Locker Room Access - Virginia

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.  

By Josh Burton

For the first time this Spring, adversity found many of the UVA programs. Let's see how they fared before checking in on some bonus content.

Baseball

UVA baseball had a pretty tough week, going 2-3 while dropping back to #14. They dropped a midweek road game at ODU before coming back to the Dish to take down George Mason the next night. The weekend series brought more of the same struggles with the Hoos dropping the series 2-1 against Georgia Tech.

Pitching was once again the issue, with the Hoos allowing the Yellow Jackets to rack up 37 runs on 47 hits over the weekend. Fielding also left much to be desired as there were multiple errors made.

The one silver lining, however, is that reinforcements appear to be on the way. In the field, Henry Godbout made his return in Saturday's contest. On the mound, there are two pitchers who appear to be making their way back. Joe Savino continued his progress picking up the start on Sunday, however he was only able to go two innings before being pulled on a 31 pitch count. First-year Bryson Moore was also seen on the mound in the George Mason game, marking his first appearance since February. 

Luckily, there’s still plenty of time for these guys to get back to form before the tournament begins. The Hoos will be back in action as they host Liberty tonight (6 pm) before heading to Boston College for a Thursday-Saturday series. The first contest of the series will be held at Fenway Park (4/25, 7 pm).

Softball

UVA softball went 2-2 this week but picked up a major series win. After beginning the week with a 6-0 loss to #15 Virginia Tech and dropping the first game of the series at #3 Duke in extra innings, the Hoos rallied back to sweep the Saturday doubleheader and ultimately pick up the series win. 

The Hoos get their sixth ACC series win of the season!

This one at No. 3 Duke.#GoHoos | #OnTheRise | #HoosNext pic.twitter.com/0E66yYBuxg

— Virginia Softball (@UVASoftball) April 20, 2024

This marked both the first series victory over Duke in program history and also the first time the program has won six ACC series in a season. Jade Hylton was the star offensively, hitting a grand slam in the first game of the doubleheader and following it up with a 2-run homer in the second game. On the mound, Madi Harris set the program record with 10 career saves. 

The Hoos are definitely trending towards making the NCAA tournament. They’ll look to finish the regular season strong with a game against #15 Virginia Tech tonight (7 pm), which will be televised on ACC Network before closing out the season with a weekend series at Georgia Tech.

Roundup

#2 Men’s Tennis played in the ACC Tournament this week, picking up wins over Clemson and #12 Duke before dropping a heartbreaking Championship match to #17 Florida State. The NCAA Tournament will begin on May 3rd.

#4 Women’s Tennis also saw similar disappointment in the ACC Tournament as they picked up wins over Notre Dame and #23 Florida State before bowing out in the championship match to #5 UNC. Also like the men, their NCAA Tournament will start on May 3rd. 

#4 Men’s Lacrosse dropped a tough contest at #7 Syracuse on Saturday. They’ll look to rebound and close out the regular season with some momentum as they travel to #1 Notre Dame on Saturday (4/27, 2 pm). This one will air on ESPNU.

#6 Women’s Lacrosse finished out the regular season with a victory at Virginia Tech last Wednesday (4/17). They will begin ACC Tournament play this week as they take on UNC tomorrow (4/24, 2 pm). The game will be on ACC Network.

Bonus Football Content

This weekend also saw UVA Football have their annual Spring Game. The highly contested QB battle saw both Tony Muskett and Anthony Colandrea each shine, with Tony going 10-18 for 200 yards with 2 TDs in the victory for his squad while Anthony went an impressive 15-16 for 102 yards. This battle figures to play into summer workouts and may not be decided until just before the opening weekend. This year, the first game will be against Richmond at Scott Stadium on August 31st. 

"Appreciate the fans for coming out! ... It was a great experience, man! I think everyone had fun! That's the ultimate thing about it!" - Chico Bennett#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/cLAlnjHPaD

— Virginia Cavaliers (@VirginiaSports) April 20, 2024

(Featured Image Credit: Grace Landini/UVA Athletics)

Portal madness continues.  UVA expects five total visitors over the next week that we know of, a mixture of transfers and high school recruits.  And some new names are emerging as well.  

Roster

Sophomore forward Ryan Dunn made it official on Tuesday.  He’s turning pro.  There never seemed to be any real chance of him staying.  So he did UVA a big favor by jumping in the draft with both feet, instead of going the testing route.  It opens up a needed 3rd scholarship.  And more importantly, recruits now know for sure that his spot in the starting lineup is up for grabs. 

The plan is to try to use all three of those open scholarships this spring on a point guard and likely a pair of forwards.  

There’s still speculation that junior guard Dante Harris could choose to transfer out.  If/when UVA adds another point guard, it could make his leaving more likely.  Harris is recovering from a recent ankle surgery to repair the injury that nagged him for most of the season.  

Last Week’s Visitor

Virginia hosted their first official visitor of the spring last weekend, St. Mary’s transfer forward Joshua Jefferson.  He left without committing, but UVA will still have a pretty good chance with him.  He told On3 Sports, “The visit was amazing. I loved the players and the coaches.  The support from the community was great.”  Cavs Corner published a more thorough interview with him on Tuesday, linked here.  

Jefferson seems to be speeding up his process now after reshuffling his visit schedule.  He’s at TCU right now then will head to Iowa State this weekend.  Michigan is trying to get a visit too.  A verdict over the next week seems very possible.  UVA is pushing for it, as will no doubt the others he visits.   

And the other expected visitor never arrived.  Harvard transfer point guard Malik Mack canceled his official visit at the last minute.  He committed to Georgetown, his first stop of the weekend.  The UVA side always thought they were the underdog in his recruitment, so the decision wasn’t a total surprise.  But there was a lot of disappointment, mainly over wasting a prime visit slot on the first big weekend of transfer recruiting. 

Upcoming Visits

Trent Perry is expected for an official visit this weekend.  The class of 2024 Harvard Westlake (CA) point guard has been busy lately with the McDonald’s All-American game and the Nike Hoop Summit.  He recently reopened his recruitment from a prior commitment to Southern Cal following their coaching change.  The On3 industry average ranks him as the #37 player in the class.  

At this time, we don’t know where else Perry may be planning to visit. There might not be any other visits set yet.  Gonzaga, Baylor, Alabama, UCLA, and Oregon have all been mentioned as possibilities.   He has said he’ll take a few visits over the next couple weeks with the hope of deciding by early may.  It’s a high profile recruitment.  Other schools are bound to push NIL to the forefront.  But UVA has a legit shot to pull it off. They’ve been going really hard after him.  Sources close to Perry have said UVA has a slight edge heading into the visit.  

To keep this chronological, there is another visitor expected on Sunday.  I don’t know his identity yet, but presumably it’s a transfer recruit.  Check the forum in the coming days.  We’ll piece it together.  UPDATE: I no longer think this is true.  A reshuffling of the visit schedule led to a miscommunication. 

And Illinois-Chicago grad transfer forward Toby Okani has set an official visit for Tuesday.  The New Jersey native played his first two years at Duquesne, then the last two at UIC.  He averaged 11.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 2.0 blocks this past season.  His play on defense and positional versatility are the traits UVA likes.  

It’s not clear if UVA is prepared to accept his commitment right now.  But he’s moving forward, so they have to take visitors while they’re available.  He and Joshua Jefferson are being recruited for one spot.  If Jefferson gets away, Okani could become a serious target.  Okani released a top 5 on Tuesday with UVA, West Virginia, LSU, St. Bonaventure, and Pepperdine.  He’s already visited St. Bonaventure and WVU, and will visit LSU this weekend. 

2025 Action

There are also a pair of 2025 guards expected for official visits over the next week.  Gonzaga (DC) combo guard Derek Dixon is scheduled to arrive on Saturday.  And then Sidwell (DC) point guard Acaden Lewis begins his visit on Tuesday.  

Dixon visited Pittsburgh last weekend.  Pitt along with Syracuse have been the main two in his recruitment, with UVA in the picture.  Lewis canceled his visit to Georgetown this week.  Their commitment from Malik Mack may have impacted that, I’m not sure.  Florida State and Villanova are among the other contenders for Lewis.  

Of the two, Acaden Lewis seems to be the one UVA has a better chance with.  It’s all dependent on how rosters shake out when the portal madness is over.  If UVA gets Trent Perry or another young point guard in the portal, it might take them out of the running for both Dixon and Lewis.  

2025 recruiting in general is all in limbo for now.  Not just for UVA, but everybody this time of year.  Yet, coaches still need to continue recruiting these players in order to be in position when the dust settles. 

To recap, that’s 5 total expected official visitors over the next week.  Trent Perry arrives first, followed by Derek Dixon, then our mystery man, and finally Toby Okani and Acaden Lewis on Tuesday.  The exact arrival dates are fuzzy on a couple of those but that’s the order.  

UPDATE: UVA has reshuffled their visit schedule.  Derek Dixon is now the first visitor, arriving on Thursday.  Then Trent Perry over the weekend.  Followed by Acaden Lewis and Toby Okani early next week.  

Other Transfer Recruits 

A new name to take seriously is Evansville grad transfer forward Ben Humrichous.  UVA has been talking to him quite a bit, with Tony Bennett taking the lead personally.   The Indiana native averaged 14.7 points and shot 41% from deep this year.  He has an interesting story, having played his first three seasons at NAIA Huntington.  

Humrichous is also going through the NBA Draft process, so that’s delayed his recruitment so far.  With a 3rd scholarship open now, UVA can fully pursue the second forward they have in mind, which will ideally be a shooter like Humirchous.  He hasn’t talked about which schools are involved.  We know from reports that Indiana is all over him, and that he’s had conversations with Illinois and Maryland. 

Syracuse transfer forward Maliq Brown is visiting Duke this week and has another upcoming visit planned to Miami.  I’ve heard UVA is still hoping to get a turn after that.  It seems like a longshot to go our way at this point. 

There’s some drama surrounding Northern Illinois transfer forward Xavier Amos.  He was originally scheduled to visit this weekend.  That was canceled.  He planned to commit to Illinois, but that may have fallen through.  I’m still hearing UVA isn’t likely to be involved.  It’s a fluid situation though. 

Each day brings a new report of interest in a transfer recruit, along with fresh portal entries.  UVA is looking into Texas transfer point guard Tyrese Hunter.  He’s a Wisconsin kid with Bennett connections.  It’s a high profile recruitment though.  And there’s a lot of talk that Duke forward TJ Power could decide to transfer.  UVA would be all over him.  

Crazy time of year. Things can and will change quickly.  Be sure to check the forum for updates.  Thanks for subscribing to Locker Room Access.