UVA Women's Basketball Lands Big-Time Commitment From Star In-State Guard Olivia McGhee

Coach Mox and company picked up a huge commitment from the No. 42-ranked prospect in the country in the class of 2023

Author:
Matt Newton
Updated:
Jul 1, 2022 1:01 AM EDT
Original:
Jul 1, 2022

Olivia McGhee, Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball — Olivia McGhee (Mineral, VA)

The turnaround of the UVA women's basketball has begun.

Coach Mox and the Cavaliers landed a big-time commitment from one of the nation's top 50 players in the class of 2023 and one of the best prospects from the Commonwealth of Virginia. Olivia McGhee, a star guard from Louisa County just outside of Charlottesville, announced her commitment to UVA in a video posted on social media on Thursday night.

"I'm home," McGhee said in the video as she celebrated with the UVA coaching staff. A 6'2" guard from Mineral, Virginia, McGhee is ranked the No. 42 overall player in the country in the class of 2023 per ESPN's HoopGurlz Rankings. ESPN's player evaluation said this about McGhee back in 2020:

"Agile combo-guard with versatility and a scorer's mentality to the back court; knocks down jumpers at the arc; rebounds, pushes tempo, weaves through the defense and distributes in transition game; slashes into the defense with body control to the rim; superior size on the perimeter with potential."

McGhee, who is transferring to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida for her final year of high school basketball, chose the Cavaliers over Virginia Tech and Kentucky, but she held offers from nearly 40 schools, mostly from major conference programs. Virginia was the first school to offer McGhee way back in January 2020 and two years later, UVA was among the schools she listed in her top 11.

All of that took place before Virginia fired head coach Tina Thompson after turning in a 30-63 record in four seasons coaching the Cavaliers. UVA hired Missouri State head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton, who immediately went on a recruiting tear, significantly improving Virginia's roster for the upcoming season with commitments from transfers Samantha Brunelle (Notre Dame) and Alexia Smith (Minnesota) and high school seniors Cady Pauley and Yonta Vaughn.

Now, Coach Mox and company have turned their attention to the class of 2023 and, as in the case of Samantha Brunelle (Ruckersville, Virginia), began their recruiting campaign by strongly pursuing one of the nation's top prospects, who also happens to be a Virginia native. In late March, the same week that Agugua-Hamilton was named UVA's head coach, McGhee completely reopened her recruitment. UVA was one of three schools, along with Kentucky and Virginia Tech, to host McGhee on an official visit in the month of June.

McGhee ultimately decided to commit to the University of Virginia and it is undeniable that the energy and excitement infused into the program by Coach Mox and her staff played a significant role in that outcome. Getting a player of McGhee's caliber to stay home and commit to Virginia is a massive recruiting victory for Amaka Agugua-Hamilton, who continues to impress in just her first few months leading the UVA women's basketball program.

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