# 2024–25 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team

The 2024–25 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team represented the University of Virginia during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by interim head coach Ron Sanchez after former head coach Tony Bennett announced his retirement before the start of the season on October 17, 2024. They played their home games at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia, as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

## Previous season

The 2023–24 Cavaliers finished the season 23–11 and 13–7 in ACC play to finish in third place. As the third seed in the ACC tournament, they earned a bye to the quarterfinals, where they defeated third seed Boston College in overtime before losing to eventual champion NC State in overtime in the semifinals. They earned a controversial at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and were placed as a tenth seed in the First Four in the Midwest region. They lost their matchup with Colorado State 67–42 to end their season.

## Offseason
### Tony Bennett Retirement

On October 18, 2024, longtime head coach Tony Bennett announced his surprise retirement. Bennett posted a 364–136 record at UVA, guiding the Cavaliers to the 2019 NCAA Championship, two ACC Tournament titles, six ACC regular-season championships and 10 NCAA tournament appearances. Bennett was named ACC Coach of the Year in 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2019.
Former Charlotte head coach and longtime assistant Ron Sanchez was named the interim head coach following Bennett's announcement.

### Departures

Virginia departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Dante Harris | 1 | G | 6'0" | 170 | Senior | Washington, D.C. | Transferred to Memphis |
| Reece Beekman | 2 | G | 6'3" | 194 | Senior | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Graduated |
| Ryan Dunn | 13 | G | 6'8" | 216 | Sophomore | Freeport, New York | Drafted 28th overall in the 2024 NBA draft |
| Jordan Minor | 22 | F | 6'8" | 242 | Graduate Student | Kingston, Massachusetts | Graduated |
| Tristan How | 24 | F | 6'7" | 210 | Senior | Virginia Beach, Virginia | Graduated |
| Jake Groves | 34 | F | 6'9" | 211 | Graduate Student | Spokane, Washington | Graduated |
| Leon Bond III | 35 | G/F | 6'5" | 200 | Freshman | Wauwatosa, Wisconsin | Transferred to Northern Iowa |
| Jalen Warley | – | G | 6'7" | 205 | Senior | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Transferred to Gonzaga |
* ↑ Harris was demoted to a walk-on and was removed from the roster in September. In December, he committed to Memphis.
* ↑ Warley entered the transfer portal after Bennett retired and committed to Gonzaga in November.

### Incoming transfers

Virginia incoming transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Elijah Saunders | 2 | F | 6'8" | 225 | Junior | Phoenix, Arizona | San Diego State |
| Dai Dai Ames | 7 | G | 6'1" | 185 | Sophomore | Chicago, Illinois | Kansas State |
| TJ Power | 23 | F | 6'9" | 221 | Sophomore | Shrewsbury, Massachusetts | Duke |
| Carter Lang | 35 | F | 6'9" | 235 | Sophomore | Charlottesville, Virginia | Vanderbilt |

### 2024 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Christian Bliss #48 SG | Newtown, PA | George School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jun 30, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 82 ||||||
| Ishan Sharma SG | Milton, ON | Fort Erie International Academy | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Oct 19, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 77 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 16 247Sports: 12 ESPN: – ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Virginia 2024 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 12, 2024. "2024 Virginia Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 12, 2024. "2024 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 12, 2024. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 12, 2024. "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 12, 2024. "Virginia 2024 Basketball Commitments". 247sports.com. Retrieved August 12, 2024. ||||||

## Roster
### Coaches

Virginia coaching staff :
| Name | Position | Year with position | Year on coaching staff | Alma mater | Hometown |
| Ron Sanchez | Dean and Markel Families Interim Head Coach | 1 | 11 | SUNY-Oneonta | San Pedro de Macorís, DR |
| Jason Williford | Associate head coach | 7 | 16 | Virginia | Richmond, VA |
| Orlando Vandross | Assistant Coach | 7 | 10 | American International | |
| Isaiah Wilkins | Assistant Coach | 1 | 4 | Virginia | Lilburn, GA |
| Brad Soderberg | Assistant Coach | 1 | 10 | UW-Stevens Point | Wausau, WI |
| Larry Mangino | Director of player development | 4 | 9 | Montclair State | |
| Chase Coleman | Graduate assistant | 1 | 1 | Virginia | Norfolk, Virginia |
| Kyle Guy | Athlete Development Mentor and Special Assistant | 1 | 1 | Virginia | Indianapolis, IN |
| Mike Curtis | Strength and conditioning coach | 16 | 16 | Virginia | Richmond, VA |
| Ethan Saliba | Head Athletic Trainer | 27 | 42 | Kansas | |
| Ronnie Wideman | Associate AD for Basketball Administration/Operations | 15 | 16 | Washington State | Washougal, WA |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+ | | Campbell | W 65–56 | 1–0 | 16 – Cofie | 7 – Buchanan | 5 – Tied | John Paul Jones Arena (13,414) Charlottesville, VA |
| November 11, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+ | | Coppin State | W 62–45 | 2–0 | 15 – Saunders | 11 – Cofie | 3 – Tied | John Paul Jones Arena (13,294) Charlottesville, VA |
| November 15, 2024* 5:00 p.m., TNT/TruTV | | vs. Villanova Hall of Fame Series | W 70–60 | 3–0 | 23 – McKneely | 6 – Tied | 4 – Rohde | CFG Bank Arena (4,868) Baltimore, MD |
| November 21, 2024* 9:30 p.m., CBSSN | | vs. No. 11 Tennessee Baha Mar Hoops Championship semifinals | L 42–64 | 3–1 | 12 – Ames | 7 – Buchanan | 3 – Tied | Baha Mar Convention Center (2,077) Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 22, 2024* 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | vs. No. 22 St. John's Baha Mar Hoops Championship 3rd place game | L 55–80 | 3–2 | 12 – Saunders | 7 – Cofie | 3 – Tied | Baha Mar Convention Center (2,119) Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 26, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | Manhattan | W 74–65 | 4–2 | 18 – McKneely | 6 – Saunders | 5 – Ames | John Paul Jones Arena (12,347) Charlottesville, VA |
| November 29, 2024* 4:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+ | | Holy Cross | W 67–41 | 5–2 | 16 – Ames | 6 – Tied | 4 – Tied | John Paul Jones Arena (13,488) Charlottesville, VA |
| December 4, 2024* 7:15 p.m., ESPN2 | | at No. 13 Florida ACC–SEC Challenge | L 69–87 | 5–3 | 19 – Saunders | 7 – McKneely | 5 – McKneely | O'Connell Center (9,184) Gainesville, FL |
| December 7, 2024 2:15 p.m., The CW | | at SMU | L 51–63 | 5–4 (0–1) | 17 – McKneely | 4 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Moody Coliseum (5,189) University Park, TX |
| December 12, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | Bethune–Cookman | W 59–41 | 6–4 | 15 – Saunders | 10 – Cofie | 4 – McKneely | John Paul Jones Arena (12,021) Charlottesville, VA |
| December 18, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | No. 21 Memphis | L 62–64 | 6–5 | 15 – Saunders | 6 – Robinson | 5 – McKneely | John Paul Jones Arena (12,108) Charlottesville, VA |
| December 22, 2024* 2:00 p.m., ACCN | | American | W 63–58 | 7–5 | 21 – Saunders | 8 – Saunders | 4 – Tied | John Paul Jones Arena (12,384) Charlottesville, VA |
| December 31, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | NC State | W 70–67 | 8–5 (1–1) | 22 – Saunders | 5 – Saunders | 7 – Rohde | John Paul Jones Arena (13,875) Charlottesville, Va |
| January 4, 2025 4:00 p.m., ACCN | | Louisville | L 50–70 | 8–6 (1–2) | 16 – Rohde | 5 – Murray | 4 – McKneely | John Paul Jones Arena (13,316) Charlottesville, Va |
| January 8, 2025 11:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at California | L 61–75 | 8–7 (1–3) | 14 – Rohde | 10 – Saunders | 6 – Rohde | Haas Pavilion (3,696) Berkeley, CA |
| January 11, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Stanford | L 65–88 | 8–8 (1–4) | 22 – McKneely | 5 – Tied | 5 – Rohde | Maples Pavilion (4,504) Stanford, CA |
| January 15, 2025 9:00 p.m., ACCN | | SMU | L 52–54 | 8–9 (1–5) | 11 – Buchanan | 15 – Buchanan | 4 – Tied | John Paul Jones Arena (13,554) Charlottesville, VA |
| January 18, 2025 12:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Louisville | L 67–81 | 8–10 (1–6) | 19 – Saunders | 10 – Saunders | 4 – Tied | KFC Yum! Center (18,233) Louisville, KY |
| January 21, 2025 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | Boston College | W 74–56 | 9–10 (2–6) | 21 – McKneely | 6 – Tied | 6 – Rohde | John Paul Jones Arena (13,481) Charlottesville, VA |
| January 25, 2025 6:30 p.m., ESPN2 | | Notre Dame | L 59–74 | 9–11 (2–7) | 17 – Cofie | 6 – Tied | 4 – Ames | John Paul Jones Arena (14,637) Charlottesville, VA |
| January 29, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Miami | W 82–71 | 10–11 (3–7) | 26 – McKneely | 9 – Buchanan | 7 – Murray | Watsco Center (5,509) Coral Gables, FL |
| February 1, 2025 4:00 p.m., ACCN | | Virginia Tech Rivalry | L 74–75 | 10–12 (3–8) | 19 – McKneely | 6 – Tied | 7 – Tied | John Paul Jones Arena (14,637) Charlottesville, VA |
| February 3, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN | | at Pittsburgh | W 73–57 | 11–12 (4–8) | 27 – Ames | 11 – Buchanan | 9 – Rohde | Petersen Events Center (9,075) Pittsburgh, PA |
| February 8, 2025 5:30 p.m., The CW | | Georgia Tech | W 75–61 | 12–12 (5–8) | 20 – McKneely | 11 – Buchanan | 9 – Rohde | John Paul Jones Arena (14,637) Charlottesville, VA |
| February 15, 2025 2:00 p.m., The CW | | at Virginia Tech Rivalry | W 73–70 | 13–12 (6–8) | 22 – McKneely | 7 – Tied | 9 – Rohde | Cassell Coliseum (8,925) Blacksburg, VA |
| February 17, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN | | No. 3 Duke | L 62–80 | 13–13 (6–9) | 15 – Tied | 5 – Rhode | 5 – Rhode | John Paul Jones Arena (14,445) Charlottesville, VA |
| February 22, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at North Carolina | L 66–81 | 13–14 (6–10) | 17 – McKneely | 6 – Buchanan | 4 – Tied | Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 26, 2025 9:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Wake Forest | W 83–75 | 14–14 (7–10) | 27 – McKneely | 6 – Saunders | 5 – McKneely | LJVM Coliseum (7,851) Winston-Salem, NC |
| March 1, 2025 12:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | No. 13 Clemson | L 58–71 | 14–15 (7–11) | 16 – McKneely | 6 – Saunders | 5 – Rohde | John Paul Jones Arena (13,992) Charlottesville, VA |
| March 4, 2025 9:00 p.m., ACCN | | Florida State | W 60–57 | 15–15 (8–11) | 18 – Ames | 8 – Buchanan | 4 – Buchanan | John Paul Jones Arena (13,503) Charlottesville, VA |
| March 8, 2025 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Syracuse | L 70–84 | 15–16 (8–12) | 13 – Cofie | 6 – Robinson | 4 – Rohde | JMA Wireless Dome (20,274) Syracuse, NY |
| ACC tournament |||||||||
| March 12, 2025 12:00 p.m., ESPN | (9) | vs. (8) Georgia Tech Second round | L 60–66 | 15–17 | 27 – McKneely | 5 – Tied | 3 – Rohde | Spectrum Center (9,722) Charlotte, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||