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Transfer Portal Report: Where are Virginia's Outbound Transfers Headed?

Matt Newton

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It's been a little over a week since the college basketball transfer portal opened. 10 Virginia players have entered the portal and, while Ryan Odom and the Cavaliers have yet to bring in any transfer commitments, they have made contact with more than 20 transfer targets so far. Just as important as UVA's efforts to recruit transfers from other schools is the lingering possibility that some of the Virginia players who have entered the portal could withdrawal their names and return to UVA next season. With that in mind, let's check in on those nine Cavaliers and their statuses in the transfer portal.

So far, two names are firmly off the board, having announced their commitments to other schools. Sophomore center Blake Buchanan announced his commitment to Iowa State on Sunday and sophomore guard Dai Dai Ames announced his commitment to California on Tuesday. Both players will have two years of eligibility remaining as they start out at their new schools.

With Ames committing to Cal, Virginia is guaranteed to face him in ACC play next season. The same can't be said for Buchanan, who heads to the Big 12 at Iowa State. But, the Cyclones may be in the market for more than one Cavalier transfer, as Iowa State reportedly hosted Andrew Rohde for a visit. A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rohde is also reportedly set to visit Wisconsin. Rohde has one more year of eligibility.

Redshirt freshman center Anthony Robinson, currently in the portal with three years of eligibility remaining, took a visit to Stanford recently followed by a trip to Xavier on Tuesday. He is also reportedly receiving interest from Kansas, Notre Dame, Miami, New Mexico, and Virginia, which would seem to indicate that the door is at least slightly open for a possible return to UVA.

Isaac McKneely, Virginia's leading scorer and the ACC's top three-point shooter from this past season, would naturally garner interest from ton of major conference programs, but he went into the portal with a "Do Not Contact" tag, so he has been initiating communications with the other schools. The rising senior from West Virginia visited Louisville over the weekend and then took a visit to Tennessee starting on Monday. There were some initial reports about him possibly going to North Carolina, but there is not so much momentum in that direction anymore. When McKneely entered the transfer portal, he left the door open for a return to Virginia. His return would have by far the greatest impact on Virginia's prospects next season, but the Cardinals and Volunteers will likely do whatever it takes to get McKneely to leave.

There have been no reports as of yet on Jacob Cofie, Ishan Sharma, TJ Power, and Christian Bliss. It's unlikely Power and Bliss would come back considering how this past season went for both players, but Cofie and Sharma are both high-potential freshmen with three years of eligibility remaining and it wouldn't be surprising to see Odom and the Cavaliers make a strong push to try to retain them.

Elijah Saunders and Elijah Gertrude are the only scholarship players on the roster who haven't entered the transfer portal. With the portal open for over a week now, it seems those two Elijahs intend to stay. Saunders, Gertrude, and 2025 high school commit Chance Mallory, a Charlottesville native and consensus four-star point guard, are the only guarantees on Virginia's roster for next season at this point.

Update: Elijah Saunders entered the transfer portal on Wednesday (April 2), leaving Elijah Gertrude as the only scholarship player currently set to return for Virginia next season.

Keep track of all of the players Virginia has contacted in the transfer portal here: Virginia Basketball: Transfer Portal Contact Live Tracker

Stay up to date on all the latest Virginia basketball transfer portal activity, including outbound transfers from the current roster and UVA's effort to pursue players in the portal, here: Virginia Basketball Transfer Portal: Latest News and Updates

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.