Locker Room Access - Virginia

Football gets underway this weekend.  That means the start of official visit season for basketball recruits.  Coach Ryan Odom has the Wahoos involved with quite a few of the top players in the class of 2026.  In most of the races, Virginia is seen as an underdog.  We’ll see if Odom and the staff can pull off a surprise or two ahead of November’s early signing period.  

Scheduled Visits

There are a pair of recruits with official visit dates locked in, that we know of right now.  There will surely be more added. 

Luca Foster

Link Academy (MO) wing Luca Foster, ranked 37th in the class, is scheduled to be in Charlottesville on the weekend of October 4th.  He released a top nine list, and has so far scheduled visits to six of the finalists.  The tip to UVA will be the last of those scheduled visits.  

Foster is a 6’5” SG/SF, a good athlete and shoots it well.  Ryan Odom and the staff were quick to get involved with him once they took over the helm.  Foster is originally from the Philadelphia area.  Villanova, where he visits this weekend, is clearly a contender.  Michigan and Ohio State seem to be up there as well.  But there’s no clear favorite.  The Hoos will get their turn, and we’ll see where the chips fall.  

Bo Ogden

Virginia offered Westlake (TX) combo guard Bo Ogden back in the spring.  He’s had his official visit locked in for a while already, scheduled for the weekend of September 26th.  Ranked 42nd in the class, Ogden is down to a final six.  He took an early official visit to Purdue.  The only planned fall visit reported so far is to UVA. 

The key fact to know here is that Ogden’s father is on the coaching staff at Texas, positioning the Longhorns as the likely favorite.  So, the odds for everyone else don’t seem very favorable.  It wouldn’t be the first time a recruit chose not to play for his father though.  Ryan Odom will at least get Bo on Grounds to make his case. 

Still in Play

There are five other recruits that have named Virginia as a finalist, and at least one more they’re still involved with. 

Latrell Allmond

In-state prize Latrell Allmond out of Petersburg High included the Hoos on his top nine list.  The 6’8” forward, ranked 34th nationally, has had an offer from UVA for several years.  Tony Bennett and company hosted him on unofficial visits multiple times.  The effort only intensified once Odom took over. 

Allmond has taken one official visit already, a summer trip to Indiana.  Kansas and Tennessee are probably the other main teams in the picture. I do expect UVA to get a turn before his planned decision date in mid-October. 

Arafan Diane

Ranked 18th and considered by many as the best center in the class, Iowa United big man Arafan Diane has UVA in his top twelve.  He plans to announce his college decision in early November, following a round of fall visits.  In a recent interview, Diane said he does intend to visit Virginia.  

There’s been a lot of talk about Houston with him.  He took an unofficial there this summer, and is scheduled to return for an official in late October.  Arkansas is another team to watch.  It looks like there's still a long way to go in this race though.  Plenty of opportunity for Odom to gain ground, assuming that’s necessary.  

Lucas Morillo

Newman (MA) guard Lucas Morillo, ranked 58th, included UVA in his top six this week.  He is an unusually versatile player.  With point guard skills at 6’7”, he can be slotted anywhere from PG to PF in the lineup.  Odom and the staff have been active in his recruitment throughout. 

Morillo has visited Marquette and is currently on a visit to Minnesota.  Other finalists include UCLA, Illinois, and Texas.  While he hasn’t locked in a date yet, Virginia should get a visit at some point this fall.  They’ll have a fair shot.  

Cole Cloer

Odom started recruiting IMG Academy (FL) forward Cole Cloer to VCU, then continued on at UVA.   Cloer named a top eight in July, Hoos included.  Since then, new teams such as Kentucky and Arkansas have joined in.  

This one looks pretty bleak for Virginia.  He initially set a visit date, but then that got scrapped.  At this point, he has a full slate of upcoming visits scheduled that doesn’t include UVA.   But as long as they’re still alive, anything can happen. 

Jayden Hodge

Jayden Hodge grew up in Belgium, but has Virginia roots.  His dad Odell Hodge was an all-time great player at Old Dominion, now an assistant coach there.  UVA extended an offer to the 66th ranked guard over the summer, and now the Hoos are among his eight finalists. 

He took early official visits to Northwestern and Georgetown.  Then this week, there were four more upcoming visit dates reported.  UVA not included.  We didn’t notice a lot of involvement with him over the summer.  It could be that the Hoos are just window dressing, or maybe there’s an opportunity if Odom decides to turn up the volume.  

Dylan Mingo

Not every recruit chooses to name finalists.  Five-star Long Island Lutheran (NY) guard Dylan Mingo hasn’t yet.  Odom and his staff have continued to stay active with him.  The Hoos are at least in the ballgame. 

Mingo recently visited Washington, and he’ll visit Miami this weekend.  Other schools involved include UConn, Baylor, and NC State.  He’s played his recruitment close to the vest, only announcing visit plans just beforehand.  We’ll see if UVA gets a turn.  

What’s Ahead

Coaches will be back out on the road soon.  The recruiting period opens on Wednesday, allowing them to visit prospects at their schools or homes.  We should get reports of them popping up to see some of the names above, and maybe new ones too.  It won’t be only about 2026 recruits.  This is normally when coaches start paying more attention to rising juniors, and likely extend scholarship offers for 2027.  The cycle starts all over. 

Come join us on the Locker Room Access forum to keep track of all the happenings.  From fall recruiting to preseason coverage, it’s the  place to be for the diehard Wahoo Basketball fan.  

(Featured image credit: Josie Drumheller/UVA Athletics)

New coach Ryan Odom and his Wahoos finished summer practices last week.  As usual, I reached out to people around the program to get their takes on how the team is shaping up.  

Team Building Summer

With an almost entirely new team, the coaching staff has concentrated on building team chemistry this summer.  That seems to have been the main emphasis of the summer, just getting these guys used to playing with each other.  They haven’t implemented much of their system in practice.  They’ve just let them play, and get a feel for everyone’s game.  

One person close to the team described it as a honeymoon phase for Odom and the staff.  They’re clearly thrilled to have this opportunity, and they want to make the most of it.  Smiles all around all the time. 

Needless to say, the universal opinion is that this should be a good team.  How good, nobody wants to predict.  But everybody I talked to thinks they have a chance to be a lot better than most of the national pundits are predicting.  And I get the feeling the coaches like that they’re sneaking under the radar. 

Projected Starters

BYU transfer Dallin Hall will surely be the starting point guard.  A couple people called him the team leader, so he’s assumed that role right away.  On the court, it’s as expected.  He brings the veteran floor general presence.  Maybe a little more scoring punch.  One person commented on the way he can create his own shot when needed.   

It will be surprising if anyone other than San Francisco transfer guard Malik Thomas leads the Wahoos in the scoring this season.  Tony Bennett was quoted as saying “That guy is a bucket”. What has surprised some people is that he’s pretty solid defensively, likes to take on the challenge.  

North Dakota State transfer guard Jacari White looks like he’ll be the secondary scorer in the backcourt.  I asked the same question about the mid major transfers, whether there was any concern about their game translating.  In Jacari’s case, there’s no worry at all.  He may not average 17 points, but he’ll do fine in the ACC.   Their best player in transition, one source said, loves to run the floor and spot up for three. 

Belgian forward Thijs de Ridder arrived too late to enroll in summer school, so he wasn’t allowed to take part in practices.  But he’s still been around for everything else, the unofficial type stuff.  Pick-up games and all that.  There’s a lot of excitement about him.  A couple people who’ve seen him told me they expect him to be UVA's best player this season, one of them went so far as to say he could be All-ACC.  

I asked everyone I talked to the same question, which one player will be better than fans expect?  The answer was nearly unanimous.  Ugonna Onyenso.  “I don’t know how Kansas State screwed that up”, one person said.   It looks like UVA will get a version much closer to what he was at Kentucky, where he led the SEC in blocked shots as a sophomore.  And as has been reported, he’s regularly  knocked down open three-pointers in practice.  That’s unexpected from a guy who’s only attempted one in his career.   

Rotation Locks

Toledo transfer guard Sam Lewis is a lock to have a big role.  But off the upperclassmen transfer additions, he seems to be one that the jury is still out on.  People didn’t mention him unless I brought him up.  Usually, that means he hasn’t stood out this summer.   When talking about the rotation though,, it’s a given that he’s up there.  One person suggested that Lewis is still figuring out his place, and is sometimes too passive.  

UC-Irvine transfer forward Devin Tillis might be the most popular guy on the team.  He’s just happy to be at UVA, and all about doing whatever he can to help them win.  “Tillis is a joy to be around”. On the court, one source described him as “super solid”.  A very competitive and crafty player who manages to overcome any physical shortcomings.  He’ll be a big part of things this year. 

German center Johann Grunloh is a special talent.  He’s dazzled at times with his finishing ability.  “Unreal coordination for his size”, one person said.  It’s expected that he’ll have an adjustment period to the college game. And he was late arriving this summer, so he’s still a little behind the others.  The coaches are really happy with the center duo of Grunloh and Onyenso.  They’ll probably split time close to even unless one of them really separates himself.  

Everyone included freshman guard Chance Mallory when projecting a rotation. I heard he had some struggles early on, then found his groove as the summer went on.  It’s a similar story as with past freshmen.  One source even named him as the player most likely to exceed fan expectations this year.  At minimum, he’s in-line for a backup point guard role.  Everything points to him being the four-year contributor we all hoped for when he committed.  

Others

As you know, sophomore guard Elijah Gertrude returned this summer from his second major knee surgery.  The good news is that he is every bit the ridiculously explosive athlete as before.  He’s looked like his old self, providing some jaw-dropping highlights in practice.  They’ve been extremely careful with him though.  He’s missed a lot of practice, anytime there was the slightest discomfort.  Because of that, it’s too soon to guess where he’ll stack up. 

VCU transfer Martin Carrere was another late arrival this summer, after spending time with the French national team.  He’s been a little banged up too, nothing serious.  Interestingly, Odom seems to view him more as a guard than a forward.  Most of us projected him as a stretch-4 type.  Maybe that will end up true down the line.  But at least this summer, he’s exclusively been a 3-man. 

Freshman forward Silas Barksdale will probably just be a depth piece this season, but the future looks good for him.  The older players have been impressed by the way he competes.  “Don’t let his looks fool you, that kid is a dawg." Odom is high on him.  He’s not the greatest athlete, but he plays hard all the time.  And he’s been working on expanding his offensive game, developing a three-point shot. 

The coaching change may have boosted the status of sophomore center Carter Lang.  With Bennett, he was labeled as another walk-on and probably wouldn’t have had much hope of escaping that.  Under Odom, he’s talked about the same as the other guys.  The team has a lot of respect for Carter.  There will always be players in front of him, but he may have a better chance now of earning a role at some point in his career.  

What’s Next

This is the break between summer school and the start of the fall semester.  August is a quiet time on the recruiting front too.  Class of 2026 recruiting looks like tough sledding for the Hoos right now.  There’s been a lot of list cuts.  UVA has made a few, and been trimmed from a few.  By the end of the month, most of the group with offers should have their visits scheduled and we’ll see where things stand. 

Coaches will also be back on the road in early September, for open gym season.   Odom has a history of paying calls on recruits to offer new scholarships at that time, so the board probably isn’t completely settled yet.  

Appreciate you all sticking with us on Locker Room Access.

As we heard toward fall recruiting, the latest on where things stand with each of UVA’s 2026 recruiting targets in this LRA Intel Report.  

*All rankings from the On3 industry average 

Guards

Bo Ogden 6’5” SG Rank: 45

High School: Westlake (TX)  AAU: ASAK (Adidas)

Summer stats: 20.9 PPG, 4.5 Reb, 55 FG%, 52% 3FG. 

Ogden recently included Virginia in his top six list along with Texas, Gonzaga, Purdue, Tennessee, and Kansas.  He’s scheduled to visit UVA in late September, and has already taken an official visit to Purdue. 

His father is on the coaching staff at Texas, the general manager.  It would be very surprising if he doesn’t commit to play for the Longhorns.  But he’s going through the process.  UVA will get a visit, and we’ll see if Odom can somehow pull off a shocker.  

Dylan Mingo 6’5” CG Rank: 6

High School: Long Island Lutheran (NY)  AAU: PSA Cards (Nike)

Summer stats: 17.9 PPG, 7.7 Reb, 2.1 Stl, 42 FG%, 25% 3FG

Mingo is visiting Washington this weekend, his first official visit.  There’s been no list cut yet.  UNC, Baylor, UConn, and NC State are some other teams involved. 

UVA expects to get a visit this fall.  There’s no clear favorite in the race. Our side believes they have a real chance.  Odom’s style of play and the opportunity for a big immediate role seem to appeal to him.  His ranking is a little misleading, more about his pro potential. As you see from the shooting percentages, he’s still rough around the edges.  

Lucas Morillo 6’7” SF Rank: 56

High School: Newman (MA)  AAU: City Rocks (Nike)

Summer stats: 15.6 PPG, 8.8 Reb, 45 FG%, 21% 3FG

Morillo has taken one visit, an early trip to Marquette.  He hasn’t trimmed his list yet. Illinois, NC State, and Villanova get mentions with him. 

He’s a hard player to categorize positionally.  I’ve only seen him used at guard so that’s where he’s grouped, but it’s not hard to envision him as a combo forward in college.  There’s an opportunity for UVA if they make a push.  I would expect the Hoos to be on his list anyhow. 

Quentin Coleman 6’3 SG Unranked

High School: Principia (MO)  AAU: Bradley Beal (Nike)

Summer stats: 11.9 PPG, 5.2 Reb, 1.2 Stl, 45 FG%, 37% 3FG

Coleman’s recruitment exploded after a great week at Peach Jam in July.  Up until that time, he was considered a mid-major recruit.  Now he has a collection of new power conference offers to choose from. 

His recruitment is just beginning, very different from the others listed here.  Odom and UVA were really impressed by him.  He was the one player we knew for sure would come out of July with a new offer.  It may be hard for them to overcome geography though with teams like Iowa, Illinois, and Kansas State now involved.  

Jayden Hodge 6’6” SG  Rank: 55

High School: Montverde (FL)  AAU: Shorebots (Under Armour)

Summer stats: 16.8 PPG, 6.6 Reb, 2.5 Stl, 54 FG%, 25% 3FG

Hodge grew up in Belgium and knows UVA forward Thijs de Ridder.  That connection led to Odom tossing out an offer this summer.  His dad is an Old Dominion assistant coach, and his brother Matthew plays at Villanova.  Jayden has visited Georgetown and Northwestern so far. 

People generally expect he’ll end up following his brother to Villanova.  Because of that, other teams haven’t invested much effort.  UVA included.  He plans to take more visits in the fall before deciding.  It won’t be surprising if there’s a trip to Charlottesville on the agenda.  With the Euro flavor to UVA’s roster and his in-state ties, it could be an intriguing alternative to joining his brother.  

Forwards 

Billy White III 6’8” SF Rank: 38

High School: Veterans Memorial (TX) AAU: ASAK (Adidas)

Summer stats: 13.6 PPG, 5.9 Reb, 50 FG%, 36% 3FG.

White put out a top 10 with Virginia included.  He’s scheduled to visit in late August on the first football weekend.  That will be the first of six scheduled official visits with trips planned to SMU, Oklahoma State, TCU, LSU, and Maryland.  

Odom and Griff Aldrich are recruiting White hard.  Of the current targets, he’s probably the one they have the best shot at right now.   It’ll be a fight to pull a player of his status out of Texas.  SMU seems to be the main competition.  Keep an eye on Kansas too.  They’re on his list, but there’s no visit scheduled yet.   

Cole Cloer 6’8” SF Rank: 30

High School: IMG Academy (FL)  AAU: CP3 (Nike)

Summer stats: 16.3 PPG, 4.7 Reb, 46 FG%, 34% 3FG

Cloer listed Virginia in his top 8 along with UNC, Louisville, Indiana, NC State, UConn, Florida, and Alabama. He has fall visits scheduled so far to Louisville, Florida, and Alabama. 

He was an Odom target at VCU, so the new UVA boss has been on Cloer’s trail from the start.  The Hoos have their hands full in this recruitment though, as the list would suggest.  The two teams believed to have an edge are UConn and Florida.  I do expect him to visit at some point this fall, but it’ll be a real upset if Odom is able to pull him in.  

Bigs

Latrell Allmond 6’8” PF Rank: 31

High School: Petersburg (VA)  AAU: Team Loaded (Adidas)

Summer stats: 14.7 PPG, 7.4 Reb, 1.6 Blk, 55 FG%, 31% 3FG. 

Allmond released a top 9 list of Virginia, Tennessee, Arizona, Michigan State, Maryland, Kansas, Indiana, Oklahoma State, and Miami.  He’s already taken an official visit to Indiana, and has another scheduled to Kansas in late August. 

He’s said he plans to visit UVA.  It won’t be the first time.  The old staff hosted him on multiple occasions for unofficial visits.  Indiana and Kansas have the edge though.  Their affiliation with Adidas is a real advantage in this recruitment.  

Arafan Diane 6’11” C Rank: 21

High School: Iowa United AAU: Iowa United (Adidas)

Summer stats: 18.6 PPG, 10.8 Reb, 1.5 Blk, 74 FG%, 58% (7-12) 3FG. 

Diane is visiting Houston this weekend.  He also has a late August visit scheduled to Arkansas.  No finalists have been named yet. 

There’s some question of whether he’ll make it past the Houston visit, as the Cougars are believed to be the frontrunners.  But Virginia is one of a handful of teams he mentions, putting them in line for a fall visit. 

Ethan Taylor 7’0” C Rank: 23

High School: Link Academy (MO)  AAU: MoKan (Nike)

Summer stats: 9.3 PPG, 7.7 Reb, 1.0 Blk, 69 FG%

Taylor hasn’t named finalists, although he’s hinted that’s coming soon.  No official visits so far.  Kentucky recently offered.  Kansas, Missouri, and Kansas State are all seriously in the mix. 

UVA was a late comer, jumping in with an offer after Odom watched him at Peach Jam.  It seems like a longshot but the field isn’t that defined, so we’ll see if they can make the cut and secure a visit.  

Cody Peck 6’9” PF Rank: 76

High School: Davidson Day (NC)  AAU: Garner Road (Adidas)

Summer stats: 6.4 PPG, 4.8 Reb, 2.7 Blk, 38 FG%, 19% 3FG. 

No finalists yet for Peck.  It’s been reported that he’s scheduled two official visits for October, to Dayton and Tennessee.  Tony Bennett and the old staff hosted him on an unofficial visit last fall. 

As the stats suggest, he didn’t have a great summer.  His recruitment has cooled off as a result.  UVA coaches did stay involved, coming around to see him occasionally.  It’s one of those situations where it’s still to be determined if UVA makes a push this fall.  And he’s also thrown around the idea of waiting until spring to commit, so coaches may have time yet to decide.  

Others

There are other recruits that UVA isn’t completely out of the picture with.  Call them doubtful.  As we’ve seen in the past though, there are surprises this time of year when recruits start putting out lists.  And sometimes that can spur a renewed effort.  

Odom has continued to recruit stud guard Bryson Howard despite it looking hopeless. He’s set a bunch of fall visits, but no official list cut.   Briarcrest (TN) forward Fred Smith has one visit scheduled to hometown Memphis, that’s probably where he’ll end up.  Philly wing Luca Foster has led a quiet recruitment, and UVA didn’t see much of him after their spring offer.  

UVA clearly backed away from guard Christian Gibson this summer.  He set a visit to Central Florida, with no Wahoo mention in his latest interview.  After taking an early swing, Odom gave up on Paul VI (VA) guard Jordan Smith.  Duke and Arkansas are the favorites.  And there’s been no sign of involvement with Arizona guard Cameron Holmes in months. 

Several recruits have officially eliminated UVA.  Utah guard Junior County left the Hoos out of his top five.  Davidson Day (NC) center Will Stevens did the same.  UVA had cooled on him months ago.  The Hoos were also trimmed from the list put out by Texas big man Davion Adkins.   

What’s Ahead

The next few weeks are a recruiting dead period.  This time of year is all about these list cuts and getting official visits scheduled.  By the end of the month, we should have the table mostly set with visit dates.  Then recruiting goes full throttle in early September, with official visits and coaches back out on the road. 

Meanwhile, the current team wraps up summer practices at the end of this week.  After that, I plan to ask around and hopefully get some thoughts from eye witnesses on how the team is coming together.  That’ll be up next on the VIP itinerary, to fill the recruiting lull.  Appreciate you sticking with us.