Isaac Traudt on His Official Virginia Visit, Recruitment, and thoughts on UVA Basketball

This past weekend Virginia basketball’s now premier target of the 2022 recruiting class, Isaac Traudt, took his first official visit to Charlottesville. Following his few days spent in and around the program, Locker Room Access caught up with the rising senior on his recruitment, his thoughts on UVA, and what it’s been like to resume a normal summer of basketball.

Isaac Traudt's general thoughts on UVA post-visit

To start, Traudt emphasizes that “getting on campus was a big deal for me because I didn’t really know what UVA had to offer outside of basketball.” He notes that “I knew they had really good academics and a nice campus but after being on campus and seeing the facilities, it made me realize that that place is pretty special especially with the amazing facilities, really nice campus, and the cool college town.”

As for Traudt’s impression of the basketball program and Tony Bennett, he’s quick to say that “ is a great guy, super genuine, down to earth and same with the rest of the staff too. They’re all really good people.”

He notes that, as for what UVA offers him, “I think I could be a really good fit on the court for sure and then academically so I could fit pretty well there and then I think I’d fit their culture the best of those three things. With the five pillars, and that Coach is big on faith and so am I so I think I fit their culture pretty well.”

#IsaacSquared

Of course, with Traudt for the weekend was the program’s currently lone 2022 commit and first half of #IsaacSquared, Isaac McKneely. The two Isaacs have established a solid relationship over the last few months and spent a great deal of time together during their visits to Charlottesville.

“It was a great time,” says Traudt. “ comes from a really nice family who we were able to hang out with for a couple days. Obviously he’s a really good player, but an even better person and a great kid to hang out with.”

He also gave a nod to the possibility of the #IsaacSquared pairing, saying that McKneely “is a guy I could potentially have a lot of fun teaming up with in the future.”

Isaac Traudt's recruitment in general

For Traudt and the high school basetball recruiting world, the relative return to normalcy this summer has been a welcome relief. “It’s been awesome,” he says, adding that “phone calls and all that stuff is great but being able to be with coaches and players in person just helps me get a better feel for the school.”

In terms of his recruitment, Traudt says that “I think I’m still pretty open right now.” Currently, he plans “to go on these last few visits in June (which are to Michigan State and North Carolina) and then potentially some in the fall and then hopefully be able to make my decision by then or at least narrow it down quite a bit.”

He goes on to say that “I’d like to be able to maybe be done with my decision before my senior season now that I think about it more.”

(Image - UVA Athletics)