Bennett Extends First Class of 2022 Offers

After a long wait, class of 2022 recruiting is officially underway. Tony Bennett dished out his first offers today to a pair of familiar guards, Isaac McKneely and Justin Taylor. Both are universally ranked as Top 100 four-star prospects.

Known as one of the nation's best shooters, Poca (WV) combo guard McKneely averaged 22 points per game as a sophomore while shooting 45% from three-point range. He has already named the Hoos to his Top 8 along with Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana, Illinois, Purdue, Louisville, and North Carolina. All of those have now offered with the exceptions of Kentucky and North Carolina.

The local product Taylor can fill it up from deep as well, and offers a little more defensive versatility at 6'6. He averaged 15 points per game last season at St. Anne's Belfield playing for former UVA walk-on and well-known trainer Damin Altizer. Virginia joins a growing list of offers that includes Syracuse, NC State, Maryland, Butler, and Indiana.

These two are already very familiar with UVA. Neither offer is surprising in the least. McKneely visited twice last season for games, while Taylor attended last year's home opener vs JMU. Virginia should be a major factor in both recruitments. They're in no rush to end things though, especially under the current circumstances. Look for things to start heating up after next April's live periods when they have a clearer idea of what their options are and hopefully can visit campuses.

Virginia currently has up to five scholarships available for the 2022 class, two of which could be used for next season. It's unclear right now whether they will have room for both McKneely and Taylor. That might depend on how things play out during the late 2021 and transfer cycle this Spring.