Locker Room Access - Virginia

Only a few hours after being officially named as Virginia’s head coach, Ryan Odom has already landed a key recruit.  Chance Mallory announced his commitment on Saturday.  The 5’10” point guard out of St. Anne’s-Belfield School in Charlottesville will stay home and play for the Cavaliers.  He chose Virginia from a group of finalists that also included Maryland, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and Virginia Tech.  Mallory is ranked as the 56th senior in the country, according to the On3 industry average.  He’s currently the only recruit in Virginia’s 2025 class.  

Chance Mallory is a Hoo!

“I love the city of Charlottesville too much.” pic.twitter.com/kz0fXIkng4

— Zach Carey (@Zach_Carey_) March 22, 2025

Chance Mallory’s Recruitment

This is the second time Mallory has verbally committed to his hometown program.  He originally chose Virginia in September, following his official visit weekend.  Then in late October, after Tony Bennett’s surprise retirement, Mallory reopened his recruitment.  He now has the distinction of being Tony Bennett’s final recruit and Ryan Odom’s first.  

After reopening, Chance took his time while UVA sorted out the coaching vacancy.  He made more official visits in recent months to Maryland, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt.  All of those programs, with the exception of Vanderbilt, were involved during his original recruitment.  The plan was always to decide around this time frame, once the UVA situation cleared up. Finalists were named in early March, leading up to today’s announcement.  

Chance Mallory says Ryan Odom’s hiring was “definitely a deciding factor” in his decision to commit to Virginia.

“I feel like it was the right fit with me and my play style.”

Adds that “I really didn’t want to go anywhere else” pic.twitter.com/Uk1yRqwVKQ

— Zach Carey (@Zach_Carey_) March 22, 2025

Ryan Odom did try to recruit Mallory to VCU.  There was already a relationship and familiarity in place.  All things even, staying home seemed to be Mallory’s preference.  As long as UVA hired the right coach.  Once it became obvious that Odom was headed to Charlottesville, the noise picked up that the Hoos were again the favorite to get Chance back on board. 

What Chance Mallory Brings to Virginia

Although undersized at 5’10”, Mallory is a superb athlete.  He’s quick, explosive, and strongly built.   Chance is one of the best shooters in the class.  Combined with high IQ playmaking ability, he has all the tools you want in a point guard at the college level.  

Mallory has been a dominant high school player at St. Anne’s-Belfield, under head coach Damin Altizer. He averaged more than 25 points per game in each of the last two seasons, named as the VISAA State Player of the Year as a junior.  It wasn’t so different on the AAU side.  He was one of the top performers in the Under Armour Association, averaging over 21 points per game.  The summer before, he finished with the best offensive efficiency rating on the circuit. 

Chance truly is one of the best shooters in the country. He shot 38% from three-point range in AAU play, and was at 40% last season for STAB.  Those percentages don’t do him justice because it’s on very high volume.  He takes and makes tough shots, not just wide open ones, often creating them on his own.  

While I would consider him more of a score-first lead guard, Chance is a trustworthy floor general too.  He’s shown good decision-making and values possessions, with a 2.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.  There will naturally be adjustments needed in college.  It won’t be nearly as easy for him to make plays in the lane.  And he’ll need to buy into being the type of pressure-applying pesky defender Coach Odom expects of his point guard.  

This is a great addition for Virginia. Certainly, a key building piece for Ryan Odom.  I expect Chance to be an immediate contributor with the potential to develop into a real star for his hometown program. 

Moving Forward

This is where I usually lay out Virginia’s roster and their recruiting going forward.  But right now, it’s all in flux.  The transfer portal officially opens on Monday.  Two UVA players, Blake Buchanan and Dai Dai Ames, have already announced their intention to enter.  There will be more.  That’s just how it is after a coaching change.  It’ll be a couple weeks before we really get a grasp on the roster fallout, and what holes need to be filled for next season. 

That familiar feeling of returning to Grounds!

🔶⚔️🔷#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/HgRxPreHzN

— Virginia Men's Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) March 22, 2025

This is Ryan Odom’s first day on the job.  He met for the first time with the team today. The work begins.  Recruiting the current roster, and scouring the portal.  The next few weeks will be chaotic.  We’ll see where it leads.  

Final Thoughts

Big day for the Virginia program, the start of a new era.  Chance Mallory is a huge part of the future of Wahoo Basketball.  He’ll be the first true in-state high school scholarship recruit to sign with Virginia since BJ Stith back in the class of 2014.  Hopefully, that will be the beginning of a new pattern under Ryan Odom.  

It’ll be an exciting next few months and offseason ahead, as we get back into recruiting.  Locker Room Access is the best place on the web to follow along.  Also be sure to check out our partner Fan Fund, an innovative new way to support your favorite student-athletes.. 

Welcome Chance, and go Hoos!

By Josh Burton

The Tony Bennett era comes to a close with a storybook-type ending. Ryan Odom , the coach that once famously led UMBC to a victory over #1 seed UVA, will be the University of Virginia Men’s Basketball head coach.  According to a report from Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, a contract has been signed with an official announcement expected Saturday.  

NEWS: Virginia's Ryan Odom has given Virginia a signature. He'll be the Cavaliers' next coach, sources told @CBSSports.

The school will announce on Saturday.

Story: https://t.co/rGWR2CYQ2I

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 21, 2025

Ryan Odom’s Coaching Career 

Ryan Odom is coming to UVA off a successful two-year stint at VCU, where he guided the Rams to this year's Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament titles, along with a berth in the NCAA tournament. Odom went 52-20 over his two seasons at VCU and is 222-126 overall as a head coach.

Odom’s first head coaching job was taking over as interim for the Charlotte 49ers mid-season of the 2014-2015 season.  Following that season, he accepted the head coaching position at Division II Lenoir-Rhyne, where he led them to the DII Sweet 16.

After just one season at Lenoir-Rhyne,  he took the UMBC job, where in his second season he pulled off the historic upset of the Hoos. Ryan stayed at UMBC for five seasons before taking the Utah State job in 2021,.  He led the Aggies for two seasons, including a trip to the 2023 NCAA Tournament, before heading back east to take over at VCU. 

Although most of Odom’s stays have been short-lived, he’s left each program with a winning percentage over .600 (excluding the interim stint) and won over 70% of his games at VCU. 

About Ryan Odom

Taking the job was essentially a no-brainer for Ryan. A Hampden-Sydney graduate, he has plenty of local ties to the area. As a child he even served as the UVA ball boy while his father, Dave Odom, was an assistant for seven seasons. The Odom family is well-respected in the coaching world.  And at only 50 years of age, Ryan has the potential to be in place with the Hoos for years to come.

What’s Next

This next week will likely be filled with more news.  Coach Odom will need to quickly assemble a staff.  He has two longtime assistants who’ve been with him since UMBC.  It won’t be surprising if they come along.  There’s been talk that current Longwood coach Griff Aldrich, previously on Odom’s UMBC staff, could be a candidate to join him in Charlottesville.  And there are members of the previous UVA staff, including alums, who are open to serving under Odom.  

The transfer portal officially opens on Monday.  Two Virginia players, Blake Buchanan and Dai Dai Ames, have already announced their intention to enter.  There will surely be others.   Roster turnover goes with the territory of a coaching change.  With Odom now in place, he’ll get to work trying to convince some of the current team to stay.  And then, he and his new staff will start recruiting the portal to fill out next season's roster.  

There's also a key recruit announcing on Saturday.  2025 St. Anne's-Belfield guard Chance Mallory will make his college choice known, with the Hoos seen as the favorite.   He previously committed to stay home and play for UVA, then reopened his recruitment following Tony Bennett's retirement.  

I’m excited for the future of Virginia Basketball under Coach Odom. How do you feel about the hire? Join in our discussions on Locker Room Access! Also while you’re there be sure to check out and sign up for updates on Fan Fund, a new way to support all your favorite UVA athletes!

(Image Credit: Getty) 

The second Virginia player in as many days announced his plans to enter the transfer portal.  This time, it's sophomore Dai Dai Ames.  The guard out of Chicago transferred in to UVA this past offseason, after spending his freshman year at Kansas State. 

NEWS: Virginia guard Dai Dai Ames plans to enter the transfer portal, his agent Adam Papas told @On3sports.

The 6-1 sophomore averaged 8.7 PPG this season. Shot nearly 40% from three. Began his career at Kansas State. https://t.co/pzI3dYQJiv pic.twitter.com/b6IgqiCmZe

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) March 19, 2025

Ames started 26 games for the Cavaliers this season, making a big statistical leap from his freshman year.  He averaged 8.7 points, shooting an efficient 46% from the field and just under 40% from three-point range.  The lefty guard especially came on strong down the stretch, scoring in double figures in each of Virginia's final 10 games of the regular season. 

The transfer portal officially opens on Monday, March 24th.  Virginia is without a head coach, following the surprise retirement of Tony Bennett in October and the decision not to retain interim coach Ron Sanchez.   The position is expected to be filled within the next week or two, whenever candidates finish postseason play with their current teams.  

It's expected to be a busy next few months for the Virginia program.  As a new coach is named, and plenty of give and take with the transfer portal.  Stay tuned.  We'll have it covered every step of the way on Locker Room Access.