Virginia's Busy Week of Visits

It’s been a busy week around the Virginia Men’s Basketball program.  Coach Bennett and his staff have hosted four official visitors since Thursday, with another expected this weekend.  They’re still looking for their first commitment of the offseason, but there’s a good probability that could change soon.  

Outgoing Transfers

Since Friday, junior guard Dante Harris and freshman walk-on Desmond Roberts have put their names in the transfer portal.  That brings the total up to three Wahoos headed out, joining freshman forward Leon Bond in the portal.  

Barring a major surprise, UVA should be finished with outgoing transfers.  Players have until the May 1st deadline to enter the portal.  

Virginia currently has 9 projected scholarship players for the 2024-25 season, leaving them four open scholarships.  They’ll try to add at least three in the weeks ahead.  A point guard and a pair of forwards seem to be the agenda.  Using all four isn't out of the question either. 

Burger Boy

Virginia hosted McDonald’s All-American Trent Perry on an official visit over the weekend.  The class of 2024 Harvard Westlake (CA) point guard recently reopened his recruitment following the coaching change at Southern Cal.  

Trent Perry, On3’s No. 2 PG in 2024, on his visit to Virginia 🔶⚔️🔷

Perry, a former USC commit, was a 2024 McDonald’s All-American and California’s Gatorade Player of the Year.https://t.co/QHOnYY0Vc9 pic.twitter.com/WV7znQU7uM

— Jamie Shaw (@JamieShaw5) April 23, 2024

UVA is the only school Perry has visited, and so far there are no reports of other trips being set up.  It looks really promising for the good guys, but nothing is for certain yet.  A long line of other teams are trying to get him.  UCLA and Gonzaga are probably the main threats.  

Our own Brad Franklin of Cavs Corner logged a prediction in Virginia’s favor on Rivals.  If I had the power, I’d do the same.  All the talk from sources familiar with the situation is overwhelmingly favorable.  

Transfer Guard

St. Mary’s transfer guard Aidan Mahaney is currently in Charlottesville on an official visit.  The sophomore combo guard was the leading scorer for the WCC champs this past season, averaging 13.9 points and shooting 36% from three-point range.  

Aidan Mahaney spotted at rotunda pic.twitter.com/36yIke7qi5

— Ethan (@busenjoyer01) April 24, 2024

He’s already visited Creighton, then will go to Kentucky and UConn this weekend.  It’s a heavyweight recruitment.  247Sports ranks him as the 14th best transfer.  Virginia has some history with Mahaney.  They recruited him a little out of high school.  And there are some helpful relationships between the UVA coaching staff and people close to Mahaney. 

Tony Bennett would like to add a really good veteran guard if possible.  The hope is to get both Perry and Mahaney, and there’s certainly room.  Given the competition for Mahaney, it will be hard to pull off.  But UVA is in this race more than casual observers probably believe.  

Upcoming Visitor

Northern Illinois transfer forward Xavier Amos is scheduled to arrive for his official visit on Friday.  He averaged 13.9 points and 5.8 rebounds in a breakout sophomore season, knocking down 39% from deep along the way.  The UVA staff really likes his two-way ability, as a versatile defender who can also help space the floor with his shooting.  

Prestige News 📰: Xavier Amos recruiting trail has picked up major steam over the last week. Standing at 6’9 Xavier is one of the most versatile forwards in the country. He’s a prototypical wing that excels in a lot of areas. Visits Virginia this weekend. #Prestige pic.twitter.com/KqiWvfnTJw

— Prestige Management Group (@PrestigeMgmtLLC) April 24, 2024

His recruitment seemed to stall for a bit.  As far as I know, this will be his first official visit.  UVA jumped on him hard from the start.  He was one of the first serious targets on the board.  It’s just taken some time to move forward.  

I’ve been hearing good things on this one too.  On3 guru Jamie Shaw must agree.  He placed a prediction for Amos in Virginia’s favor.  There's a report that Amos may visit Nebraska next weekend.  It's not clear who else is seriously involved right now. 

2025 Too

Virginia hosted a pair of top recruits in the class of 2025 this past week.  Gonzaga (DC) guard Derek Dixon visited late last week, then Sidwell (DC) point guard Acaden Lewis arrived on Monday.  Both of those players have been on multiple unofficial visits to UVA before.   The coaching staff has been very active in both recruitments.  

Derek Dixon’s recruitment seems a bit more solidified.  Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Virginia are the main three schools involved.  He’s taken official visits to all of them now.  I think UVA is probably a bit behind the other two.  Pitt in particular has recruited him really hard.   It’s still early for 2025 recruits though.  Dixon isn’t expected to decide anytime soon.  

Things are open for Acaden Lewis, as he indicated with a post on X today.  He’s coming off a tremendous high school season in which he was named the DC Gatorade Player of the Year.  This was his second official visit, following an early one to Florida State last fall.  Georgetown and Villanova are very involved too.  He figures to be a popular attraction for college coaches during the May evaluation weekend.  

Virginia’s plan for the 2025 class could evolve depending on how they round out next season’s roster.  It’s the same for every other team this time of year.  UVA is a serious contender for Dixon and probably more so for Lewis.  But we’ll have to wait and see what the landscape looks like after the portal dust settles.  

Off The Board

Recent visitor Joshua Jefferson is off the board.  The St. Mary’s transfer forward announced his commitment to Iowa State, following an official visit there over the weekend.  

And Illinois-Chicago transfer forward Toby Okani did not visit UVA this week.  It had been reported that he would visit on Tuesday, but that didn’t happen.  There are rumors that he may be about to commit to West Virginia.  

As of today, Xavier Amos is the only visitor scheduled for this weekend.  We’ll see what else Bennett has up his sleeve over the next few weeks.  They’re very thin at forward.  Even if Amos chooses UVA, they’ll still need another frontcourt player.  UVA has been connected with a lot of different transfer recruits.  All that matters now is who they get to visit.