The Virginia baseball team’s 4-2 win June 24 against Vanderbilt brought the Cavaliers their first College World Series title, while also officially bringing to a close the 2014-15 collegiate athletic schedule.
But as the old cliché goes, the season never ends.
Virginia coaches have been hitting the recruiting trail hard trying to lock up potential All-American athletes. Here is a recap of the recruiting progress on the men’s basketball, football, men’s lacrosse and men’s and women’s soccer fronts.
Men’s Basketball
Prior to Justin Anderson’s departure to the NBA and B.J. Stith’s transfer to Old Dominion, the Cavaliers had just one scholarship available for their 2015 class, which was filled by forward Jarred Reuter. The Marion, Massachusetts native will contribute to a physical frontcourt, although he is a redshirt candidate with freshman Jack Salt coming off his own redshirt season.
Virginia has been unsuccessful in filling the two scholarship voids left by Anderson and Stith. The Cavaliers lost out on Virginia Commonwealth decommit Kenny Williams, who signed with North Carolina, and junior college transfer Ty Outlaw, who committed to Virginia Tech.
As for the 2016 class, Virginia has received a trio of commitments from Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome and Jay Huff, all of whom are four-star prospects. Although a number of top players have yet to commit, Virginia currently holds the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class, according to 24/7 Sports.
Guy, a 6-2 shooting guard from Indianapolis, is the class’s No. 45 ranked player and ninth best at his position, according to ESPN. The Indianapolis native drew praise at the recent NBPA Top 100 Camp for his shooting and ball-handling savvy.
Jerome is a 6-5 point guard out of New York who, like Guy, provided a headline grabbing performance at the Top 100 Camp. Virginia’s first commitment in the class of 2016 is the No. 66 ranked player in the class and 12th best at his position, according to ESPN.
Huff will almost certainly redshirt his first year on Grounds — at 6-10 and just 180 pounds, a year with strength and conditioning coach Mike Curtis seems all but necessary to contribute at the next level. Although he is still a project, Huff has decent handles and can shoot the three, which eventually could cause matchup nightmares as a stretch four.
Virginia will look at add at least one more player to the 2016 class. Four-star power forward Sacha Killeya-Jones, the No. 57 player in the class according to ESPN out of local Virginia Episcopal School, decommitted from the Cavaliers in June after originally committing New Year’s Day. Although Virginia is still in the hunt, it seems unlikely Killeya-Jones will land in Charlottesville after receiving offers from North Carolina and Kentucky.
Another potential prospect is Mamadi Diakite, an athletic, four-star power forward out of Cashiers, N.C. Virginia seems to be the favorite to land ESPN’s No. 70 ranked player.
Football
Virginia brought in a 23-player class for 2015. After landing two five-star recruits in safety Quin Blanding and defensive tackle Andrew Brown in 2014, this year’s class lacked many headline-grabbing names. The Cavaliers did not receive commitments from any five-stars, and missed out on all but two four-stars — linebackers C.J. Stalker and Jahvoni Simmons.
The 2015 class, which coach Mike London described as “blue collar,” was ranked No. 44 nationally, according to Rivals.com.
Virginia’s 2016 class currently has 18 commitments, and like 2015, is composed mostly of three-star prospects.
The Cavaliers have been on a tear of late in the trenches, picking up commitments from three offensive linemen in as many days between June 29 and July 1. Virginia now has four offensive linemen signed in the class.
An interesting prospect to watch is New Jersey pro-style quarterback Sonny Abramson, who although is currently a consensus three-star recruit, was given four-stars by 24/7 Sports last fall.
And typical of any London recruiting class, Virginia’s 2016 commits include a number of skill-position players. The Cavaliers currently have received commitments from five wide receivers, three defensive backs and one athlete. Virginia’s lone running back — Shelby, N.C. native Tre Harbison — chose Virginia over offers from South Carolina and West Virginia, among others.
According to 24/7 sports, the Cavaliers’ 2016 class currently ranks No. 32 in the nation.
Men’s Lacrosse
Lacrosse recruiting usually does not attract the same attention as football and basketball, but one Virginia recruit made fireworks the night before Independence Day.
Ryan Conrad, Inside Lacrosse’s No. 1 senior entering the spring of 2015, won MVP honors for his three goal and three assist performance at the Under Armour All-America Game in Towson, Maryland. Conrad added five ground balls and showed he could fill in on faceoffs in a pinch, winning six of 11 draws.
The midfielder from Timonium, Maryland attended the same high school — Loyola-Blakefield — as former Virginia All-American and Tewaaraton winner Steele Stanwick.
Other notable commitments in Virginia’s 2015 class include defenseman Zach Ambrosino and attackman Mikey Herring, the No. 16 and No. 39 ranked prospects in the class, respectively, according to Inside Lacrosse.
Soccer
The defending national champion Virginia men’s soccer team boasts the fourth-ranked 2015 recruiting class, according to College Soccer News. The six incoming freshmen are headlined by forwards Edward Opoku and Malcolm Dixon, the No. 8 and No. 15 best members of the 2015 class, according to College Soccer News.
Meanwhile, the Virginia women’s soccer team brought in a 12-member 2015 class — the largest in program history. Top Drawer Soccer ranks coach Steve Swanson’s haul as the third best in the country.
Read More
With a new star at the helm, Tony Bennett and company will be just fine
By Xander Tilock | 6 hours agoGertrude will aim to become a significant contributor for a young Virginia squad in 2024-25.
No. 6 women’s lacrosse relies on veteran goalscoring to defeat Virginia Tech 14-12
By Peter Kratz | 10 hours agoThe Hokies came close, but ultimately couldn’t contend with the Cavaliers’ offensive firepower.
Leo Afonso is ascending the ranks of club soccer — and he is not done yet
By Ben Istvan | YesterdayVirginia's former talisman recently made waves in professional soccer with a dreamlike 17-day stretch.
