Virginia Cavaliers Basketball: 10-Year Snapshot & 2025 Season Update

2025 North Carolina Sports Network
Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball Spotlight:
Virginia

By Ben McCormick
North Carolina Sports Network

School: University of Virginia

Location: Charlottesville, Va.

Previous NCAA Conference Affiliations: South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1907-21); Southern Conference (1921-37)

ACC Member Since: 1953-54

ACC Ranking Among 31 Leagues (KenPom): 5th (2025), 5th (2024), 7th (2023), 5th (2022), 5th (2021), 4th (2020)

NCAA Tournament Bids: 26 (1976, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2007, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024)

Sweet 16s: 10 (1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1993, 1995, 2014, 2016, 2019)

Final Fours: 3 (1981, 1984, 2019)

NCAA Championships: 1 (2019)

Conference Titles: 3 (1976, 2014, 2018 in ACC)

Conference 1st-Place Finishes: 12 (1922 in SoCon; 1981, 1982, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023 in ACC)

Head Coach: Tony Bennett (55 years old, entering 16th season at Virginia) resigned in October 2024; Ron Sanchez = interim head coach

As A Player: SUNY Oneonta (1993-96)

Record At Virginia (through Feb. 16): 13-12 (.520) in partial season

Previous HC Experience: 72-78 (.480) at Charlotte (2018-23)

College AC Experience: Indiana (2001-03), Washington State (2003-09), Virginia 2009-18; 2023-24)

Assistant Under: Mike Davis, Dick Bennett, Tony Bennett

2023-24 Record: 23-11, 13-7 (3rd in 15-team ACC)

2024-25 Preseason Prediction (Coaches/Media): 5th in 18-team ACC

2024-25 Record (through Feb. 16): 13-12, 6-8 ACC

2024-25 Midseason Ranking (KenPom): #103 nationally (11th in ACC)

Remaining Regular-Season Schedule: #3 Duke (2/17), at UNC (2/22), at Wake Forest (2/26), #23 Clemson (3/1), FSU (3/4), at Syracuse (3/8)

On Oct. 18, 2024, the unthinkable happened.

At just 55 years old, Virginia head coach Tony Bennett abruptly announced his retirement, less than three weeks before the Cavaliers’ first game of the 2024-25 season.

The only man ever to lead Virginia to a national championship in men’s basketball was stepping down, essentially at the last minute, citing the quickly evolving nature of college sports (e.g., Name-Image-Likeness money, transfer portal complications, player agents) as a major reason behind his decision.

“When I looked at myself,” Bennett said, “(I) realized I’m no longer the best coach to lead this program in this current environment.”

Bennett certainly wasn’t the first legendary coach to be deterred by the new age of the sport, and he wasn’t the last, either. Miami’s Jim Larrañaga retired at midseason, citing similar frustrations, and Florida State’s Leonard Hamilton will step down at the end of the season.

While Bennett is not alone in his trepidation about the college game’s new framework, his departure came at a shocking time, with so little time before the start of the season, and at just 55 years old. Larrañaga and Hamilton are both in their mid-70s, a stage of life when a retirement is almost never truly a surprise, regardless of the reasons behind it.

Ultimately, and inadvertently, Bennett left the 2024-25 Wahoos in dire straits.

Former Charlotte head coach Ron Sanchez, who was the Cavaliers’ associate head coach last season, quickly took over as UVa’s interim head coach to try and right the ship. His maiden voyage as the leading man in Charlottesville seemed doomed from the start, though, because Bennett wasn’t the only one walking out the door.

Florida State transfer Jalen Warley re-entered the portal following Bennett’s retirement. Warley was viewed as the perfect defensive point guard to succeed the NBA-bound Reece Beekman, and Kihei Clark before him.

After Warley opted to transfer to Gonzaga for a redshirt season, UVa turned to its only other true point guard on the roster, Kansas State transfer Dai Dai Ames. Ames ultimately was rushed into the lineup before he was ready, and often the Cavs have been forced to rotate wing players into the position.

As a result, the Wahoos have been dreadful at times offensively. Indeed, in mid-February, Virginia ranked dead-last in the ACC in points per game, with 64.2, and 11th in offensive efficiency.

Typically, UVa’s defense helps it pick up the slack. Under Bennett, the pace of play was always slow, and the end product could be difficult to stomach for those who like a fast-paced game.

While that strategy often proved difficult to defeat during Bennett’s tenure, this year’s team often has trouble getting stops, too. During ACC play, the Cavaliers ranked only 14th among 18 teams in defensive efficiency.

The Cavaliers did return two starters, junior wing guards Isaac McKneely and Andrew Rohde, and they have combined to average about 23 points per game.

However, with the departures of Beekman and uber-athletic forward Ryan Dunn to the NBA, Virginia likely knew it needed some stellar portal additions to make it back to the NCAA Tournament.

Former San Diego State forward Elijah Saunders (11 ppg) has been a nice portal addition, but he and Ames have been the only 2024 transfers providing meaningful contributions. Former Duke forward TJ Power, a five-star high school prospect, has failed to shoot with any consistency and now often sees sparse minutes.

The loss of Warley hurt badly, too, at both ends of the floor, especially after up-and-coming sophomore guard Elijah Gertrude (who is taking a medical redshirt this season) required major knee surgery after a scooter accident last April.

2024-25 Virginia Cavaliers
(13-12, 6-8 ACC; through Feb. 16)

STARTERS (stats = current 2024-25 numbers)

PG Dai Dai Ames, So. (6-1/190) — 2024 Kansas State transfer (part-time starter)
24 mpg, 8 ppg, 1 rpg, 46% FG, 84% FT, 41% threes, 49/30 ATO, 8 blocks, 18 steals

G Isaac McKneely*, Jr. (6-4/195) — 4-star signee (Poca HS in W.Va.)
34 mpg, 13 ppg, 3 rpg, 44% FG, 77% FT, 42% threes, 76/36 ATO, 2 blocks, 20 steals

G Andrew Rohde*, Jr. (6-6/200) — 2023 St. Thomas transfer (1st-team All-Summit)
30 mpg, 9 ppg, 3 rpg, 43% FG, 82% FT, 41% threes, 102/39 ATO, 3 blocks, 22 steals

F Elijah Saunders, Jr. (6-8/240) — 2024 San Diego State transfer (starter)
27 mpg, 11 ppg, 5 rpg, 44% FG, 82% FT, 38% threes, 17/34 ATO, 7 blocks, 11 steals

F Blake Buchanan, So. (6-11/227) — 4-star signee (Coeur d’Alene HS in Idaho)
22 mpg, 6 ppg, 6 rpg, 55% FG, 54% FT, 0 threes, 32/21 ATO, 29 blocks, 14 steals

KEY RESERVES (stats = current 2024-25 numbers)

F Jacob Cofie, Fr. (6-10/232) — 4-star signee (Sammamish HS in Wash.)
22 mpg, 7 ppg, 5 rpg, 49% FG, 79% FT, 24% threes, 28/24 ATO, 20 blocks, 26 steals

G Taine Murray, Sr. (6-5/208) — 2021 international signee (New Zealand)
19 mpg, 5 ppg, 2 rpg, 46% FG, 73% FT, 43% threes, 42/21 ATO, 5 blocks, 7 steals

G Ishan Sharma, Fr. (6-5/192) — 2024 international signee (Canada)
15 mpg, 4 ppg, 2 rpg, 34% FG, 92% FT, 35% threes, 22/9 ATO, 2 blocks, 6 steals

F TJ Power, So. (6-9/221) — 2024 Duke transfer (backup)
10 mpg, 2 ppg, 1 rpg, 21% FG, 100% FT, 19% threes, 14/12 ATO, 4 blocks, 2 steals

Departures from 2023-24: G Reece Beekman* (Gr./NBA draft/Brooklyn Nets), G Leon Bond III (r-Fr./transfer/Northern Iowa), F Ryan Dunn* (So./NBA draft/Phoenix Suns), F Jake Groves (Gr./England), PG Dante Harris (Sr./transfer/Memphis), F Jordan Minor* (Gr./G League)

*—2023-24 starter (started at least 50% of UVa’s games last season)

Virginia Cavaliers
10-Year Snapshot

Season: Overall, League (Place), Postseason

2023-24: 23-11, 13-7 ACC (3rd), NCAA Round of 64 (Tony Bennett)
2022-23: 25-8, 15-5 ACC (t-1st*), NCAA Round of 64 (Tony Bennett)
2021-22: 21-14, 12-8 ACC (6th), NIT Elite Eight (Tony Bennett)
2020-21: 18-7, 13-4 ACC (1st*), NCAA Round of 64 (Tony Bennett)
2019-20: 23-7, 15-5 ACC (2nd), COVID (Tony Bennett)
2018-19: 35-3, 16-2 ACC (t-1st*), NCAA CHAMPIONS (Tony Bennett)
2017-18: 31-3, 17-1 ACC* (1st*), NCAA Round of 64 (Tony Bennett)
2016-17: 23-11, 11-7 ACC (5th), NCAA Round of 32 (Tony Bennett)
2015-16: 29-8, 13-5 ACC (2nd), NCAA Elite Eight (Tony Bennett)
2014-15: 30-4, 16-2 ACC (1st*), NCAA Round of 32 (Tony Bennett)

*—conference champion (regular-season and/or tournament)

NOTE: Please visit the North Carolina Sports Network’s 2024-25 profiles and 10-year snapshots (links below) for all 19 Division One men’s basketball programs in North Carolina and all 18 Atlantic Coast Conference programs.

Appalachian State Mountaineers, Sun Belt Conference

Boston College Eagles, Atlantic Coast Conference

California Golden Bears, Atlantic Coast Conference

Campbell Camels, Coastal Athletic Association

Charlotte 49ers, American Athletic Conference

Clemson Tigers, Atlantic Coast Conference

Duke Blue Devils, Atlantic Coast Conference

East Carolina Pirates, American Athletic Conference

Elon Phoenix, Coastal Athletic Association

Florida State Seminoles, Atlantic Coast Conference

Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs, Big South Conference

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Atlantic Coast Conference