Locker Room Access - Virginia

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.

By Josh Burton

The spring sports season is rapidly approaching its end as the UVA programs are all gearing up for what should be a very exciting postseason across Grounds. Let's take a look at where things currently stand.

Baseball

UVA Baseball picked up yet another 2-1 series win at Louisville over the weekend, and made it back to #10 in the D1 poll in doing so. This weekend featured more of the same for the Hoos, tying a program record 47 runs across a 3-game ACC series, with multiple players having multi-homer games and Ethan Anderson potentially breaking his cold spell by going an incredible 5-5 in the series opener. 

FINAL | Louisville felt the full force of the UVA lineup tonight, 21-3.

Most runs scored by Virginia in an ACC game since 2010 (27 at Maryland) and 3rd time this season Cavaliers scored 20+ runs.

Henry Ford and Jacob Ference each with 2 homers, Ethan Anderson 5-5 at the plate.

— Preston Willett (@PrestonWillett) April 13, 2024

Unfortunately, the hot hitting wasn’t the only trend to continue. Pitching issues and fielding miscues cost the Cavaliers the sweep with a loss on Saturday. Arms have been a major issue all season, particularly for starting pitching. 

At this point Evan Blanco has cemented himself as the only sure thing starter each weekend, with both other days being wide open. Watch for Owen Coady to potentially claim a spot, as he’s been pretty good for Hoos when he’s pitched so far. Outside of that, it’s a very open race. The final weekend game could become a staff day where they go with matchups and feel. Either way, it’ll be very interesting to see how it plays out and if this historically good hitting squad can mash their way to Omaha. 

The Hoos have a big week with 5 games scheduled. They’ll be at ODU tonight (6 pm) before beginning a 5-game homestand tomorrow against George Mason (4/17, 6 pm). They will then play host to Georgia Tech for a weekend series beginning Friday (4/19, 6 pm).

Softball

UVA Softball saw a mixed week as they went 2-2, picking up a huge 2-1 series win over NC State while also dropping a midweek contest to Liberty. Although they have one more home contest on the schedule, Sunday served as a very memorable Senior Day for the Hoos. Weather conditions around Palmer Park were perfect and the Wahoos picked up a huge walk off victory off a sac fly from Abby Weaver. The victory marked a program record 5th three-game ACC series victory for a team that has postseason aspirations. Once polls are released, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see the Hoos ranked as they have been playing very well. 

The Hoos will host Virginia Tech tonight (6 pm) before traveling to Duke for a weekend series beginning Friday (4/19, 6 pm).

Men’s Tennis 

#3 Men’s Tennis finished up their regular season with victories at Clemson (4/11) and Georgia Tech (4/13). They’ll now set their sights on the postseason, with the ACC tournament being this weekend. Quarterfinals will begin on Friday (4/19), with the Hoos beginning play at 10 am.

I wanted to do a highlight for Men’s Tennis for a very special accomplishment by the 4th years. With the weekend sweep they finished out an unblemished 48-0 conference record over their 4 seasons as Wahoos, earning a 4th straight regular season title. Hats off to Inaki Montes, Chris Rodesch, Alex Kiefer and Jeffrey von der Schulenburg on the amazing accomplishment. 

𝟒𝟖-𝟎!!!
Iñaki Montes, Chris Rodesch, Alex Kiefer and Jeffrey von der Schulenburg did not lose a conference match in their ACC careers!
Four straight ACC Regular-Season titles. Four straight 12-0 seasons!! #GoHoos ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/HrrvApRCcG

— Virginia Men's Tennis (@UVAMensTennis) April 13, 2024

Roundup

#5 Women’s Tennis also finished out their regular season with victories over #19 Miami (4/12) and #23 Florida State (4/14). With the pair of victories, the Hoos picked up a share of the ACC regular-season title for just the second time in program history. They’ll now set their sights on the ACC tournament, with their first contest scheduled for the quarterfinals (4/19, 6 pm). 

#2 Men’s Lacrosse suffered just their second defeat of the season at Duke on Sunday. They’ll next play the penultimate game of the regular season on Saturday at Syracuse (4/20, 2 pm). This one will air nationally on ESPNU. Also of note, USA Lacrosse Magazine published an article on Wahoo star Connor Shellenberger last week, you can check it out here

#6 Women’s Lacrosse picked up a huge OT victory over then #3 Boston College on Senior Day over the weekend. Madison Alaimo scored the winning goal in OT. Their regular season finale will be tomorrow night at Virginia Tech (4/17, 7 pm). This game will air on ACC Network

(Featured Image Credit: Grace Landini/UVA Athletics) 

The dead period lifts on Friday.  With that, transfer recruiting goes full throttle.  Virginia is expecting visitors, as is every major program around the country.   The next few weeks are the busiest time of the year for official visits.  

First Up

UVA will have two official visitors this weekend.  Neither were mentioned in Monday’s Intel Report, although they aren’t total surprises.  Both had been connected to UVA before. 

St. Mary’s transfer forward Joshua Jefferson is scheduled to arrive on Friday.  The sophomore had a breakout season as a starter for the West Coast Conference champs.  He averaged 10.2 points and 6.5 rebounds.  His full-season shooting percentages (47% FG, 27% 3FG),aren’t great,  but they are skewed by a rough start to the season.  Once he settled in from December on, he was efficient (52% FG, 38% 3FG).  

Jefferson describes himself as a point forward.  While not a high volume three-point shooter, he is a very skilled playmaker.   Terrific defensively, that’s where he brings the most value. He is coming off a season-ending knee injury in February which required surgery, but he’s expected to be fully recovered soon.  

The UVA staff did give him a look as a high school recruit, so there’s a little bit of a previous relationship.  Jefferson lives in Las Vegas, but he has east coast roots.  His dad is from New York and played college football at Maryland.  

Jefferson has other official visits scheduled to Iowa State (4/19) and VCU (4/26) for the next two weekends.  Both of those head coaches previously recruited him while at other schools.   His hometown school UNLV is involved too.  He’s said he wants to take all three visits and then go from there.  But we’ll see.  It’s always week by week this time of year.  UVA will surely try to get his commitment now if possible.  

Point Guard Target

The other visitor this weekend is Harvard transfer point guard Malik Mack.  The freshman averaged 17.2 points and 4.8 assists on his way to being named Ivy League Rookie Of The Year.   Considered one of the top available transfers, the DC area native was thought to be nearly a sure thing for Georgetown.  But the Hoyas have failed to close the deal so far, and Virginia quietly slid in as a contender.  

Mack will visit Georgetown first on Friday, then arrive at Virginia Saturday evening.  He also has an official visit to Texas scheduled for next weekend.  Those seem to be the last three teams standing.  

Big opportunity for the coaching staff.  And regardless of the result, it’s a great sign going forward.  Mack has lucrative NIL offers on the table. Including from schools that he’s apparently no longer considering.  I don’t think it’s the most important factor for him, but it does matter.  The fact that Virginia is being seriously considered signals a more proactive approach to the NIL topic. They wouldn’t be in the race otherwise.  

I expect this will probably come down to the Hoos and Hoyas.  He’d have a great chance to be the starting point guard on either team.  Virginia has had a high success rate when they host transfers on official visits.  Four out of five have committed over the last two years. 

Looking Ahead

As mentioned before, Northern Illinois transfer forward Xavier Amos is expected for an official visit soon.  I think sometime next week, but haven’t heard the date.  He’ll presumably be taking a visit or two elsewhere before then.  Illinois, Kansas, Xavier, and Texas are the other schools he’s said are involved. 

The sophomore averaged 13.8 points and 5.8 rebounds this past season, knocking down 39% from deep.  UVA likes his two-way abilities, a shooter who’s also a capable multi-positional defender.  

UPDATE: Things now look doubtful with Xavier Amos.  I would be surprised if he keeps his visit.  

And from what I’ve heard, Virginia expects to get a visit from 2024 Harvard Westlake (CA) point guard Trent Perry in the near future too.  The former Southern Cal commit is setting up visits now.  I expect it’ll all get reported once he’s hammered out the dates.  Alabama will be in the race, maybe Gonzaga.  USC is still a possibility, as is following former Trojans coach Andy Enfield to SMU. 

Perry has said he’ll plan visits over the next few weeks with the hope of making a decision around the end of the month.  Virginia is going hard after him.   The roster situation will be a hurdle, having so many young guards already on board.  Perry and his circle really like and admire Tony Bennett.  It won’t be easy, but the Hoos have a legit chance to land their first McDonald’s All-American since Kyle Guy.  

Then there’s Syracuse transfer forward Maliq Brown.  It’s been quiet with him.  The UVA staff is in communication, that’s about all we know.    I’ve heard he’s been doing zoom calls with coaches, sorting through his options.  He’ll start setting up visits soon. 

Brown is one of the best defensive players in the country.  He led the ACC in steals this season, while averaging 9.5 points and 7.2 rebounds.  There were whispers about him weeks before he entered the portal, so presumably back channel communication had already taken place.  But as of yet,, there’s no indication of which schools Maliq will seriously consider.  

Tying It Together

Virginia only has two available scholarships as things stand.  However, a third will almost surely open when sophomore forward Ryan Dunn turns pro.  There’s also still a possibility of losing another outgoing transfer.  The Hoos will most likely want to add two forwards along with a point guard.

It’s easy to see UVA’s plan coming together.  Amos, Jefferson, and Maliq Brown being pursued for what will probably be two forward spots.  Mack or Perry at point guard.  That’s how transfer recruiting goes.  Each week is a new wave of visitors until the roster is finished.   Bennett no doubt has more surprises waiting up his sleeve.  

The next few weeks figure to be pretty crazy.  Be sure to check the forum for updates.  Thanks for subscribing to Locker Room Access.