Cavaliers Now

San Diego State Transfer Elijah Saunders Commits to Virginia Basketball

Matt Newton

San Diego State transfer Elijah Saunders announces his commitment to the Virginia men's basketball program.
San Diego State transfer Elijah Saunders announces his commitment to the Virginia men's basketball program. / Elijah Saunders/X

Tony Bennett is on a roll now in the transfer portal. The Cavaliers picked up their second transfer commitment of the day and third in the last 72 hours as San Diego State transfer Elijah Saunders announced his commitment to Virginia on Monday night. Saunders, who comes to UVA with two years of eligibility remaining, pledged to the Cavaliers just a couple of hours after they picked up a commitment from Duke forward TJ Power.

A 6'8", 225-pound forward from Phoenix, Arizona, Saunders was a late entrant into the transfer portal last week. He played in 53 games over the last two seasons at San Diego State, including 21 starts. This season, Saunders started 21 of 37 games and averaged 6.2 points and 3.6 rebounds in a little over 20 minutes per contest. He shot 32.2% from beyond the arc on 3.3 three-point attempts per game. His best game came in a win over Washington as he tallied 16 points and went 3/3 from beyond the arc. He also had eight points and a couple of threes in San Diego State's win over Yale in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Saunders entered the transfer portal just before it closed and Virginia reportedly contacted him the first day his name hit the portal. He scheduled official visits to three schools, visiting Washington on Friday and Saturday and then Virginia on Sunday and Monday. Apparently the visit in Charlottesville went pretty well, as Saunders nixed the visit to Clemson and announced his commitment to UVA on Monday night.

After going the first six weeks of the offseason without landing a single transfer commitment, Tony Bennett and the Cavaliers have now added three transfers in the three days. UVA picked up a commitment from Florida State transfer guard Jalen Warley on Saturday and then landed TJ Power and Elijah Saunders on Monday. With the exception of Warley, who will play his final year of eligibility next season, the Cavaliers are forming a great foundation for the future by bringing in Saunders, who has two years of eligibility left, and Power, who has three years remaining.

With the additions of Warley, Power, and Saunders, Virginia has filled 12 of its 13 scholarship spots for the 2024-2025 season.

More Virginia Men's Basketball News and Content

Virginia Basketball Transfer Portal Contact Live Tracker
Duke Forward TJ Power Transfers to Virginia Basketball
Report: Virginia Hosting Kansas State Guard Transfer Dai Dai Ames
Virginia Hosting San Diego State Transfer Forward Elijah Saunders
Former Virginia Wing Leon Bond III Transfers to Northern Iowa
Virginia Basketball Lands First Transfer Commitment From FSU Guard Jalen Warley
Virginia to Host Four-Star Point Guard Trent Perry for Official Visit

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Matt Newton

MATT NEWTON

Managing Editor and Publisher, CavaliersNow Email: mattnewton@virginia.eduTwitter: @mattynewtssWebsite | LinkedIn | Instagram Matt Newton is the managing editor and publisher at CavaliersNow. He has been covering UVA athletics since 2019 and has been the managing editor at CavaliersNow since launching the site in August 2021. Matt covers all things UVA sports, including Virginia basketball and football news and recruiting, former Wahoos in the pros, and coverage of all 23 of the NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. A native of Downingtown, Pennsylvania, Matt grew up a huge Philadelphia sports fan, but has also been a UVA sports fanatic his entire life thanks to his parents, who are alums of the University of Virginia. Matt followed in his parents' footsteps and attended UVA from 2017-2021, graduating with a degree in Media Studies and a minor in Economics in May of 2021.