Virginia Basketball Transfer Portal: Latest News and Updates

Matt Newton | Apr 28, 2025

Emily Faith Morgan-Imagn Images

Another wild edition of the college basketball transfer portal has arrived and this time, things are even more volatile for the Virginia basketball program. Tony Bennett has retired, Ron Sanchez was not retained after his interim season, and the Cavaliers are now under the direction of new head coach Ryan Odom. Things will continue to move fast for Odom and Co. this offseason and this particular cycle of the transfer portal will be more important than ever for the Cavaliers.

We'll use this page as our hub to track all of Virginia's transfer portal activity, including outbound transfers from the current UVA roster and incoming transfers from other schools. For updates on all of the players Virginia has contacted in the transfer portal, click here: Virginia Basketball: Transfer Portal Contact Live Tracker

This article was last updated on April 16th at 11:46am ET.

Virginia Basketball: Latest Transfer Portal Updates

April 28th update: Virginia Basketball Receives Commitment From Big Man Johann Grünloh

Incoming Transfers (6)

• Johann Grünloh, Rasta Vecta Center: Grünloh stands at 6'11 and is coming off a 2024-25 season where he averaged 8.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks in 23.3 minutes per game. He shot 47.6% from the floor and 35.4% from three-point range. Grünloh is a massive addition to Virginia's frontcourt. Read more on Grünloh here.

• Devin Tillis, UC Irvine Forward: Tillis stands at 6'7 and is coming off a 2024-25 season where he averaged 13.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 53.5% from the field and 39.5% from beyond the arc. Tillis gives Ryan Odom his first experienced frontcourt player headed into the 2025-26 season. Read more on Devin Tillis here.

• Dallin Hall, BYU Guard: Over the course of his three years in Provo, Hall played in 100 games with 61 starts and averaged 7.7 points, 4.1 assists, and 2.5 rebounds per game and shot 41.3% from the floor and 35.9% from three-point range. He was named to the West Coast Conference All-Freshman Team in 2023 and was an All-Big 12 honorable mention in 2024. Hall comes to UVA with one year of eligibility remaining. Read more on Dallin Hall here.

• Martin Carrere, VCU Forward: A 6'8" wing from Pontonx-sur-l'Adour, France, Carrere redshirted this past season at VCU and comes to Virginia with four years of eligibility remaining. Carrere played for the French National Team at the U18 FIBA EuroBasket Tournament, averaging 6.7 points per game and shooting 41.9% from beyond the arc. He also played in the Betclic Elite U21 League in France. Read more on Martin Carrere here.

• Jacari White, North Dakota State guard: White averaged 17.1 points per game and shot 39.8% from beyond the arc on more than seven attempts per game. He scored 27 points and knocked down 7/9 three-pointers in a road win at Butler this season. White scored 20+ points in 14 games this season and was named a Second-Team All-Summit League selection at the end of the season and he comes to UVA with one year of eligibility remaining. Read more on Jacari White here.

• Sam Lewis, Toledo guard: Lewis stands at 6'6" and is coming off of a 2024-2025 campaign in which he averaged 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game while shooting 47% from the field. Lewis also earned Second-Team All-MAC honors while starting all 33 games for the Rockets. After playing 64 games over the last two seasons at Toledo, Lewis comes to Virginia with two years of eligibility remaining. Read more on Sam Lewis here.

Reported Visitors

• April 9th: Kansas transfer guard Rakease Passmore has scheduled a visit to Virginia for Friday, April 11th.
• March 29th: Nevada transfer forward Nick Davidson reportedly took a visit to Virginia on March 29th.
• March 28th: VCU freshmen Brandon Jennings and Luke Bamgboye reportedly took visits to Virginia on the weekend of March 28th-30th.

Cut Lists

• April 9th: Santa Clara transfer Tyeree Bryan includes Virginia in his top eight.
• April 1st: Milwaukee transfer forward Jamichael Stillwell includes Virginia in his top six.
• March 30th: Nevada transfer forward Nick Davidson includes Virginia in his top five.
• March 28th: Delaware transfer guard Izaiah Pasha includes Virginia in his top 10.

Outbound Transfers (10)

Departures

• April 16th: Former Virginia guard Ishan Sharma commits to Saint Louis.
• April 12th: Former Virginia forward Elijah Saunders commits to Maryland.
• April 12th: Former Virginia forward TJ Power commits to Penn.
• April 5th: Former Virginia forward Jacob Cofie commits to USC.
• April 4th: Former Virginia center Anthony Robinson commits to Xavier.
• April 3rd: Former Virginia guard Andrew Rohde commits to Wisconsin.
• April 3rd: Former Virginia guard Isaac McKneely commits to Louisville.
• April 2nd: Virginia forward Elijah Saunders enters the transfer portal.
• April 1st: Former Virginia guard Dai Dai Ames commits to California.
• March 30th: Former Virginia center Blake Buchanan commits to Iowa State.
• March 27th: Virginia guard Christian Bliss enters the transfer portal.
• March 27th: Virginia guard Ishan Sharma enters the transfer portal.
• March 25th: Virginia forward Jacob Cofie enters the transfer portal.
• March 24th: Virginia guard Isaac McKneely enters the transfer portal.
• March 24th: Virginia guard Andrew Rohde enters the transfer portal.
• March 24th: Virginia center Anthony Robinson enters the transfer portal.
• March 24th: Virginia forward TJ Power enters the transfer portal.
• March 19th: Virginia guard Dai Dai Ames reportedly plans to enter the transfer portal when it opens on March 24th.
• March 18th: Virginia center Blake Buchanan reportedly plans to enter the transfer portal when it opens on March 24th.

• Isaac McKneely, junior guard: This is the big one. McKneely enters the transfer portal the first day it opens and also the same day that Ryan Odom is formally introduced as Virginia's head coach. According to multiple reports, McKneely is still considering a return to UVA for his final season of eligibility, which makes sense as McKneely loves Virginia and Odom should obviously welcome his return. But, McKneely immediately becomes one of, if not the top three-point shooter in the portal, so he will likely have many suitors among the elite programs in college basketball with big-time NIL offerings. It will be tough for Odom and the Cavaliers to get him to stay. Update: Isaac McKneely has committed to Louisville. Read more here.

• Andrew Rohde, junior guard: Rohde received four votes for the ACC's Most Improved Player Award and deservedly so. After struggling to get into a rhythm in his first season at UVA after transferring from St. Thomas, Rohde evolved into the exact point guard Virginia needed this season, averaging 9.3 points per game (up from 4.3 ppg) and 4.3 assists per game (up from 2.7 apg) and shooting a blistering 41.3% from beyond the arc, a huge increase over his dismal 25.7% he shot from beyond the arc last season. Rohde enters the portal with one year of eligibility remaining. Update: Andrew Rohde has committed to Wisconsin. Read more on Andrew Rohde here.

• Elijah Saunders, junior forward: Maybe the most shocking portal entrance of the offseason for Virginia, Saunders goes into the portal over a week after the window opens and several days after the rest of his Cavalier teammates. Though he missed some time with injury and that certainly impacted his play in the second half of ACC play, this was still a productive first (and seemingly only) season at UVA for the former San Diego State transfer. Saunders appeared in 29 games and made 26 starts, averaging 10.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and shooting 42.0% from the floor and 34.7% from three. He enters the portal with one year of eligibility remaining. Read more on Elijah Saunders here.

• Dai Dai Ames, sophomore guard: Ames played in all but one of Virginia's games this season and started 26 of those 31 games. The former Kansas State transfer was fourth on the team in scoring at 8.7 points per game and shot just below 40% from three (39.7%) on 2.5 attempts per game. After having his minutes dry up at the beginning of ACC play, Ames battled back to earn his spot in the starting lineup and ended the regular season on a streak of 10-consecutive games in double figures. That streak was broken in the final game of the year, as Ames was held to just four points on 1/9 shooting from the field in Virginia's loss to Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament. Ames enters the portal with two years of eligibility remaining. Update: Dai Dai Ames has announced his commitment to Cal. Read more on Dai Dai Ames here.

• Jacob Cofie, freshman forward: A 6'10", 232-pound freshman from Seattle, Cofie looked to be a star in the making after beginning his career with three-straight double-digit scoring games. Though he hit something of a wall midway through the season, Cofie still had a very promising first-year campaign, averaging 7.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game and shooting just under 50% from the floor in 32 games played and 16 starts. Cofie's versatility as a mobile big with good coordination and ball skills should draw a great deal of interest from other major conference programs in the portal, especially with him having three years of eligibility remaining. Update: Jacob Cofie has announced his commitment to USC. Read more on Jacob Cofie here.

• Blake Buchanan, sophomore center: Buchanan played in 66 games over the last two seasons in Charlottesville, logging 28 starts. His best game in a Virginia uniform was one of his first, as Buchanan recorded 18 points and nine rebounds as a freshman to lead the Cavaliers to a big win over Florida early in the 2023-2024 season. That was ultimately the ceiling for Buchanan's time as a Cavalier and he never quite reached it again, averaging 3.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game as a freshman and 5.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game as a sophomore. Buchanan enters the portal with two years of eligibility remaining.
• Update: Blake Buchanan has announced his commitment to Iowa State.

• Anthony Robinson, redshirt freshman center: Robinson was the most physically imposing player on Virginia's roster this season and at times looked like the best option for the Cavaliers to compete in the paint against opposing centers in the ACC. After redshirting his first season and playing limited minutes in the first half of this season, the 6'10" Georgia native carved out an important role for himself in ACC play, seeing double-digit minutes on the floor in 11 of Virginia's last 13 games, including a monstrous 15-point, seven-rebound performance in UVA's win at Virginia Tech. Robinson enters the portal with three years of eligibility remaining. Update: Anthony Robinson has announced his commitment to Xavier. Read more on Anthony Robinson here.

• Ishan Sharma, freshman guard: The 6'5" freshman from Ontario played in 29 games this season and was leaned on heavily early in the season as the Cavaliers were sorting out their point guard situation. Sharma had a stretch of 10-consecutive games playing double-digit minutes, including his lone start of the season at Stanford, but had just one double-digit minute game for the rest of the season and did not play in the ACC Tournament. For the season, Sharma averaged 3.4 points and 12.8 minutes per game and shot 33.3% from beyond the arc. Read more on Ishan Sharma here.

• TJ Power, sophomore forward: The former five-star recruit is back in the portal for the second offseason in a row. After playing sparingly in his freshman season at Duke, Power transferred to Virginia, where he began this season as a starter before quickly exiting the rotation as he struggled to shoot the ball and keep up on defense. Power played in 24 games, but averaged less than 10 minutes per contest and scored just 1.3 points per game. He enters the portal with two years of eligibility remaining. Read more on TJ Power here.

• Christian Bliss, redshirt freshman guard: A 6'4" guard from Queens, New York, Bliss reclassified to the class of 2023 when he committed to UVA and redshirted the 2023-2024 season. When Tony Bennett retired, Bliss remained sidelined with a mysterious foot injury, missing the entire season. Interim head coach Ron Sanchez essentially called Bliss out in early January, saying, "we've done everything we could" and "if he doesn't feel healthy, then he's not." If Bliss is able to qualify for a medical redshirt for the 2024-2025 season, then he'll be in the transfer portal with four years of eligibility remaining. Read more on Christian Bliss here.