Camera shutters will click, the brass band will blare, students will sway, the lights will go low. For a split second Monday, John Paul Jones Arena will feel familiar. Then that sense will quickly snap when 12 unfamiliar faces sprint out onto the court.
The program has deliberately tried to pull back the curtain on this new-look team — from the “Proving Grounds” documentary series to a public home exhibition, they have made a concerted effort to connect with the fanbase. But let’s be honest — the curtain is still only partially drawn. So who exactly are these guys? Here’s eight numbers to introduce them.
12 newcomers
The 2025–26 roster is almost unrecognizable to the casual Cavalier fan, as seven transfers and five freshmen join only three sophomore returners. Coach Ryan Odom hit the transfer portal hard after the player exodus in the offseason, bringing in experienced talent from across the country. Odom said that he and his staff prioritized players of strong character to join the freshman and returners.
“The number one thing that we established [was to] put together a roster of guys that are just really good dudes,” Odom said. “They enjoy one another. They're committed to coming in and learning every single day.”
These “really good dudes”? Guards in Dallin Hall of BYU, Malik Thomas of San Francisco, Jacari White of North Dakota State and Sam Lewis of Toledo, center Ugonna Onyenso of Kansas State and forwards Devin Tillis of UC Irvine and Martin Carrere, a redshirt freshman from Odom’s 2024-25 VCU roster.
In July, Odom added pseudo-freshman Thijs De Ridder — he is 22 years old and will only have two years of college eligibility — a 6-foot-9 Belgian forward with two years of professional ball in Spain already under his belt. The other freshmen coming in are local guard Chance Mallory, German center Johann Grünloh, forward Silas Barksdale and coach’s son and guard Owen Odom.
8 guys 6-foot-6 or taller
If there is one thing that jumps out immediately on the roster, it’s height. Six players stand at a whopping 6-foot-6 or taller with Grünloh and Onyenso capping things off at 7 feet. At the team’s media day, Odom commented on the talent of the latter two.
“[Grünloh and Onyenso] have done a really nice job so far of protecting the rim for us when our guards are going downhill and attacking,” Odom said. “They're really tough to score over and that's something that we're going to need this year.”
This skyscraping team is something that Virginia has not had the luxury of in recent years. Odom has explicitly stated that he will demand that his players push the pace with this kind of size, creating what will be a new on-court look for Virginia.
“The pace is gonna be a lot faster,” Hall said. “We definitely don't want to lose that defensive identity of being gritty … there's gonna be nights where you don't shoot well … you have to hang your hat on the defensive end.”
6 seasoned upperclassmen
Virginia has six players in at least their third year of college — upperclassmen in Lewis and Onyenso and then graduate students in Hall, Thomas, Tillis and White — their experience should translate to composure in tight game situations.
Odom took Hall and Thomas to represent the team at ACC Tipoff in Charlotte, N.C, highlighting the leadership shown by the pair in the offseason. Hall was a starter in 61 games over his three years at BYU and Thomas was the go-to guy at San Francisco, dropping nearly 20 points a night in the 2024-25 season.
Tillis has also established himself as a spirit leader of sorts, hosting teammates such as Hall and White on his new podcast, Good Ol’ Hoops. This role was evident Friday, where Tillis brought the energy in both warmups and in the game, delivering some key plays — recording six defensive rebounds in less than 15 minutes of playing time.
The on-court chemistry was far from seamless — as expected in October — but showed promise, especially with facilitation by the other three graduates.
“We have that experience throughout our roster that you know can pay dividends for us,” Odom said. “But ultimately they have to play well together, and so that's what we're working on each and every day.”
5 months of culture-building
Although the season is only now beginning, the work of building a cohesive team started as far back as June. Over the summer, Odom and his staff hammered home Virginia’s culture and core principles — Bennett’s famous pillars — humility, passion, unity, servanthood and thankfulness. Gertrude, one of the returners, mentioned that he has appreciated the continuity along with the new sixth pillar of “accountability” that Odom has introduced.
“I'll say the culture [Odom has] created, just being here for the summer, it's been amazing to see,” Gertrude said. “He didn't get rid of any of Coach Bennett's pillars, so he knew the culture that was here. He came on [and] added to it.”
From June through October, the team mixed book clubs with bowling and paintball with pets. Odom and his staff brought in alumna Rick Carlisle — now the head coach for the Indiana Pacers — to speak to the importance of the jersey they wear.
“I do like the camaraderie [and] the purpose that this group is playing with,” Odom said at ACC Tipoff. “The connectivity that I'm seeing, their willingness to be a part of something bigger than themselves and a genuine desire to play for the people that have come before us.”
4 sharpshooters
If you love three-pointers, you will love this team. A notable strength of Odom’s first roster is shooting — four expected rotation players each shot around 40 percent from deep last season.
Lewis is the headliner on paper, having led the entire MAC at 44.4 percent from three for Toledo. White hit nearly 40 percent while averaging 17 points a game at North Dakota State. Tillis, though more of a combo forward, drained 39.5 percent of his threes at UC Irvine. Thomas shot 39.4 percent from deep during his breakout senior year at USF, and was 40 percent the year prior as well.
This quartet will no doubt help to unlock the rest of Odom’s offensive map — but with so many proven shooters, they will need to acknowledge that there is only one ball on the court.
“You know, I love shooting threes … but we have a bunch of guys who are going to make a lot of threes this year, so it's easy to make the extra pass or whatever.” Tillis said. “You know, you have Jacari White sitting next to you and shoot a three, and he's gonna make it nine times out of 10.”
3 Charlottesville natives
Virginia’s roster now includes three products of St. Anne’s-Belfield — 4-star point guard Chance Mallory, along with sophomores Carter Lang and Desmond Roberts. The hometown trio played on AAU teams together, with both Lang and Mallory’s dads as coaches along the way.
“Even just being at the University, a lot of people from [Charlottesville] don't get that opportunity,” Roberts said in “Proving Grounds”. “Being able to be here and wear [Virginia] across my chest … it means a lot to me.”
While Roberts and Lang are both preferred walk-ons, Mallory is expected to be a key piece in Odom’s rotation — he brings both deep range and a big-moment resume. Mallory initially decommitted upon the news of Bennett’s departure but eventually chose to stay home and play for the Cavaliers, saying he loved the city too much not to stay.
At Virginia’s exhibition game against Villanova this past Friday, Mallory was the sole Charlottesville native in the Cavalier’s rotation. He was the first player to be introduced, his name over the loudspeaker generating an ear-ringing roar from the packed lower bowl — and every shot he made brought louder cheers from the crowd than for any other player.
“It's definitely still crazy,” Mallory said. “Even coming into practice, just walking around, looking at the nosebleeds and where I used to sit … is definitely a pretty surreal moment.”
2 international pros
Two of the new Cavaliers are unique in that they are already exceedingly familiar with high-level adult basketball.
De Ridder spent two seasons in Spain’s Liga ACB with Surne Bilbao Basket — he was named as one of the league’s Top 5 Young Guys for 2025. Grünloh comes from Germany’s Basketball Bundesliga with SC RASTA Vechta and was recognised as the country’s first division U22 Player of the Year in 2023-24.
“I think you’ve got to be ready for everything, contesting them at the rim every time, because they can really jump and shoot out different shots,” Grünloh said of collegiate basketball. “When you’ve got an American teammate overseas, they can pull up from anywhere, shoot threes off the dribble. But here, everybody can do it.”
International flavor is nothing new for Odom, or for Virginia — Jack Salt of New Zealand and Mamadi Diakite of Guinea led the Cavalier frontcourt en route to the 2019 National Championship — but seeing two players with such established professional backgrounds is certainly unique. For Odom, having these two young and experienced bigs means he can trust them in bigger roles sooner.
“A lot of times these younger players overseas, they’re playing against better talent night in and night out than American kids,” Odom said. “I think just their system lends itself for them to be a little bit more advanced offensively.”
14,593 seats
One figure has not changed — the capacity of John Paul Jones Arena. Odom has called Charlottesville and the University “a special place” and wants his players to feel that. How quickly that connection forms will be measured on the court — but, just as importantly, in how often the 14,593 are there to see it.
“I think we just have a tremendous amount of respect for U.Va. as a program,” Hall said at ACC Tipoff. “We're bought in to getting it back to that championship level.”
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