The Biggest Transfer Portal Loss For The Virginia Cavaliers

Virginia has done a spectacular job of retooling the roster after finishing with its most wins in program history in 2025 and adding a bowl victory. They went 7-1 in the ACC and had a shot at an ACC title. The Cavaliers had 20 players hit the portal and decided to look for greener pastures. It is tough to stomach, but it is the new era of college football. The Hoos didn’t rest on their laurels and decided to be aggressive and get some acquisitions of their own. Let’s take a deeper dive into some names that hit the portal that were big losses.

There are a lot of names that you can throw out here as the biggest losses in the portal in Eli Wood, Terrell Jones, Mekhi Buchanan, Ja’Son Prevard, Dre Walker, Tyshawn Wyatt, Emmanuel Karnley, Da’Marcus Crosby, and even Bjorn Jurgensen.

There were also several players who hit the portal who changed their mind and decided to come back to Charlottesville, in Maddox Marcellus and Kameron Courtney, both key players for the Cavaliers moving forward in 2026.

The biggest loss is Trell Harris, in my opinion. Yes, Virginia brought back Courtney and Jahmal Edrine while bringing in Da’Shawn Martin and Rico Flores Jr, but that doesn’t equate to the impact Harris had on the team in 2025. Harris was easily the best player on the field and the Hoos best playmaker. He was the leading wide receiver for Virginia and finished with 59 catches, 847 yards, and five touchdowns. He had two games with 100 yards receiving. He had his best game against Stanford, finishing with four catches for 145 yards and three touchdowns. Harris also went off against Duke the first time, finishing with eight catches for 161 yards and a touchdown. He also finished with career-highs this season according to Pro Football Focus (PFF), posting a 77.0 offensive grade and a 77.2 receiving grade. Harris also had an impressive drop rating of 80.2, which lands in the elite category for wideouts when looking at the statistics for wide receivers. He was the best wide receiver that Virginia has had in a while.

It is never easy to replace that level of production and a player who was a go-to option on offense a season ago. Harris played multiple positions from out wide and the boundary to the slot. He lined up 82 times in the slot and 313 snaps out wide. That versatility is another thing that isn’t easy to find and have success with. He was also explosive with 363 yards after the catch when he got the ball in his hands. He truly did a little bit of everything and made Virginia’s offense really good this past season.

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