Virginia Guard Christian Bliss Enters Portal After Two Seasons on the Bench

Virginia Athletic

It took a few more days than expected, but Christian Bliss is finally into the transfer portal as well. Virginia redshirt freshman guard Christian Bliss has entered the transfer portal, as first reported by On3's Jamie Shaw on Thursday evening (March 27). Bliss, who redshirted the 2023-2024 season and then didn't play at all in the 2024-2025 season either due to an ill-defined foot injury, is the ninth Cavalier to enter the transfer portal this offseason.

Virginia freshman guard Christian Bliss has entered the Transfer Portal @On3sports has learned https://t.co/N0eUV4E65D pic.twitter.com/ngBWSx4GJ2

— Jamie Shaw (@JamieShaw5) March 27, 2025

This became the most likely outcome for Bliss's time in Charlottesville by the midway point of this season, when it became clear that Bliss would likely never play a second on the court for the Cavaliers despite being with the program for two full seasons. A 6'4" guard from Queens, New York, Bliss committed to Virginia back in June of 2023 as a four-star recruit, choosing the Hoos over offers from Villanova, Xavier, and Miami. Bliss was originally a member of the recruiting class of 2024, but reclassified to 2023 and arrived at UVA that fall.

Following the long line of Virginia recruits to redshirt their first seasons at Virginia, Bliss redshirted the 2023-2024 season and then seemed to be in line to play a key role for the Cavaliers this season as they tried to replace the point guard production of Reece Beekman by committee. Instead, Tony Bennett's retirement coincided, somewhat conveniently, with a foot injury that sidelined Bliss for the beginning of the season. Interim head coach Ron Sanchez was asked repeatedly about Bliss's status and Sanchez never had many details, but assured the media that Bliss would be back "soon enough."

Then, in his first weekly ACC coaches Zoom press conference on January 6th, Sanchez finally gave a real answer on Christian Bliss. Here's what he said:

"Right now, [Christian Bliss] has the opportunity to step on the floor and practice. He's just not feeling good enough to get on the floor and that's a player decision. We as coaches are not going to force him to get out there. If he says that "my foot is bothering me and I don't feel like I can perform at the level that I want to", we'll continue to nurse him. Our doctors have done a fantastic job with him. Right now, it's a decision that he has to feel good enough and comfortable enough and confident with his foot in order for him to get on the floor."

Sanchez was asked a follow-up question on if UVA's medical staff had cleared Bliss to play and here was his response: "I will have to talk to our trainers about that. I think that right now, we've done everything we could. This is more of a player feeling. If he doesn't feel healthy, then he's not."

Sanchez wasn't asked about Bliss again after that. It remains mostly speculation, but it seems that Bliss was angling for a medical redshirt for the 2024-2025 season so that he could enter the transfer portal at the end of the season with four years of eligibility remaining. Again, that's only speculation, but if it's really the case that Bliss had been cleared to play, but simply decided not to, then that would be the most likely and logical explanation for this sequence of events, which just came to an end with Bliss indeed entering the transfer portal, ending his two years at Virginia without ever seeing the floor.

Christian Bliss is the ninth Virginia player to enter the transfer portal this offseason, joining junior guard Isaac McKneely, junior guard Andrew Rohde, sophomore guard Dai Dai Ames, freshman forward Jacob Cofie, redshirt freshman center Anthony Robinson, sophomore center Blake Buchanan, freshman guard Ishan Sharma, and sophomore forward TJ Power.

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