Virginia Basketball in the Running for Ohio Transfer Ben Vander Plas

Vander Plas listed UVA among the six schools he is considering

Author:
Matt Newton
Publish date:
Apr 13, 2022 11:20 AM EDT

Virginia is among six schools in the mix for Ohio transfer Ben Vander Plas, as reported by Jeff Goodman on Wednesday morning.

Vander Plas, a 6'8", 232-pound forward, is considering Virginia, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Iowa State, and Illinois.

UVA fans will be familiar with the name Ben Vander Plas, as he led No. 13 seed Ohio to a 62-58 upset over No. 4 seed Virginia in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. He recorded 17 points, five rebounds, and four assists in the victory, which was Ohio's first NCAA Tournament win since 2012.

The performance Vander Plas had against the Cavaliers was one of the more intriguing storylines to come out of the March Madness bubble in 2021, given his family's connections to Tony Bennett. His father, Dean Vander Plas, was teammates with Tony Bennett at Green Bay-Wisconsin, where they played under Dick Bennett and led the Phoenix to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1991. The Bennett and Vander Plas families are close. Dean and Mary Vander Plas attended the wedding of Tony and Laurel Bennett in 1996 and they named Ben, whose full name is Bennett Vander Plas, after Dick Bennett and his family.

Ben Vander Plas has enjoyed a successful career at Ohio. After redshirting his first season in 2017-2018, Vander Plas was named the 2019 Freshman of the Year in the Mid-American Conference (MAC), earned All-MAC Third Team honors in 2020 and 2021, and was named to the All-MAC First Team this season after averaging career-highs in points (14.3 ppg), rebounds (6.8 rpg), and steals (1.8 spg). He shot 45.7% from the floor and 33.8% from three on 5.7 attempts per game and led the Bobcats to a 25-10 season and a quarterfinal finish in the College Basketball Invitational.

Vander Plas was also named the Division I Academic All-America of the Year by the College Sports Information Directors of America and is currently earning a second master's degree at Ohio. He majored in communications and already holds a master's in Sport Administration.

Virginia is also in the mix for West Virginia transfer Sean McNeil, who put the Cavaliers in his top six schools earlier this week.

UVA has been very active in the transfer portal in the past two seasons and has experienced significant roster change due to transfers both in and out of the program. In the last two seasons, a total of seven Cavaliers have transferred out, including Carson McCorkle and Igor Milicic Jr. this season. Last year, Tony Bennett brought in transfers Jayden Gardner (East Carolina) and Armaan Franklin (Indiana), who ended up being UVA's two leading scorers this season.

Bennett and the Cavaliers are looking to the transfer portal to supplement an incoming freshman recruiting class that ranks No. 10 in the nation and includes four-stars Isaac Traudt, Isaac McKneely, Leon Bond, and Ryan Dunn.

Neither McNeil nor Vander Plas have set announcement dates for their transfer decisions.

See more Virginia men's basketball news and content: Virginia Men's Basketball on Sports Illustrated

See more Virginia sports news and content: Virginia Cavaliers on Sports Illustrated