2025–26 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team
| 2025–26 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Atlantic Coast Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 21 |
| AP | No. 21 |
| Record | 11–1 (0–0 ACC) |
| Head coach |
|
| Associate head coach | Griff Aldrich (1st season) |
| Assistant coaches |
|
| Home arena | John Paul Jones Arena |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| California | 0 | – | 0 | – | 12 | – | 1 | .923 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 12 North Carolina | 0 | – | 0 | – | 12 | – | 1 | .923 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 6 Duke | 0 | – | 0 | – | 11 | – | 1 | .917 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 21 Virginia | 0 | – | 0 | – | 11 | – | 1 | .917 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miami (FL) | 0 | – | 0 | – | 11 | – | 2 | .846 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Virginia Tech | 0 | – | 0 | – | 11 | – | 2 | .846 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 16 Louisville | 0 | – | 0 | – | 10 | – | 2 | .833 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SMU | 0 | – | 0 | – | 10 | – | 2 | .833 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 0 | – | 0 | – | 10 | – | 2 | .833 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Clemson | 0 | – | 0 | – | 10 | – | 3 | .769 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NC State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 9 | – | 4 | .692 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notre Dame | 0 | – | 0 | – | 9 | – | 4 | .692 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Syracuse | 0 | – | 0 | – | 9 | – | 4 | .692 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wake Forest | 0 | – | 0 | – | 9 | – | 4 | .692 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia Tech | 0 | – | 0 | – | 8 | – | 4 | .667 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pittsburgh | 0 | – | 0 | – | 7 | – | 6 | .538 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Florida State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 7 | – | 6 | .538 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boston College | 0 | – | 0 | – | 6 | – | 6 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2026 ACC tournament winner As of December 22, 2025 Rankings from AP Poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2025–26 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team represents the University of Virginia during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They are led by first-year head coach Ryan Odom following the departure of interim head coach Ron Sanchez. They play their home games at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia, as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Previous season
With the last-minute retirement of Tony Bennett and the appointing of interim head coach Ron Sanchez, the Cavailers started the season 3–0, including a ten-point victory over Villanova in the Hall of Fame Series. They then traveled to the Bahamas to participate in the Baha Mar Hoops Championship where their fortunes changed. They lost in the semifinals to eleventh-ranked Tennessee 64–42 and in the third place game against twenty second-ranked St. John's 80–55. They won two games against non-Power 4 opponents before losing their ACC–SEC Challenge game against thirteenth-ranked Florida 87–69. They followed that with a loss in their ACC opener against SMU. They finished their non-conference slate 2–1, with a loss against twenty first-ranked Memphis. They closed the 2024 portion of their schedule with an ACC win over NC State. The Cavailers had a rough start to the 2025 portion of the schedule, as they went on a five-game losing streak. The streak included two losses to Louisville, and losses in California to Stanford and California, and a loss in a rematch with SMU. They broke the streak by going 2–2 in their next four games. This streak included a loss in their rivalry game against Virginia Tech. The team went 4–2 over their next six games, which included a three game winning streak. They defeated Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, and won the rivaly rematch with Virginia Tech. However, they lost to third-ranked Duke and at North Carolina. They lost to thirteenth-ranked Clemson and defeated Florida State by three points in their next two games. The Cavaliers lost the regular season finale to Syracuse 84–70.
The Cavaliers finished the season 15–16 and 8–12 in ACC play to finish in a five-way tie for ninth place. The team finished atop the five-way tiebreaker and were the ninth seed in the 2025 ACC tournament. They faced eighth-seed Georgia Tech in the First Round. Despite defeating the Yellow Jackets during the regular season, they were defeated 66–60 in the tournament. They were not invited to the NCAA tournament or the NIT. Interim coach Ron Sanchez was not retained at the end of the season.[1]
Offseason
Coaching Departures
| Name | Position | Years on staff | New position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ron Sanchez | Interim Head Coach | 11 | Associate Head Coach at Baylor |
| Jason Williford | Associate Head Coach | 16 | Assistant Coach at Georgetown |
| Orlando Vandross | Assistant Coach | 10 | |
| Isaiah Wilkins | 4 | Assistant Coach at Cal | |
| Brad Soderberg | 10 | Assistant Coach at Millikin | |
| Kyle Guy | Special Assistant | 1 | Assistant Coach at Nevada |
| Chase Coleman | Graduate Assistant | 2 | Assistant Coach at Navy |
| Ronnie Wideman | Assoc. AD for MBB Admin | 16 | Assoc. AD at Virginia[a] |
| Stelios Tzoutzis | Program & Operations Assistant | 5 | Assistant Coach & GM at Liberty |
Player Departures
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blake Buchanan | 0 | F | 6'11" | 225 | Sophomore | Coeur d'Alene, ID | Transferred to Iowa State |
| Elijah Saunders | 2 | F | 6'8" | 229 | Junior | Phoenix, AZ | Transferred to Maryland |
| Andrew Rohde | 4 | G | 6'6" | 202 | Junior | Milwaukee, WI | Transferred to Wisconsin |
| Jacob Cofie | 5 | F | 6'10" | 230 | Freshman | Seattle, WA | Transferred to USC |
| Dai Dai Ames | 7 | G | 6'1" | 190 | Sophomore | Milwaukee, WI | Transferred to California |
| Bryce Walker | 8 | G | 6'2" | 205 | Senior | Beltsville, MD | Graduated |
| Ishan Sharma | 9 | G | 6'5" | 192 | Freshman | Milton, ON | Transferred to Saint Louis |
| Taine Murray | 10 | G | 6'5" | 208 | Senior | Auckland, NZ | Graduated |
| Isaac McKneely | 11 | G | 6'4" | 188 | Junior | Poca, WV | Transferred to Louisville |
| Anthony Robinson | 21 | F/C | 6'10" | 250 | Freshman | Peachtree City, GA | Transferred to Xavier |
| TJ Power | 23 | F | 6'9" | 221 | Sophomore | Shrewsbury, MA | Transferred to Penn |
| Christian Bliss | 30 | G | 6'4" | 198 | Freshman | Queens, NY | Transferred to Delaware |
Coaching Arrivals
| Name | Previous position | Previous School | New position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Odom | Head Coach | VCU | Head Coach |
| Griff Aldrich | Head Coach | Longwood | Associate Head Coach |
| Matt Henry | Assistant Coach | VCU | Assistant Coach |
| Bryce Crawford | |||
| Darius Theus | |||
| Kelsey Knoche | Director of Operations | Director of Operations | |
| Matt Hart | Director of Analytics | Director of Analytics | |
| Billy Bales | Director of Video | Video Coordinator | |
| Ahmad Thomas | Coordinator of Player Development | Director of Recruiting | |
| Michael Crowder | Managing Director – Culture Formation & Program Development | Longwood | Director of Culture and Alumni Engagement |
Incoming transfers
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school | Remaining years of eligibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malik Thomas | 1 | G | 6'5" | 205 | Graduate Student | Fontana, CA | San Francisco | 1 |
| Sam Lewis | 5 | G | 6'6" | 210 | Junior | Chicago, IL | Toledo | 2 |
| Jacari White | 6 | G | 6'3" | 180 | Senior | Orlando, FL | North Dakota State | 1 |
| Martin Carrere | 7 | G/F | 6'8" | 180 | Freshman | Pontonx-sur-l'Adour, France | VCU | 4 |
| Devin Tillis | 11 | F | 6'7" | 225 | Graduate Student | Los Angeles, CA | UC Irvine | 1 |
| Dallin Hall | 30 | G | 6'4" | 197 | Graduate Student | Plain City, UT | BYU | 1 |
| Ugonna Onyenso | 33 | C | 7'0" | 247 | Senior | Owerri, Nigeria | Kansas State | 1 |
2025 recruiting class
| Name | Hometown | School | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chance Mallory #14 PG |
Charlottesville, VA | St. Anne's-Belfield School | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Mar 22, 2025 | |
| Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (83) | ||||||
| Silas Barksdale #21 C |
Newport News, VA | Woodside High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Apr 2, 2025 | |
| Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (81) | ||||||
| Johann Grünloh C |
Löningen, Germany | RASTA Vechta | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) | 245 lb (111 kg) | Apr 28, 2025 | |
| Recruit ratings: No ratings found | ||||||
| Thijs De Ridder PF |
Brasschaat, Belgium | Gitok Kalmthout | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 231 lb (105 kg) | Jul 7, 2025 | |
| Recruit ratings: No ratings found | ||||||
| Overall recruit ranking: Rivals: 49 247Sports: 40 ESPN: – | ||||||
Sources:
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Roster
Players
| 2024–25 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coaches
| Name | Position | Year with position | Year on coaching staff | Alma mater | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Odom | Dean and Markel Families Head Coach | 1 | 1 | Hampden–Sydney | |
| Griff Aldrich | Associate head coach | ||||
| Matt Henry | Assistant Coach | Trinity | |||
| Bryce Crawford | Ohio State | ||||
| Darius Theus | VCU | ||||
| Kelsey Knoche | Director of Operations | Maryland | |||
| Matt Hart | Director of Analytics | George Washington | |||
| Billy Bales | Video Coordinator | Lenoir-Rhyne | |||
| Ahmad Thomas | Director of Recruiting | UNC Asheville | |||
| Michael Crowder | Director of Culture and Alumni Engagement | Virginia | |||
| Mike Curtis | Strength and conditioning coach | 17 | 17 | ||
| Ethan Saliba | Head Athletic Trainer | 28 | 43 | Kansas |
Schedule and results
| Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state Source:[2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exhibition | |||||||||||
| October 16, 2025* 7:30 p.m. |
at Vanderbilt | L 87–95 | — |
– | – | – | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN | ||||
| October 24, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX |
Villanova | W 75–72 | 16 – Thomas | 8 – Tied | 5 – Hall | John Paul Jones Arena (13,751) Charlottesville, VA | |||||
| Regular Season | |||||||||||
| November 3, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX |
Rider | W 87–53 | 1–0 |
21 – De Ridder | 10 – De Ridder | 5 – Hall | John Paul Jones Arena (12,121) Charlottesville, VA | ||||
| November 7, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX |
NC Central | W 81–62 | 2–0 |
20 – De Ridder | 11 – Grunloh | 7 – Hall | John Paul Jones Arena (12,576) Charlottesville, VA | ||||
| November 11, 2025* 9:00 p.m., ACCN |
Hampton | W 91–53 | 3–0 |
18 – Onyenso | 10 – Onyenso | 7 – Hall | John Paul Jones Arena (11,393) Charlottesville, VA | ||||
| November 15, 2025* 12:00 p.m., ACCNX |
Marshall | W 104–78 | 4–0 |
23 – De Ridder | 7 – Gruenloh | 5 – Mallory | John Paul Jones Arena (11,776) Charlottesville, VA | ||||
| November 21, 2025* 5:00 p.m., CBSSN |
vs. Northwestern Greenbrier Tip-Off |
W 83–78 | 5–0 |
26 – De Ridder | 8 – Tied | 3 – Tied | The Greenbrier (1,209) White Sulphur Springs, WV | ||||
| November 23, 2025* 2:00 p.m., CBSSN |
vs. Butler Greenbrier Tip-Off |
L 73–80 | 5–1 |
24 – Thomas | 7 – Tied | 3 – Mallory | The Greenbrier (1,209) White Sulphur Springs, WV | ||||
| November 28, 2025* 4:00 p.m., ACCNX |
Queens | W 94–69 | 6–1 |
21 – De Ridder | 10 – Grünloh | 5 – Hall | John Paul Jones Arena (11,639) Charlottesville, VA | ||||
| December 3, 2025* 9:15 p.m., ESPNU |
at Texas ACC–SEC Challenge |
W 88–69 | 7–1 |
16 – Mallory | 6 – Tied | 4 – Hall | Moody Center (10,802) Austin, TX | ||||
| December 6, 2025* 12:00 p.m., ESPN2 |
vs. Dayton | W 86–73 | 8–1 |
25 – White | 9 – De Ridder | 5 – Mallory | Spectrum Center (4,175) Charlotte, NC | ||||
| December 9, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX |
No. 24 | Maryland Eastern Shore | W 84–60 | 9–1 |
15 – Lewis | 7 – Grünloh | 5 – Mallory | John Paul Jones Arena (11,117) Charlottesville, VA | |||
| December 20, 2025* 6:00 p.m., ESPN |
No. 23т | Maryland | W 80–72 | 10–1 |
20 – Hall | 8 – Grünloh | 6 – Tied | John Paul Jones Arena (12,671) Charlottesville, VA | |||
| December 22, 2025* 6:00 p.m., ACCN |
No. 21 | American | W 95–51 | 11–1 |
27 – De Ridder | 8 – De Ridder | 7 – Hall | John Paul Jones Arena (12,295) Charlottesville, VA | |||
| December 31, 2025 2:00 p.m., ACCN |
at Virginia Tech Rivalry |
Cassell Coliseum Blacksburg, VA | |||||||||
| January 3, 2026 11:00 a.m., ESPN2 |
at NC State | Lenovo Center Raleigh, NC | |||||||||
| January 7, 2026 9:00 p.m., ACCN |
California | John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA | |||||||||
| January 10, 2026 2:15 p.m., The CW |
Stanford | John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA | |||||||||
| January 13, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN/2 |
at Louisville | KFC Yum Center Louisville, KY | |||||||||
| January 17, 2026 12:00 p.m., ESPN/2/U |
at SMU | Moody Coliseum Dallas, TX | |||||||||
| January 24, 2026 TBA, ESPN/2 |
North Carolina | John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA | |||||||||
| January 27, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN/2/U |
at Notre Dame | Joyce Center South Bend, IN | |||||||||
| January 31, 2026 1:30 p.m., The CW |
at Boston College | Conte Forum Chestnut Hill, MA | |||||||||
| February 3, 2026 9:00 p.m., ACCN |
Pittsburgh | John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA | |||||||||
| February 7, 2026 12:00 p.m., ESPN/2/U |
Syracuse | John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA | |||||||||
| February 10, 2026 7:00 p.m., The CW |
at Florida State | Donald L. Tucker Center Tallahassee, FL | |||||||||
| February 14, 2026* 8:00 p.m., FOX |
vs. Ohio State Nashville Hoops Showdown |
Bridgestone Arena Nashville, TN | |||||||||
| February 18, 2026 9:00 p.m., ACCN |
at Georgia Tech | McCamish Pavilion Atlanta, GA | |||||||||
| February 21, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN/2/U |
Miami | John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA | |||||||||
| February 24, 2026 7:00 p.m., ACCN |
NC State | John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA | |||||||||
| February 28, 2026 7:00 p.m., ACCN |
at Duke | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC | |||||||||
| March 7, 2026 12:30 p.m., The CW |
Virginia Tech Rivalry |
John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA | |||||||||
| ACC Tournament | |||||||||||
| March 10–14, 2026 ESPN |
vs. TBD ACC Tournament |
Spectrum Center Charlotte, NC | |||||||||
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time. | |||||||||||
Notes
- ^ Promotion
Rankings
| Week | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP[3] | RV | — | RV | — | — | 24 | 23т | 21 | |||||||||||||
| Coaches | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 22 | 21 | |||||||||||||
References
- ^ "Interim coach Ron Sanchez out at Virginia after season-ending loss". ESPN. Associated Press. March 12, 2025. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
- ^ "2025-26 Men's basketball schedule". virginiasports.com. University of Virginia Athletics. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ^ "AP Top 25 Men's College Basketball Poll". AP News. Retrieved October 14, 2025.