2024–25 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team

2024–25 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball
2024–25 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Record	7–5 (0–1 ACC)
Head coach	Ron Sanchez (1st season);
Associate head coach	Jason Williford (16th season)
Assistant coaches	Orlando Vandross (7th season); Isaiah Wilkins (4th season); Brad Soderberg (11th season);
Home arena	John Paul Jones Arena
	Seasons ← 2023–24 2025–26 →

2024–25 ACC men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 4 Duke	2	–	0	1.000	10	–	2	.833
SMU	2	–	0	1.000	10	–	2	.833
Clemson	2	–	0	1.000	10	–	3	.769
Pittsburgh	1	–	0	1.000	10	–	2	.833
Stanford	1	–	0	1.000	9	–	3	.750
NC State	1	–	0	1.000	8	–	4	.667
North Carolina	1	–	0	1.000	7	–	5	.583
Notre Dame	1	–	0	1.000	7	–	5	.583
Wake Forest	1	–	1	.500	9	–	4	.692
Louisville	1	–	1	.500	8	–	5	.615
California	0	–	1	.000	7	–	5	.583
Virginia	0	–	1	.000	7	–	5	.583
Syracuse	0	–	1	.000	6	–	6	.500
Virginia Tech	0	–	1	.000	5	–	7	.417
Miami (FL)	0	–	1	.000	4	–	8	.333
Florida State	0	–	2	.000	9	–	4	.692
Boston College	0	–	2	.000	8	–	5	.615
Georgia Tech	0	–	2	.000	6	–	7	.462

† 2025 ACC tournament winner As of December 28, 2024 Rankings from AP Poll

The 2024–25 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team represents the University of Virginia during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They are led by interim head coach Ron Sanchez after former head coach Tony Bennett announced his retirement before the start of the season on October 17, 2024.^[1] They will play their home games at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia, as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Previous season

The 2023–24 Cavaliers finished the season 23–11 and 13–7 in ACC play to finish in third place. As the third seed in the ACC tournament, they earned a bye to the quarterfinals, where they defeated third seed Boston College in overtime before losing to eventual champion NC State in overtime in the semifinals. They earned a controversial at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and were placed as a tenth seed in the First Four in the Midwest region. They lost their matchup with Colorado State 67–42 to end their season.

Offseason

On October 18, 2024, longtime head coach Tony Bennett announced his surprise retirement.^[2] Bennett posted a 364–136 record at UVA, guiding the Cavaliers to the 2019 NCAA Championship, two ACC Tournament titles, six ACC regular-season championships and 10 NCAA tournament appearances. Bennett was named ACC Coach of the Year in 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2019.

Former Charlotte head coach and longtime assistant Ron Sanchez was named the interim head coach following Bennett's announcement.^[3]

Departures

Virginia departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Reece Beekman	2	G	6'3"	194	Senior	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Graduated
Ryan Dunn	13	G	6'8"	216	Sophomore	Freeport, New York	Drafted 28th overall in the 2024 NBA draft^[4]
Jordan Minor	22	F	6'8"	242	Graduate Student	Kingston, Massachusetts	Graduated
Tristan How	24	F	6'7"	210	Senior	Virginia Beach, Virginia	Graduated
Jake Groves	34	F	6'9"	211	Graduate Student	Spokane, Washington	Graduated
Leon Bond III	35	G/F	6'5"	200	Freshman	Wauwatosa, Wisconsin	Transferred to Northern Iowa^[5]
Jalen Warley	1	G	6'7"	205	Senior	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Entered Transfer Portal before start of season^[6]

Incoming transfers

Virginia incoming transfers
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Jalen Warley	1	G	6'7"	205	Senior	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Florida State^[7]
Elijah Saunders	2	F	6'8"	225	Junior	Phoenix, Arizona	San Diego State^[8]
Dai Dai Ames	7	G	6'1"	185	Sophomore	Chicago, Illinois	Kansas State^[9]
TJ Power	23	F	6'9"	221	Sophomore	Shrewsbury, Massachusetts	Duke^[10]
Carter Lang	35	F	6'9"	235	Sophomore	Charlottesville, Virginia	Vanderbilt^[11]

2024 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Christian Bliss #48 SG	Newtown, PA	George School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jun 30, 2023
Christian Bliss #48 SG	Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 82
Ishan Sharma SG	Milton, ON	Fort Erie International Academy	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Oct 19, 2023
Ishan Sharma SG	Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 77
Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 16 247Sports: 12 ESPN: –
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Virginia 2024 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 12, 2024. "2024 Virginia Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 12, 2024. "2024 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 12, 2024. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 12, 2024. "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 12, 2024. "Virginia 2024 Basketball Commitments". 247sports.com. Retrieved August 12, 2024.

Roster

Players

2024–25 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	0	Blake Buchanan	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	So	Lake City	Coeur d'Alene, ID
G	1	Jalen Warley	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	Westtown School Florida State	Mount Airy, PA
F	2	Elijah Saunders	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	229 lb (104 kg)	Jr	Sunnyslope San Diego State	Phoenix, AZ
G	4	Andrew Rohde	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	202 lb (92 kg)	Jr	Brookfield Central St. Thomas (MN)	Milwaukee, WI
F	5	Jacob Cofie	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Fr	Eastside Catholic School	Seattle, WA
G	7	Dai Dai Ames	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	Kenwood Academy Kansas State	Chicago, IL
G	8	Bryce Walker (W)	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	New Hampton School	Beltsville, MD
G	9	Ishan Sharma	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Fr	Fort Erie International	Milton, ON
G	10	Taine Murray	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	207 lb (94 kg)	Sr	Rosmini College	Auckland, New Zealand
G	11	Isaac McKneely	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	188 lb (85 kg)	Jr	Poca	Poca, WV
G	12	Elijah Gertrude	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	Hudson Catholic Regional	Jersey City, NJ
G	13	Desmond Roberts	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	206 lb (93 kg)	RS Fr	St. Anne's-Belfield	Charlottesville, VA
F/C	21	Anthony Robinson	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	238 lb (108 kg)	RS Fr	Christ School (NC)	Peachtree City, GA
F	23	TJ Power	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	216 lb (98 kg)	So	Worcester Academy Duke	Shrewsbury, MA
G	30	Christian Bliss	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	RS Fr	George School (PA)	Queens, NY
F	35	Carter Lang	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	So	St. Anne's-Belfield Vanderbilt	Charlottesville, VA
G		Dante Harris	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	RS Jr	Lakeway Christian Academy (TN) Georgetown	Washington, D.C.

Head coach

Ron Sanchez (SUNY Oneonta)

Assistant coach(es)

Jason Williford (Virginia)
Orlando Vandross (American International)
Isaiah Wilkins (Virginia)
Brad Soderberg (UW-Stevens Point)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: August 12, 2024

Coaches

Virginia coaching staff
Name	Position	Year with position	Year on coaching staff	Alma mater	Hometown
Ron Sanchez	Dean and Markel Families Head Coach	1	11	SUNY-Oneonta	San Pedro de Macorís, DR
Jason Williford	Associate head coach	7	16	Virginia	Richmond, VA
Orlando Vandross	Assistant Coach	7	10	American International
Isaiah Wilkins	Assistant Coach	1	4	Virginia	Lilburn, GA
Brad Soderberg	Assistant Coach	1	10	UW-Stevens Point	Wausau, WI
Larry Mangino	Director of player development	4	9	Montclair State
Chase Coleman	Graduate assistant	1	1	Virginia	Norfolk, Virginia
Kyle Guy	Athlete Development Mentor and Special Assistant	1	1	Virginia	Indianapolis, IN
Mike Curtis	Strength and conditioning coach	16	16	Virginia	Richmond, VA
Ethan Saliba	Head Athletic Trainer	27	42	Kansas
Ronnie Wideman	Associate AD for Basketball Administration/Operations	15	16	Washington State	Washougal, WA

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+	Campbell	W 65–56	1–0	16 – Cofie	7 – Buchanan	5 – Tied	John Paul Jones Arena (13,414) Charlottesville, VA
November 11, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+	Coppin State	W 62–45	2–0	15 – Saunders	11 – Cofie	3 – Tied	John Paul Jones Arena (13,294) Charlottesville, VA
November 15, 2024* 5:00 p.m., TNT	vs. Villanova Hall of Fame Series	W 70–60	3–0	23 – McKneely	6 – Tied	4 – Rohde	CFG Bank Arena (4,868) Baltimore, MD
November 21, 2024* 9:30 p.m., CBSSN	vs. No. 11 Tennessee Baha Mar Hoops Championship semifinals	L 42–64	3–1	12 – Ames	7 – Buchanan	3 – Tied	Baha Mar Convention Center (2,077) Nassau, Bahamas
November 22, 2024* 7:00 p.m., CBSSN	vs. No. 22 St. John's Baha Mar Hoops Championship 3rd place game	L 55–80	3–2	12 – Saunders	7 – Cofie	3 – Tied	Baha Mar Convention Center (2,119) Nassau, Bahamas
November 26, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ACCN	Manhattan	W 74–65	4–2	18 – McKneely	6 – Saunders	5 – Ames	John Paul Jones Arena (12,347) Charlottesville, VA
November 29, 2024* 4:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+	Holy Cross	W 67–41	5–2	16 – Ames	6 – Tied	4 – Tied	John Paul Jones Arena (13,488) Charlottesville, VA
December 4, 2024* 7:15 p.m., ESPN2	at No. 13 Florida ACC–SEC Challenge	L 69–87	5–3	19 – Saunders	7 – McKneely	5 – McKneely	O'Connell Center (9,184) Gainesville, FL
December 7, 2024 2:15 p.m., The CW	at SMU	L 51–63	5–4 (0–1)	17 – McKneely	4 – Tied	3 – Tied	Moody Coliseum (5,189) University Park, TX
December 12, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ACCN	Bethune–Cookman	W 59–41	6–4	15 – Saunders	10 – Cofie	4 – McKneely	John Paul Jones Arena (12,021) Charlottesville, VA
December 18, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 21 Memphis	L 62–64	6–5	15 – Saunders	6 – Robinson	5 – McKneely	John Paul Jones Arena (12,108) Charlottesville, VA
December 22, 2024* 2:00 p.m., ACCN	American	W 63–58	7–5	21 – Saunders	8 – Saunders	4 – Tied	John Paul Jones Arena (12,384) Charlottesville, VA
December 31, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN2	NC State						John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, Va
January 4, 2025 4:00 p.m., ACCN	Louisville						John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, Va
January 8, 2025 11:00 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU	at California						Haas Pavilion Berkeley, CA
January 11, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU	at Stanford						Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA
January 15, 2025 9:00 p.m., ACCN	SMU						John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
January 18, 2025 TBA, ESPN/ESPN2	at Louisville						KFC Yum! Center Louisville, KY
January 21, 2025 7:00 p.m., ACCN	Boston College						John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
January 25, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2	Notre Dame						John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
January 29, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU	Miami						Watsco Center Coral Gables, FL
February 1, 2025 4:00 p.m., ACCN	Virginia Tech Rivalry						John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
February 3, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN	at Pittsburgh						Petersen Events Center Pittsburgh, PA
February 8, 2025 5:30 p.m., The CW	Georgia Tech						John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
February 15, 2025 2:00 p.m., The CW	at Virginia Tech Rivalry						Cassell Coliseum Blacksburg, VA
February 17, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN	Duke						John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
February 22, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN	at North Carolina						Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC
March 1, 2025 12:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2	Clemson						John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
March 4, 2025 9:00 p.m., ACCN	Florida State						John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
March 8, 2025 8:00 p.m., ACCN	at Syracuse						JMA Wireless Dome Syracuse, NY
ACC tournament
	vs.						Spectrum Center Charlotte, NC
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

^[12]

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Coaches	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

References

^ "Tony Bennett to Announce Retirement on Friday at 11 a.m."
^ https://virginiasports.com/news/2024/10/18/virginia-head-coach-tony-bennett-announces-retirement/
^ https://virginiasports.com/news/2024/10/22/sanchez-set-to-take-on-new-challenge/
^ "Suns Acquire Forward Ryan Dunn in 2024 NBA Draft". NBA.com. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
^ Newton, Matt (May 5, 2024). "Former Virginia Wing Leon Bond III Transfers to Northern Iowa". si.com. On SI. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
^ https://virginiasports.com/news/2024/10/29/jalen-warley-to-leave-virginia-basketball-program/
^ Franciulli, Jacquie (May 4, 2024). "Florida State Guard transfer Jalen Warley commits to Virginia". 247Sports. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
^ Newton, Matt (May 6, 2024). "San Diego State Transfer Elijah Saunders Commits to Virginia Basketball". si.com. On SI. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
^ Newton, Matt (May 16, 2024). "Virginia Basketball Lands Commitment From Kansas State Transfer Dai Dai Ames". si.com. On SI. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
^ https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10120073-duke-cbb-transfer-tj-power-commits-to-virginia-5-star-pf-prospect-in-2023-class
^ Hutloff, Marty (July 12, 2024). "Carter Lang returns home to play for UVA as preferred walk-on". 29news.com. Gray Television. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
^ "2024–25 Men's Basketball Schedule". Virginia Sports. Retrieved August 12, 2024.

[1] "Tony Bennett to Announce Retirement on Friday at 11 a.m."

[2] ttps://virginiasports.com/news/2024/10/18/virginia-head-coach-tony-bennett-announces-retirement/

[3] ttps://virginiasports.com/news/2024/10/22/sanchez-set-to-take-on-new-challenge/

[4] "Suns Acquire Forward Ryan Dunn in 2024 NBA Draft". NBA.com. Retrieved June 27, 2024.

[5] Newton, Matt (May 5, 2024). "Former Virginia Wing Leon Bond III Transfers to Northern Iowa". si.com. On SI. Retrieved August 12, 2024.

[6] ttps://virginiasports.com/news/2024/10/29/jalen-warley-to-leave-virginia-basketball-program/

[7] Franciulli, Jacquie (May 4, 2024). "Florida State Guard transfer Jalen Warley commits to Virginia". 247Sports. Retrieved August 5, 2024.

[8] Newton, Matt (May 6, 2024). "San Diego State Transfer Elijah Saunders Commits to Virginia Basketball". si.com. On SI. Retrieved August 12, 2024.

[9] Newton, Matt (May 16, 2024). "Virginia Basketball Lands Commitment From Kansas State Transfer Dai Dai Ames". si.com. On SI. Retrieved August 12, 2024.

[10] ttps://bleacherreport.com/articles/10120073-duke-cbb-transfer-tj-power-commits-to-virginia-5-star-pf-prospect-in-2023-class

[11] Hutloff, Marty (July 12, 2024). "Carter Lang returns home to play for UVA as preferred walk-on". 29news.com. Gray Television. Retrieved August 12, 2024.

[12] "2024–25 Men's Basketball Schedule". Virginia Sports. Retrieved August 12, 2024.

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v t e Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball
Venues	Memorial Gymnasium (1924–1965) University Hall (1965–2006) John Paul Jones Arena (2006–present)
Rivalries	Virginia Tech
Culture & lore	"The Cavalier Song" "The Good Old Song" 1982 Chaminade upset 2018 UMBC upset Redemption National Championship
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics