The Summer Calendar and Where Virginia Stands With 2022 Recruits
The 15-month long dead period is over as of today. We're back on the normal NCAA recruiting calendar. There will be visitors in the coming weeks. Then later this month, the coaching staff finally has the opportunity to go back on the road. With activity set to pick up, it's a good time to run through where Virginia stands with their top targets in the class of 2022 and the important dates on the summer calendar.
Class of 2022 Recruits
Virginia currently has five scholarships available for 2022, probably more than they intend to use. Their list of targets so far is short, only five total offers have been extended. It'll surely grow during the upcoming evaluation periods. All rankings are from the 247Sports composite.
Committed
Isaac McKneely 6’4 SG Ranked: 48th
High School: Poca (WV) AAU: Wildcats Select (Adidas)
Offered: 12/20 Committed: 1/21
Tony Bennett zeroed in on McKneely early as his top target in the class. He was the first to receive a scholarship offer and committed shortly after. With a blend of elite shooting, athleticism, and some positional versatility, he’s a potential future star in the ACC.
Guards
Austin Nunez 6’2 PG Ranked 53rd
High School: Wagner (TX) AAU: Southern Assault (Adidas)
Offered: 2/21 Visited: 3/21 Competition: Arkansas, Oregon
The lefty from Texas is the only point guard Benentt has offered so far in the class. He was down to four schools over the winter, but coaching changes shuffled his list up a little. Virginia and Arkansas are the holdovers. Oregon has surged into contention thanks to a helpful relationship with a new assistant coach. And Marquette is relevant under new coach Shaka Smart. It’s a tough one to handicap right now. I doubt it’ll go the distance, but he’s in a rush either. He hasn’t set any June visits.
Jameel Brown 6’4 CG Ranked 128th
High School: Westtown (PA) AAU: Team Final (Nike)
No offer Hasn’t Visited Competition: Penn State, Notre Dame
Brown has mentioned UVA a lot lately. He said he’s planning official visits to Virginia, Penn State, Notre Dame, and Miami. No dates set yet. A former Purdue commit, he backed out after assistant coach Micah Shrewsberry left to take the head job at Penn State. UVA hasn’t offered a scholarship yet. He’s surely near the top of Bennett’s list of players to see during the upcoming live periods.
Wings
Bobi Klintman 6’8 SF Unranked
High School: Sunrise Christian (KS)
Offered: 2/21 Hasn’t Visited Competition: Kansas, Arkansas
A combo forward from Sweden, Klintman will enroll at Sunrise Christian in Kansas this Fall. Virginia and Kansas have been the top contenders. Arkansas is more of a factor now after his brother signed with Central Arkansas. He plans to wait until the Fall to take visits. His recruitment is sort of on hold until then.
Justin Taylor 6’6 SG Ranked 86th
High School: St. Anne’s-Belfield (VA) AAU: Team Takeover (Nike)
Offered 12/20 Visited 11/19 Competition: Syracuse, North Carolina
The local star has become a hot commodity. He’ll take June visits to Virginia Tech, Syracuse, North Carolina, and Indiana. UVA hasn’t been much of a factor with him since McKneely came on board. He’ll likely be headed elsewhere.
Leon Bond 6’6 SF Unranked
High School: Wauwatosa East (WI) AAU: JH1 (Independent)
No Offer Hasn’t Visited Competition: Marquette, VA Tech
Bond has said he’ll probably visit in June, although no date is set. A long athletic wing that’s shown improved skill, he’s been a big stock riser this Spring. With UVA’s connections in Wisconsin, they were in contact with him from early on. It looks like things are picking up steam. There are probably a lot of offers coming in his near future. Marquette might still be hard to beat.
Forwards
Isaac Traudt 6’9 PF Ranked 50th
High School: Grand Island (NE) AAU: Nebraska Supreme (Under Armour)
Offered: 1/21 Will Visit: 6/21 Competition: Michigan State, North Carolina
Traudt has June visits scheduled for Creighton, Nebraska, Virginia, North Carolina, and Michigan State. UVA will have him in town on the weekend of June 11th along with McKneely. That's been the planned setup for months. He’s the player Bennett and staff are pressing hardest for. And for good reason. He’s a multi-positional matchup nightmare with his combination of size and skill. UVA is in a really good spot for him. They’d love to win by early knockout this summer. But it’s a heavyweight battle that’ll probably go on a bit longer.
Summer Calendar
Just because the dead period is lifted doesn't mean anything goes. The NCAA heavily regulates recruiting activity. Here are the important dates this summer.
June 1st through July 5th is a quiet period. In plain English, recruits can take visits. Virginia has four visitors lined up that we know of so far. The Isaac Squared duo, McKneely and Traudt, will take their official visits starting on June 11th. A pair of top 2023 guards are scheduled for unofficial visits. Isaiah West out of Goodpasture (TN) on the 12th, and Reed Sheppard from North Laurel (KY) on the 14th. There likely will be others.
June 15th is reach out day. Starting on that date, coaches can contact 2023 recruits directly. We’ll be flooded with reports, and start to learn which rising juniors UVA has initial interest in.
June 18-20 and June 25-27 are the scholastic live evaluation periods. Coaches are allowed to attend events in which players participate with their high school teams. These weekends aren’t nearly as useful as the AAU time, or as interesting to follow along. But coaches will get to see some of the players they need to. It gives them a nice head start on July.
July 8-11, July 16-18, and July 23-25 are the AAU live evaluation periods. For all intents and purposes, the last chance to evaluate 2022 recruits before deciding which ones to pursue. All the work the UVA staff has done this Spring, identifying potential recruits, has been building up in preparation for these 10 days. They have a lot at stake, more than any July I can remember.
August reverts back to a quiet period. There will probably be some visitors. 2023 forward Gus Yalden, a Wisconsin native attending IMG Academy (FL), has mentioned an August trip to UVA.
In early September, the recruiting period opens. It's closing time for 2022, and opening day for 2023. Coaches make their rounds, visiting recruits at their schools and homes.