UVA's Lineup of Visiting Recruits Takes Shape

Several key recruits have recently named Virginia as a finalist, including top targets with upcoming official visits scheduled.  I look at how we got here, their decision timelines, and who the real competition is for each.  

Tony Bennett is hoping to sign two 2025 recruits this fall.  Ideally, one guard and one forward.  

Derek Dixon

Gonzaga (DC) combo guard Derek Dixon, the 58th ranked player in his class, is down to a final six of Virginia, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, North Carolina, Arizona, and Vanderbilt. 

Recap: The Wahoos have been involved with Dixon from the start, offering last summer.  Their pursuit cranked up this offseason, as he clearly became one of Bennett’s top targets.  He’s already taken an official visit to UVA back in April, along with multiple unofficial visits before that. 

Schedule: Dixon plans to announce his college choice on birthday, September 27th.  There are upcoming official visits scheduled to Vanderbilt, North Carolina, and Arizona—all new offers since the spring.  He’s already visited Syracuse, Pitt, and Virginia. 

Nitty Gritty:  It’s widely believed that his decision will come down to Pitt and UVA, the two teams who’ve consistently recruited him the whole way.  With a UNC visit looming, the Tar Heels will try to play the late spoiler role. 

Chance Mallory

St. Anne’s Belfield (VA) point guard Chance Mallory, ranked 60th in the class, could be a hometown hero by choosing the Wahoos.  His final six are Virginia, Miami, VA Tech, Clemson, Tennessee, and Villanova.  

Recap: Mallory was one of the first 2025 recruits to receive a scholarship offer from Virginia.  Bennett and the staff have been in full pursuit since. They had hoped to have him on board early ,there was even talk of him reclassifying to 2024, but Chance has stayed with his plan for a fall decision.  He’s been around a lot for unofficial visits, as recently as June.  

Schedule: There are official visits scheduled to all six finalists, with UVA’s turn on the weekend of September 13th.  The visits run all the way through October.  He has said he’d like to announce a decision on October 30th.  

Nitty Gritty:  There’s rising optimism on the home team side in recent weeks, after it had looked bleak for a while.  Clemson is the other team mentioned as being in good position with him.  Timing is important.  UVA would strongly prefer an expedited decision, as there might not be a spot available in October.

Nate Ament

Five star prized forward Nate Ament out of Highland School (VA) is scheduled to join Mallory in Charlottesville for an official visit on the weekend of September 13th.  The Manassas product hasn’t named finalists.  It’s a blue blood cast though.  Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, and UConn are all in the mix.  

Recap: Virginia has been recruiting Ament for more than a year.  They’ve had him down for unofficial visits on several occasions.  Despite all his new prestigious offers in recent months, the UVA staff never wavered.  Wherever Ament played during summer live periods, that was Tony Bennett’s first stop,  

Schedule:  There are two known visit dates so far.  Kentucky is up first, in late August.  And the Virginia visit is set for the September 13th weekend.  There will be other visits.  He’s even talked about possibly taking it past November’s early signing period. 

Nitty Gritty: Duke and Virginia were on him early.  They’re still seen as the two teams in the best position at this point.  UConn is coming on strong, they could be a factor.  The longer his recruitment lasts past September, the more complicated it becomes for UVA.  

London Jemison

St. Thomas More (CT) forward London Jemison, ranked 37th in the class, named Virginia as a finalist.  Syracuse, Alabama, Louisville, Kansas, and Vanderbilt round out his top six.  

Recap: Virginia was the first high major program to offer Jemison a scholarship last summer.  He was an early top of the board target.  For a while, we weren’t sure if UVA would be in the picture though.  Then late in the summer, he started getting Bennett’s attention again.  Now the Hoos are a finalist with an official visit scheduled.  

Schedule: Jemison has five upcoming official visits, the last of which will be a trip to Charlottesville on the weekend of September 27th.  He seems headed for an early October decision.  

Nitty Gritty: This is a fairly open race without a clear favorite.  Alabama, Kansas, and Vanderbilt are contenders.  And I’ve heard UVA mentioned lately.  The coaching staff is all-in on getting him now that they’ve made it this far.  

JJ Mandaquit

Utah Prep point guard JJ Mandaquit, the 53rd ranked recruit,  included Virginia in his final nine on Monday.  More importantly, he’s set a visit.  His other finalists are Southern Cal, Louisville, Hawaii, California, Washington, BYU, Tennessee, and Creighton.  

Recap: Mandaquit was offered a scholarship in July, after the coaching staff tracked him closely at the Adidas Championships.  He’s long been a popular recruit.  UVA is the only newcomer to the race on his list.  They had been in contact for a good while though, so it’s not quite the fresh entry it might seem. 

Schedule: He’s scheduled to be at UVA with Jemison on the weekend of September 27th.  Mandaquit has seven total visits set, starting with Cal this weekend and ending with Creighton in late October.  

Nitty Gritty: UVA will be a serious contender for Mandaquit, assuming the spot is still available.  Mallory or Dixon could claim it first if they want.   He visits BYU on October 12th, that’s probably the team to beat right now.  

Others

We’re waiting on a list and visit dates from New Hampton (NH) point guard Keyshuan Tillery.  Virginia will most likely be part of that.  Kansas just offered.  Florida, Wake Forest, and Villanova are in the race too. 

Largo (MD) forward Cam Ward has UVA on his list.  He did come down for an unofficial visit in June.  But unless they get an official set, which could still happen, it’s a longshot. 

Similar situation with Jeffersonville (IN) forward Tre Singleton.  UVA is in his final eight, but no visit has been scheduled yet.  

And there was a recent offer to Compass Prep (AZ) forward Marcus Jackson, a Baltimore native.  Too soon to tell if that will go anywhere.