analytics			George Washington
Billy Bales	Video Coordinator			Lenoir-Rhyne
Ahmad Thomas	Director of Recruiting			UNC Asheville
Michael Crowder	Director of Culture and Alumni Engagement			Virginia
Mike Curtis	Strength and conditioning coach	17	17	Virginia
Ethan Saliba	Head Athletic Trainer	28	43	Kansas

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 24, 2025* 7:00 PM	Villanova Exhibition	John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
Non-Conference Regular Season
November 21, 2025* CBS Sports Network	vs. Northwestern Greenbrier Tip-Off	The Greenbrier White Sulphur Springs, WV
November 23, 2025* CBS Sports Network	vs. Butler Greenbrier Tip-Off	The Greenbrier White Sulphur Springs, WV
November 28, 2025*	Queens	John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
December 3, 2025* ESPN	at Texas ACC–SEC Challenge	Moody Center Austin, TX
December 20, 2025*	Maryland	John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
TBA*	American	John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
TBA*	NC Central	John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
TBA*	Hampton	John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
February 14, 2026*	vs. Ohio State Nashville Hoops Showdown	Bridgestone Arena Nashville, TN
ACC Regular Season
TBA*	TBA	John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
ACC Tournament
March 10–14, 2026 ESPN	vs. TBD ACC Tournament	Spectrum Center Charlotte, NC
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

References

^ "Interim coach Ron Sanchez out at Virginia after season-ending loss". ESPN. Associated Press. March 12, 2025. Retrieved April 16, 2025.

[1] "Interim coach Ron Sanchez out at Virginia after season-ending loss". ESPN. Associated Press. March 12, 2025. Retrieved April 16, 2025.

[1]

v t e Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball
Venues	Memorial Gymnasium (1924–1965) University Hall (1965–2006) John Paul Jones Arena (2006–present)
Rivalries	Virginia Tech
Culture & lore	"The Cavalier Song" "The Good Old Song" 1982 Chaminade upset 2018 UMBC upset Redemption National Championship
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics