2025–26 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team

2025–26 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 8
APNo. 9
Record29–5 (15–3 ACC)
Head coach
Associate head coachGriff Aldrich (1st season)
Assistant coaches
  • Matt Henry (1st season)
  • Bryce Crawford (1st season)
  • Darius Theus (1st season)
Home arenaJohn Paul Jones Arena
2025–26 ACC men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 1 Duke 17 1   .944 32 2   .941
No. 9 Virginia 15 3   .833 29 5   .853
No. 25 Miami (FL) 13 5   .722 25 8   .758
No. 21 North Carolina 12 6   .667 24 8   .750
Clemson 12 6   .667 24 10   .706
No. 23т Louisville 11 7   .611 23 10   .697
NC State 10 8   .556 20 14   .588
Florida State 10 8   .556 18 15   .545
California 9 9   .500 22 11   .667
Stanford 9 9   .500 20 12   .625
SMU 8 10   .444 20 14   .588
Virginia Tech 8 10   .444 19 13   .594
Wake Forest 7 11   .389 18 16   .529
Syracuse 6 12   .333 15 17   .469
Pittsburgh 5 13   .278 13 20   .394
Notre Dame 4 14   .222 13 17   .433
Boston College 4 14   .222 11 20   .355
Georgia Tech 2 16   .111 11 20   .355
2026 ACC tournament winner
As of March 18, 2026
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2025–26 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team represents 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 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[a]
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 California
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 
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 
Recruit ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (81)
Johann Grünloh
C
Löningen, Germany Rasta Vechta 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Apr 28, 2025 
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 
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) 215 lb (98 kg) GS Damien HS
San Francisco
Fontana, CA
G 2 Chance Mallory 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 186 lb (84 kg) Fr St. Anne's-Belfield School Charlottesville, VA
G 5 Sam Lewis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 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 9 in (2.06 m) 198 lb (90 kg) RS Fr Limoges
VCU
Pontonx-sur-l'Adour, France
F 11 Devin Tillis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 240 lb (109 kg) GS Windward School
UC Irvine
Los Angeles, CA
G 12 Elijah Gertrude 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 173 lb (78 kg) RS So Hudson Catholic Regional Jersey City, NJ
G 13 Desmond Roberts (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS So St. Anne's-Belfield School Charlottesville, VA
C 17 Johann Grünloh 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 238 lb (108 kg) Fr RASTA Vechta Löningen, Germany
F 21 Silas Barksdale 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 223 lb (101 kg) Fr Woodside HS Newport News, VA
F 22 Owen Odom 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 171 lb (78 kg) Fr Collegiate School Annapolis, MD
F 28 Thijs De Ridder 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 238 lb (108 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) 245 lb (111 kg) Sr Putnam Science Academy
Kansas State
Owerri, Nigeria
F 35 Carter Lang (W) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 251 lb (114 kg) RS So St. Anne's-Belfield School
Vanderbilt
Charlottesville, VA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster
Last update: July 19, 2025

Coaches

Virginia coaching staff
Name Position Year with position Year on coaching staff Alma mater Nationality
Ryan Odom Dean and Markel Families Head Coach 1 1 Hampden–Sydney
Griff Aldrich Associate head coach
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
Ethan Saliba Head Athletic Trainer 28 43 Kansas

Schedule and results

Source:[2]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 16, 2025*
7:30 p.m.
at Vanderbilt L 87–95 
                     Memorial Gymnasium 
Nashville, TN
October 24, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
Villanova W 75–72 
 16  Thomas   8  Tied   5  Hall  John Paul Jones Arena (13,751)
Charlottesville, VA
Regular Season
November 3, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
Rider W 87–53  1–0
 21  De Ridder   10  De Ridder   5  Hall  John Paul Jones Arena (12,121)
Charlottesville, VA
November 7, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
NC Central W 81–62  2–0
 20  De Ridder   11  Grunloh   7  Hall  John Paul Jones Arena (12,576)
Charlottesville, VA
November 11, 2025*
9:00 p.m., ACCN
Hampton W 91–53  3–0
 18  Onyenso   10  Onyenso   7  Hall  John Paul Jones Arena (11,393)
Charlottesville, VA
November 15, 2025*
12:00 p.m., ACCNX
Marshall W 104–78  4–0
 23  De Ridder   7  Gruenloh   5  Mallory  John Paul Jones Arena (11,776)
Charlottesville, VA
November 21, 2025*
5:00 p.m., CBSSN
vs. Northwestern
Greenbrier Tip-Off
W 83–78  5–0
 26  De Ridder   8  Tied   3  Tied  The Greenbrier (1,209)
White Sulphur Springs, WV
November 23, 2025*
2:00 p.m., CBSSN
vs. Butler
Greenbrier Tip-Off
L 73–80  5–1
 24  Thomas   7  Tied   3  Mallory  The Greenbrier (1,209)
White Sulphur Springs, WV
November 28, 2025*
4:00 p.m., ACCNX
Queens W 94–69  6–1
 21  De Ridder   10  Grünloh   5  Hall  John Paul Jones Arena (11,639)
Charlottesville, VA
December 3, 2025*
9:15 p.m., ESPNU
at Texas
ACC–SEC Challenge
W 88–69  7–1
 16  Mallory   6  Tied   4  Hall  Moody Center (10,802)
Austin, TX
December 6, 2025*
12:00 p.m., ESPN2
vs. Dayton W 86–73  8–1
 25  White   9  De Ridder   5  Mallory  Spectrum Center (4,175)
Charlotte, NC
December 9, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 24 Maryland Eastern Shore W 84–60  9–1
 15  Lewis   7  Grünloh   5  Mallory  John Paul Jones Arena (11,117)
Charlottesville, VA
December 20, 2025*
6:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 23т Maryland W 80–72  10–1
 20  Hall   8  Grünloh   6  Tied  John Paul Jones Arena (12,671)
Charlottesville, VA
December 22, 2025*
6:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 21 American W 95–51  11–1
 27  De Ridder   8  De Ridder   7  Hall  John Paul Jones Arena (12,295)
Charlottesville, VA
December 31, 2025
2:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 21 at Virginia Tech
Rivalry
L 85–95 3OT 11–2
(0–1)
 26  Thomas   13  De Ridder   5  De Ridder  Cassell Coliseum (8,925)
Blacksburg, VA
January 3, 2026
11:00 a.m., ESPN2
No. 21 at NC State W 76–61  12–2
(1–1)
 23  Lewis   7  Thomas   4  Tied  Lenovo Center (16,144)
Raleigh, NC
January 7, 2026
9:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 23 California W 84–60  13–2
(2–1)
 20  Thomas   9  Onyenso   7  Mallory  John Paul Jones Arena (11,533)
Charlottesville, VA
January 10, 2026
2:15 p.m., The CW
No. 23 Stanford W 70–55  14–2
(3–1)
 22  De Ridder   7  Thomas   6  Hall  John Paul Jones Arena (14,637)
Charlottesville, VA
January 13, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 16 at No. 20 Louisville W 79–70  15–2
(4–1)
 19  Thomas   12  Hall   4  Tied  KFC Yum Center (14,697)
Louisville, KY
January 17, 2026
12:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 16 at SMU W 72–68  16–2
(5–1)
 23  Thomas   11  Thomas   9  Hall  Moody Coliseum (6,630)
Dallas, TX
January 24, 2026
12:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 14 No. 22 North Carolina L 80–85  16–3
(5–2)
 20  De Ridder   8  De Ridder   4  Hall  John Paul Jones Arena (14,637)
Charlottesville, VA
January 27, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 17 at Notre Dame W 100–97 2OT 17–3
(6–2)
 32  De Ridder   9  Lewis   6  Lewis  Joyce Center (4,012)
South Bend, IN
January 31, 2026
1:30 p.m., The CW
No. 17 at Boston College W 73–66  18–3
(7–2)
 17  De Ridder   7  Onyenso   3  Hall  Conte Forum (6,248)
Chestnut Hill, MA
February 3, 2026
9:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 18 Pittsburgh W 67–47  19–3
(8–2)
 15  Lewis   12  De Ridder   4  Tillis  John Paul Jones Arena (12,264)
Charlottesville, VA
February 7, 2026
12:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 18 Syracuse W 72–59  20–3
(9–2)
 16  Lewis   8  Onyenso   5  Tied  John Paul Jones Arena (14,637)
Charlottesville, VA
February 10, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPNU
No. 15 at Florida State W 61–58  21–3
(10–2)
 19  White   9  De Ridder   5  Mallory  Donald L. Tucker Center (7,377)
Tallahassee, FL
February 14, 2026*
8:00 p.m., FOX
No. 15 vs. Ohio State
Nashville Hoops Showdown
W 70–66  22–3
 13  Thomas   10  Onyenso   2  Tied  Bridgestone Arena (6,438)
Nashville, TN
February 18, 2026
9:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 14 at Georgia Tech W 94–68  23–3
(11–2)
 22  De Ridder   9  Onyenso   10  Hall  McCamish Pavilion (5,056)
Atlanta, GA
February 21, 2026
2:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 14 Miami W 86–83  24–3
(12–2)
 17  White   6  Mallory   6  Mallory  John Paul Jones Arena (14,637)
Charlottesville, VA
February 24, 2026
7:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 11 NC State W 90–61  25–3
(13–2)
 19  De Ridder   7  Hall   4  Tied  John Paul Jones Arena (13,526)
Charlottesville, VA
February 28, 2026
12:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 11 at No. 1 Duke L 51–77  25–4
(13–3)
 16  De Ridder   6  Thomas   4  Hall  Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314)
Durham, NC
March 3, 2026
7:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 13 Wake Forest W 75–70  26–4
(14–3)
 16  De Ridder   9  Grünloh   4  Hall  John Paul Jones Arena (12,948)
Charlottesville, VA
March 7, 2026
12:00 p.m., The CW
No. 13 Virginia Tech
Rivalry
W 76–72  27–4
(15–3)
 16  Tied   8  De Ridder   9  Hall  John Paul Jones Arena (14,637)
Charlottesville, VA
ACC Tournament
March 12, 2026
12:00 p.m., ESPN2
(2) No. 10 vs. (7) NC State
Quarterfinal
W 81–74  28–4
 16  Thomas   6  Onyenso   5  Thomas  Spectrum Center (11,722)
Charlotte, NC
March 13, 2026
7:00 p.m., ESPN2
(2) No. 10 vs. (3) Miami
Semifinal
W 84–62  29–4
 17  Onyenso   6  De Ridder   6  Mallory  Spectrum Center (17,711)
Charlotte, NC
March 14, 2026
8:30 p.m., ESPN
(2) No. 10 vs. (1) No. 1 Duke
Final
L 70–74  29–5
 18  Thomas   8  Onyenso   4  Mallory  Spectrum Center (17,781)
Charlotte, NC
NCAA tournament
March 20, 2026
1:50 p.m., TBS
(3 MW) No. 9 vs. (14 MW) Wright State
Round of 64
      Xfinity Mobile Arena 
Philadelphia, PA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Notes

  1. ^ Promotion

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516171819Final
AP[3]RVRV2423т2121231614171815141113109
CoachesRVRVRVRVRV25222121231615171715141213118

References

  1. ^ "Interim coach Ron Sanchez out at Virginia after season-ending loss". ESPN. Associated Press. March 12, 2025. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  2. ^ "2025-26 Men's basketball schedule". virginiasports.com. University of Virginia Athletics. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
  3. ^ "AP Top 25 Men's College Basketball Poll". AP News. Retrieved October 14, 2025.