Wahoos add Tennessee DB via the portal
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Photo: VolReport
Tony Elliott told media immediately after Virginia’s spring game that he wanted to add depth in his defensive backfield, offensive line and at running back, and that’s exactly what he has done over the past week via the transfer portal.
UVA gained a commitment Monday from former Tennessee defensive back Christian Charles, who played 30 games for the Vols over four seasons. Charles is a 6-foot-1, 200-pound native of Gainesville, Ga., who played cornerback early in his UT career but then switched to safety.
Last week, Elliott brought in another DB, Jordan Robinson, from Cincinnati, and over the weekend made a big haul, adding three more players of need: a running back and two offensive linemen, giving UVA eight transfers since the spring game and 27 overall.
After missing most of the 2023 season due to an Achilles injury in the second game, Charles posted a strong junior season for the Vols in 2024. While he didn’t start, he appeared in 10 games for a defensive-rich Tennessee team.
Included over that 10-game span were season-high 29 snaps vs. Alabama and Kentucky, 27 snaps and three tackles vs. Georgia, 26 snaps against Florida, 24 vs. Arkansas and 21 vs. 15th-ranked Oklahoma.
In 2022, Charles started six of 10 games, including a mind-boggling 81 snaps vs. No. 20 Florida. Against Vanderbilt, he posted 49 snaps and allowed only one reception.
As a freshman in ‘21, he played in eight games, all at corner, with one start.
In all, he made 69 career tackles in 7 starts (30 games), had 2 tackles for loss, a fumble recovery that led to a TD against Alabama and a PBU.
At Cestatee High School in Gainesville, Ga., he was rated a 3-star, and while he was a dual-threat quarterback, the recruiting services rated him as an “athlete,” not sure where he would play in college. He was the No. 31-ranked athlete in his recruiting class by Rivals and had some impressive numbers as a quarterback.
He passed for 4,521 yards and 25 touchdowns, while rushing for 2,711 yards and 33 more scores during his career.
Charles was offered by 23 colleges his final year at Chestatee.
Men’s Golf: Virginia defeats UNC to capture program’s first ACC title
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Photo: UVA Athletics
In another tightly contested match at the 2025 ACC Championship, Virginia edged North Carolina, 3-2, to win its first ever ACC crown in Bowling Green, Ky. Three of the five matches went to the 18th hole, including the final pairing in which Bryan Lee held off Maxwell Ford to clinch the victory.
Serving as the anchor for the Cavalier lineup for the second-straight day, Lee leaned on his short game to secure the 2-UP victory. After 13 holes, Lee was down by two and chipped in for birdie on 14 to begin an epic comeback. He won the eighth hole on a 25-foot birdie putt. The chip-in began a stretch where he won four of his last five holes to help UVA eventually win its first ACC title.
Senior Deven Patel led his match from the first hole and never relented to give UVA its second point of the day. With wins on the first two holes, Patel had won six-straight holes going back to Sunday’s semifinal. He went up by as many as three after nine holes and withstood a late charge by Keaton Vo. Patel won 1-UP, halving the 18th hole with a par.
Patel won a match in the quarterfinal, had a comeback win in the semifinal and another in the final. He and North Carolina’s David Ford, the No. 1 player in the Scoreboard powered by Clippd individual rankings, were the only players in the tournament to win three matches.
Virginia secured the first point of the day by either team courtesy of Paul Chang who defeated Sihan Sandu 2&1. Chang never trailed in the match and broke a stalemate with a par on the difficult 16th and ended the match with a par on the 17th hole.
North Carolina, the No. 8 team in the country according to the Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll, kept the match tight all day. At one juncture, all five matches were either tied or within one after nine holes were completed by all 10 competitors.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- Virginia wins its first ACC Championship in program history. They have previously finished runner-up five times (1958, 1996, 2010, 2012 & 2019).
- Deven Patel was the only player on UVA to win all three of his matches.
- This was UVA’s first appearance in the ACC match play final. The ACC first started using match play to determine the league champion in 2021.
- UVA is 3-1 all-time in ACC match play with its only loss coming in 2023 to Wake Forest.
- Virginia bested second-place North Carolina by eight strokes in the 54-hole stroke play competition to earn the top-seed going into match play. The two teams only played in one tournament together in the 2024-25 regular season, The Hayt in Jacksonville, Fla. hosted by the University of North Florida. The Tar Heels (-1) finished one stroke ahead of UVA (E), placing fourth.
ACC MATCH PLAY FINAL RESULTS
UVA 3, NORTH CAROLINA 2
Chang (UVA) def. Sandhu (UNC) – 2&1
Ford (UNC) def. Duangmanee (UVA) – 1 UP
Roscich (UNC) def. James (UVA) – 3&2
Patel (UVA) def. Vo (UNC) – 1 UP
Lee (UVA) vs. M. Ford (UNC) – 2 UP
UP NEXT
Selections for the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships will take place on Wednesday from 1-2 p.m. ET on the GOLF Channel.
Tennis: UVA to host men’s and women’s NCAA Regionals this weekend
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Virginia will be hosting the first and second rounds of both the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships for the fifth straight year.
The first two rounds will take place Friday through Sunday at the Virginia Tennis Facility at the Boar’s Head Resort.
The men’s team (20-7) earned an at-large bid into the championship and was named the No. 7 overall seed. The Cavaliers will take on Bucknell (19-6) in the second match on Saturday at 1 p.m. St. John’s (25-2) and Princeton (21-8) will face each other in the first match of the day at 10 a.m.
The women’s team (20-5) earned an at-large bid and the No. 7 seed in the field of 64 teams. Virginia will battle Fairleigh Dickinson (11-7) in the second match on Friday at 1 p.m. Illinois (14-12) and Arizona (19-10) will square off in the opener at 10 a.m.
Admission is free for the matches.
This is the Virginia men’s 21st-consecutive NCAA Championship bid, and the 20th time that they have hosted a regional. The Cavaliers have won six NCAA titles.
The women are making their 24th overall appearance in the NCAA Women’s Tennis Championships and their seventh straight under head coach Sara O’Leary.
The 16 teams advancing from the second round of the tournament will participate in two-team super regionals on the campuses of the higher-seeded teams, set to take place on May 9-11. As top-eight seeds, both Cavalier teams are in line to host super regionals next weekend if they advance. The men would host the winner of the Tucson Regional, while the women would host the winner of the Knoxville Regional.
The eight super regional winners will advance to Baylor’s Hurd Tennis Center in Waco, Texas, with the quarterfinals through championship matches being held May 15-18.
UVA hosted both the men’s and women’s regionals for seven straight years from 2010-2016 and also did so each of the last four years.
2025 NCAA TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP – CHARLOTTESVILLE REGIONAL
FRIDAY, MAY 2 (WOMEN)
10 a.m. — Illinois vs Arizona
1 p.m. — (7) Virginia vs Fairleigh Dickinson
SATURDAY, MAY 3 (MEN)
10 a.m. — St. John’s vs. Princeton
1 p.m. — (7) Virginia vs. Bucknell
SATURDAY, MAY 3 (WOMEN)
4 p.m. — Second Round Match
SUNDAY, MAY 4 (WOMEN)
1 p.m. — Second Round Match
Odom lands 6-11 German big man
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Photo: Proballers
Ryan Odom’s first Virginia basketball team will have a little international spice to it this fall, enhanced Monday by a commitment from 6-foot-11 Johann Grunloh, one of the top international players coming to America.
Grunloh, from Hamburg, Germany, committed to UVA on Monday, boosting the Cavaliers frontcourt. The big man, projected by some as a potential second-round NBA Draft choice, instead to give college hoops a try. He is considered the second-best shot blocker playing in the German BBL, the highest level of professional club basketball in Germany.
Reportedly, Grunloh chose Virginia over Indiana and several other schools in pursuit.
That’s where Odom’s strong international recruiting ties, traced back to father, Dave’s, recruiting roots at Virginia and Wake Forest, i.e. Tim Duncan, Ricky Peral and others.
Grunloh will join 6-8 wing Martin Carrere from France on Virginia’s roster. Carrere redshirted last season at VCU and followed Ryan Odom to UVA. Odon’s VCU team also had two players from London and another from Ukraine.
Playing this season in Germany for SC Rasta Vechta, Grunloh teamed with former Virginia big man Jayden Gardner, who likely had a strong influence on the big German’s decision to come to Charlottesville.
This year, Grunloh has played in 33 games and has made at least 32 3-pointers, shooting 35 percent from the arc and 47 percent of his field goal tries. He averages 8.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots in 23.3 minutes per game. He has posted at least 13 double-figure performances this season.
Grunloh is 19 years old and turns 20 this fall.
Virginia adds RB, pair of O-Linemen over weekend
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Photo: UVA Athletics
Virginia continued to mine the NCAA transfer portal this weekend and added three more players to its roster, including a running back and two offensive linemen.
The Cavaliers, now with 26 incoming transfers, including seven since the spring game, are presently ranked the No. 28 best transfer class in the nation by both On3 and 247Sports.
UVA added a fourth running back (three transfers) in former Wyoming tailback Harrison Waylee, who has amassed 3,199 yards rushing and 16 rushing touchdowns during his career, which began at Northern Illinois in 2020.
Waylee rushed for nearly 2,000 yards over three seasons for the Huskies, his best season coming in 2022 when he was third-team All-MAC with 899 yards on the ground, 5 TDs (81.7 ypg), good enough to place him among the top 50 rushers in the nation.
He transferred to Wyoming in 2023 and played in 10 games (nine starts) and put up 947 yards and five scores. That season, he averaged 94.7 yards per game rushing for the Cowboys (5.8 per carry), which ranked him fourth in the Mountain West Conferce and No. 24 in the country.
An early season injury cost Waylee most of last season, as he made it back for the last four games, which allowed him to keep his redshirt status.
UVA also added two more players to open holes for Waylee & Co.
David Wohlaburg, Jr., who formerly played at Syracuse and Kentucky, committed to Virginia along with Makilan Thomas, a transfer from Arkansas State.
Wohlaburg, whose father David Sr., played at Syracuse and in the NFL for nine seasons, is a 6-foot-6, 301-pound lineman, who played at Kentucky, then transferred to Syracuse for the 2023 and ‘24 seasons.
He redshirted his first year at Kentucky and then played in eight games (one start) in 2022 for the Wildcats.
Wohlaburg started the ‘23 season for the Orange, playing at right tackle, where he didn’t surrender a sack, but then suffered a season-ending injury. Last season, he played in nine games (three starts), primarily at left tackle, where he gave up only two sacks on 174 drop-back snaps according to Pro Football Focus, who graded him out at 80.0 on pass blocking.
Thomas, 6-3, 300, played 38 games over four seasons at Arkansas State, where he was second-team All-Sunbelt Conference in 2023. During that spectacular performance, he gave up only one sack, 22 pressures on 836 snaps according to PFF and graded out 81.2 on pass blocking, the best in the Sun Belt and was 25th nationally.
Last season, he missed the first four games due to injury, but bounced back and started the last nine games and still allowed just three sacks, earning the third-best pass blocking grade on the squad.
Thomas played right tackle the last three seasons at Arkansas State.
Kyle Guy on Nevada, coaching, NIL temptations
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Photo: University of Nevada Athletics
Kyle Guy may be in Nevada, but it’s almost like he’s home again, surrounded by former Indiana personnel on the University of Nevada basketball staff.
Guy, who returned to Virginia last year to join the Cavaliers’ staff and to learn from his former coach Tony Bennett, had to decide whether he wanted to stay at UVA with new coach Ryan Odom or look elsewhere. Odom offered Guy the same position on his staff that Guy had on the previous staff (confirmed by Odom).
“It was a crazy process,” Guy told Tate Frazier on One Shining Podcast this week. “So I started off like I wanted to stay at Virginia, that was the plan. And right before the Final Four, I had decided that I wasn’t going to stay anymore.”
Guy received a phone call from Nevada coach Steve Alford — like Guy, a former Mr. Basketball in Indiana.
“So the whole (Nevada) staff is from Indiana, essentially,” Guy said.
Tate pointed out, and Guy agreed, that this entire Nevada staff should be the staff at Indiana, but that’s another story.
“I grew up going to Steve Alford’s camps in Franklin, Indiana,” Guy said. “I went like four or five years in a row and I got real close with Bryce Alford (Steve’s son).”
Guy was talking to one of the Nevada assistant coaches, who asked him what his plans were.
“I said, ‘Well, I’m staying, but it’s a transition, so I’ll entertain anything. If you hear something, let me know.’ It wasn’t about Nevada,” Guy said of the conversation. “Nevada was just like, if you hear anything else, let me know, and then, literally right when I decided I wasn’t going to go back to Virginia, I texted Nevada and said, ‘Hey, if you want to meet in San Antonio, let’s meet for real.
“We met the first day we were out there and then Coach Alford called me the next day and offered me the spot.”
Guy said he knew he wanted to coach at some point, “because I’m a dude who just has a lot of passions,” and wants to try a bunch of different things in life. Transitioning from a playing career to coaching seemed like the smoothest way to get that accomplished.
“I still played in practice every day (at UVA), so that was fun. Like still being able to play against the guys, stay in shape, and earn some sweet respect … it’s a term I use,” Guy told Frazier. “I was really in charge, with one other guy (Chase Coleman) of player development.
“We were working with [the players] every day, seeing them get better during the games, like it was full-circle. I really enjoyed that. And then, the tactical, I just kind of got the bug. Another fellow coach, Isaiah Wilkins, who just got hired at Cal, told me I was going to get the bug. I think I’m going to do this for a year or two, and then, try another venture.”
Photo by Jon Golden
Guy said he likes the fast pace of building a roster, hosting portal prospects, the whole NIL thing, lots of problem-solving, which is something that interests him.
Frazier noted that with coaches like Bennett, Jim Boeheim, Roy Williams, Jay Wright and Mike Krzyzewski all retiring because of the changes in the sport, how does Guy deal with those issues?
“Coach Bennett likes to remind us all that we were the last amateur champions (2019),” Guy said. “I am an advocate of the player getting paid. Coach Bennett is an advocate off the players getting paid. It’s just not what NIL was supposed to be. It was supposed to be a market for them to use your name, image, likeness to go to McDonald’s, sign a marketing deal with a sponsor, like The Good Feet Store in Charlottesville. That’s what it was supposed to be. Not pay for play. Let’s have something established, right?
“Even in Europe, there’s rules. You can pay a guy almost anything you want, but there’s rules how it’s done. These agents are texting players during the season an taking 15, 20 percent, and some of them don’t even have a license, because you don’t have to have one, and somebody’s cousin is just taking advantage. Sometimes there’s great ones. There’s good ones and bad ones. You’ve got to adapt or die, so let’s roll.”
Frazier also brought up the topic of loyalty to programs in 2025. It’s not like fans can point and say, ‘Oh, he’s a Duke guy, or he’s a Carolina guy, or a Virginia guy.’ Now they’re “four-by-four guys,” four schools in four years. How’s that going to sit with fans years from now with no allegiance from the players?
While Guy said he is loyal to a fault, even he admitted that had an enhanced NIL been available after he was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four during the 2019 national championship, things might have been different for him.
“I like to think after we won the championship, if I come back for my senior year during NIL, I like to think that I would have came back no matter what, but at the end of the day, man, if Virginia was offering $500,000 and whoever else is offering $2.5 million, I’m just being honest, I’m probably taking 2.5 money,” Guy said.
To listen to Guy’s entire interview, check out “One Shining Podcast,” with Tate Frazier.
Softball: No. 15 Stanford walks off No. 25 UVA in opener, 4-3
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Photo: UVA Athletics
A seventh-inning rally proved to be No. 25 Virginia’s undoing on Friday, as the Cavaliers fell at No. 15 Stanford by a score of 4-3 in a walk-off at Stanford Stadium in the series opener between the teams.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Virginia (34-15, 13-9 ACC) scored in the first with a two-run home run to center from Macee Eaton. Bella Cabral drew a four-pitch walk to bring Macee to the plate and the sophomore drove the second pitch deep for the 2-0 lead.
Stanford (34-9, 12-7) responded in the third. With two on and one out, a single to center brought a run home and left two in scoring position as batter took second on the throw back into the infield. A walk loaded the bases before a sac fly to center tied the game 2-2.
The Hoos took the lead back in the fifth with an RBI single to left from Sarah Coon. Reece Holbrook scored on the play after entering to run for Cabral who reached on a walk and took second on a single from Macee Eaton.
Stanford rallied in the seventh using a walk to put the leadoff batter on who then stole second. A double to left tied the game before a fielding error at first with two outs gave the Cardinal the 4-3 win.
Eden Bigham (15-8) took the loss in relief, allowing two runs – one of them earned – with three walks and a strikeout in 3.1 innings of relief.
Alyssa Houston (12-1) picked up the win in relief as she worked the final 3.1 innings, allowing one run on two hits with a walk and five strikeouts.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- Macee Eaton’s home run in the first inning was her 11th of the season.
- With Eaton’s two-run home run, the Hoos set a new single-season record for RBI, breaking the mark of 272 RBI set by the 2001 team. Virginia now has 275 RBI on the season.
- The Hoos have now played in 15 games decided by one run and are 6-9 in those games this season.
- Savanah Henley made the start and worked 3.0 innings in her first appearance for the Hoos since Maryland (4/1).
FROM HEAD COACH JOANNA HARDIN
“Tonight’s game was especially disappointing. Savanah and Eden threw well enough to win and kept their offense off balance all night. Our defense played sloppy and lacked engagement for most of the game. It’s very frustrating to relinquish opportunities to win games on the road due to lack of focus and intent. Our team needs to really dig deep within and play to the level we are capable of every day. Competing for championships happens every day. We had a great opportunity tonight and let it slip away. It’s vital we turn the page and compete tomorrow with intensity and passion.”
UP NEXT
Virginia and Stanford continue the weekend series on Saturday. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. ET at Stanford Stadium.
Hoos top No. 24 Yellow Jackets, 12-9, to open three-game set
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Photo: UVA Athletics
The Virginia baseball team outlasted No. 24 Georgia Tech by a score of 12-9 on Friday night at Russ Chandler Stadium in Atlanta.
Virginia (23-15, 10-9 ACC) trailed 3-2 after the opening three frames on Friday before the Cavalier offense erupted for seven runs in the top of the fourth to grab the lead for good. The seven-run fourth was the 15th time this season that UVA has scored five or more runs in a frame and the third time in the last three games.
UVA Freshman James Nunnallee paced the Cavalier attack by going 4-for-4 with three extra-base hits, three RBIs and three runs scored. Joining Nunnallee, the Virginia quartet of Aidan Teel, Harrison Didawick, Henry Ford and Luke Hanson each tallied multi-hit games on the evening.
Jay Woolfolk got the start on the mound for the Cavaliers and did not factor in the decision after surrendering six runs in 3.2 innings pitched with five strikeouts. Kevin Jaxel picked up his second win of the season on Friday in relief.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After each team went down in order to open the game, Henry Godbout worked a one-out walk in the second. The UVA second baseman scored two at-bats later when Didawick smacked his first triple of the year down the line in right for the game’s first run.
Three pitches later, Didawick scampered home on a Nunnallee double that split two Yellow Jacket outfielders and put the Cavaliers up 2-0.
Georgia Tech took its only lead of the game in the bottom of the third when the home-standing Yellow Jackets plated three runs.
The Georgia Tech lead didn’t last long as the Virginia offense exploded for seven runs in the top of the fourth, featuring a pair of two-run homers from Nunnallee and Teel along with a three-run bomb off the bat of Godbout that made it a 9-3 contest.
In the bottom of the frame, Georgia Tech scored three runs on an RBI single and a two-run home run from Kyle Lodise that cut the Cavalier lead in half.
An inning later, Virginia stretched its lead to 11-6 on a two-run Becker single that saw Hanson and Nunnallee come home.
The two squads trade runs in the seventh as the final Cavalier run of the night came when Nunallee sprinted home on a Teel sacrifice fly.
Georgia Tech attempted to mount a comeback in the bottom of the ninth before Matt Lanzendorfer slammed the door shut for the 12-9 Virginia victory and his third save of the season.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- With the win, Virginia moves to 4-1 on the season against ranked opponents.
- Virginia improves to 13-4 on the season when Aidan Teel bats leadoff.
- The seven-run fourth was the first time this season that the Cavaliers hit three home runs in an inning.
- On the year, the Cavaliers are 21-3 when scoring six or more runs in a game.
- Henry Ford extended his on-base streak to 22 games when he was hit by a pitch in the third inning.
- James Nunnallee’s home run in the fourth was the first of his collegiate career.
UP NEXT
Virginia will look to take the series on Saturday in the second game of the three-game set. The Cavaliers will have lefty Bradley Hodges (1-1) on the mound against the Yellow Jackets’ righthander Brady Jones (4-1). First pitch is slated for 4 p.m. on ACCNX.
UVA’s Sanker selected by New Orleans in third round of NFL Draft
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Photo: New Orleans Saints
Virginia safety Jonas Sanker was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the third round of the 2025 National Football League Draft. He was the 93rd overall player selected in the draft.
Sanker is the first UVA safety to be drafted since 2019, when Juan Thornhill was chosen in the second round by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Sanker is a two-time First Team All-ACC selection at safety, and in 2024 was also an All-America honorable mention according to Phil Steele. For his career, Sanker appeared in 43 games, starting in 33, and totaled 273 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles and 17 pass breakups.
Last season, Sanker led the team in total tackles (98), solo tackles (65), tackles for loss (8.5) and fumble recoveries (2). His average of 5.4 solo tackles per game led the ACC and was good for seventh among all FBS players in 2024. He is the only player in UVA history to be named ACC Defensive Back of the Week four times in a single season.
Sanker was instrumental in the Cavaliers’ 24-19 win at No. 23 Pittsburgh (Nov. 9), when he recorded a TFL on third down, blocked the ensuing field goal attempt and recorded an interception on the Panthers’ very next drive. Sanker also scored his first career touchdown on a 40-yard fumble return and added six tackles in UVA’s 24-14 home win over Boston College (Oct. 5).
Following the conclusion of the 2024 season, Sanker was voted one of five team captains by his teammates.
UVA reportedly leading for German big man Grunloh
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Ryan Odom’s international recruiting connections are well known, and it appears the new Virginia coach is using those connections to get the Cavaliers’ program kick-started.
According to a report by Rupert Fabig in a Hamburg, Germany, newspaper, German big man Johann Grunloh is leaning heavily to join Odom’s UVA program. Grunloh is a 6-foot-11, 19-year-old upcoming standout who wants to bring his game to America.
It doesn’t hurt that Grunloh is playing this season with former Virginia forward Jayden Gardner for SC Rasta Vechta in Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the top level of professional club basketball in Germany. Gardner spent two seasons at UVA after transferring from East Carolina.
Gardner and Grunloh have comprised the Rasta Vechta frontcourt for 33 games this season, with Grunloh starting every game. During that span, Grunloh has averaged 8.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots while clocking 23 minutes per game. He is shooting 47 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from the 3-point arc, where European players excel. He is coming off a 20-point performance and has posted 13 double-figures games.
Grunloh led the German U18 team to the European championships in 2023, where it won the bronze medal. He averaged 3.9 blocks per game during that tournament.
Odom has a strong history with international recruiting, with his recent VCU team boasting two players from London, another from France and another (Max Shugla) from Ukraine. The French player, 6-8 wing Martin Carrere, redshirted last season and followed Odom to Virginia.
UVA posts 12-6 victory over James Madison in midweek action
By Colin Moore
JerryRatcliffe.com correspondent
Photo: UVA Athletics
The Virginia baseball team put together two solid midweek performances at Disharoon Park, capped with a convincing, 12-6 win over James Madison on Wednesday night.
Chris Arroyo got the start on the mound, his first of the season, pitching three complete innings and allowing just one run on five hits. Arroyo also homered in the second inning, adding to his stellar performance on both sides of the ball, as he finished the evening 2 for 3 with 3 RBI.
Two homers in the second allowed the Cavaliers to pull away and begin to build on their lead.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UVA (22-15) opened up the scoring in the bottom of the first inning as Henry Godbout hit a sacrifice fly to allow Eric Becker to tag and score. JMU (13-28) answered in the second inning, tying the ballgame at one apiece.
Virginia responded immediately with a leadoff single by James Nunnellee, who later scored off of a home run shot from Luke Hanson. Following Hanson’s blast, Aidan Teel got on base and was soon jogging around the bases after a long shot over the right-field wall from Arroyo, and UVA held a 6-1 advantage.
The Hoos slowly pulled away later in the game with some poor Dukes pitching, along with some errors in the infield.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
- Virginia improves to 12-4 on the season when Aidan Teel bats leadoff.
- Henry Ford extended his on-base streak to 21 games with a single in the first inning,
- Chris Arroyo’s two-run blast in the second gives the junior nine homers on the year with 38 RBIs, both team-highs.
- In his first relief appearance of the season, Tomas Valincius picked up the win by pitching a scoreless inning.
- On the year, the Cavaliers are 20-3 when scoring six or more runs in a game.
- UVA improves to 47-25-1 all-time against JMU and 20-1-1 against the Dukes during the Brian O’Connor era.
UP NEXT
The Cavaliers travel south for a weekend series at Georgia Tech. First pitch for Friday’s opener is set for 6 p.m. on ACC Network Extra and WINA.
Odom offers top 5 PG from Blair Academy
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Photo: Stock Risers
Virginia is the latest to extend an offer to class of 2026 point guard Deron Rippey Jr. of Blair Academy in New Jersey.
Rippey is a 6-foot-2, 175-pound 4-star, a consensus recruiting industry top-25 prospect who is smothered in offers from college hoop powers.
Among those in pursuit other than Virginia are: Villanova, North Carolina, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Seton Hall, Georgia, Washington, Purdue, St. John’s, Kansas, Illinois, TCU, Syracuse, Stanford, SMU, LSU, Wake Forest, Maryland, Michigan, Alabama and others.
247Sports’ consensus rates Rippey as the No. 19 overall recruit in his class nationally, the No. 5 point guard and the top prospect in New Jersey.
Rippey has been invited to the 2025 USA Men’s Junior National Team mini-camp this month in Texas, and participated in the team’s mini-camp in Colorado last October.
“He’s growing up, maturing and playing with a lot of poise,” said Blair Academy coach Joe Mantegna. “He’s exactly the guard you want right now. He can score, he makes some of those dime cross-court passes. Those are passes that sophomores in college are learning to make. He’s a dog on defense and that’s what travels to the next level.”
Women’s Lacrosse: Cavaliers come up short against BC in ACC quarterfinals, 17-7
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Photo: UVA Athletics
The No. 8 Virginia women’s lacrosse team suffered a 17-7 loss against No. 2 Boston College on Wednesday at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte.
Boston College (17-1) broke open a 3-3 game by going on an 11-1 run from the 11:30 mark of the second quarter through the end of the third period.
Virginia (11-6) took an early 2-1 lead on a goal from sophomore attacker Addi Foster five minutes into the contest, but BC answered with back-to-back goals to take a 3-2 lead. Junior defender Nicole Cruthirds went the length of the field to score her first career goal to tie the game 3-3 with 11:56 remaining in the second quarter.
Boston College held a 10-4 lead at the half and built up a 14-4 advantage at the end of the third quarter.
Sophomore attacker Jenna DiNardo led the Cavaliers with two goals. Sophomore attacker Addi Foster had a goal and an assist. Junior goalkeeper Mel Josephson made 11 saves.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- Boston College was the No. 2 seed in the tournament. Virginia was the No. 7 seed
- Boston College held a 36-31 edge in shots
- Virginia held a 17-10 advantage in draw controls
- Nicole Cruthirds scored her first career goal on her first career shot
- Madison Alaimo, Devon Gogerty, Katie Campel each scored a goal
- BC goalkeeper Shea Dolce made 14 saves
FROM HEAD COACH SONIA LaMONICA
“I’m so, so proud of our fight to the end today. This outcome will only fuel our fire further. We certainly improved from our last outing against BC, who had an amazing game tonight. But we’re fighters, and we’re going to keep getting better from this. So, overall, I’m just really proud of this team.”
UP NEXT
The NCAA Selection Show airs on Sunday, May 4, at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.
Houston’s Arceneaux commits to NC State
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Photo: Houston Cougars former Houston small forward Terrance Arceneaux.
Former Houston small forward Terrance Arceneaux has committed to NC State, choosing the Wolfpack over Virginia.
The 6-foot-6, 205-pound Arceneaux visited UVA this week after visiting NC State last week.
Arceneaux was a 5-star prospect coming out of high school, the No. 27 overall player (Rivals) in the recruiting class of 2022. As a freshman at Houston, he was voted to the AAC All-Freshman team, playing in 34 games. His sophomore season was cut short, suffering a season-ending Achilles tendon injury after only 11 contests.
This past season, playing in 40 games with the Cougars, Arceneaux averaged 6.5 points per game, made 50.7 percent of his 2-point attempts, 33.7 percent from the arc and 44 percent overall, playing 20 minutes per game.
Both 247Sports and On3 rank him as a 4-star prospect in the transfer portal, the No. 76 overall player in the portal (by 247) and the No. 18 shooting guard.
Swimming & Diving: Gretchen Walsh earns second straight Honda Sport Award
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Photo: UVA Athletics
Virginia senior Gretchen Walsh has been named the 2025 Honda Sport Award winner for Swimming & Diving, as announced Tuesday by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards.
This is her second straight year earning the honor.
The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 49 years to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports, signifying “the best of the best in collegiate athletics.” The recipient of the sport award becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2025 Honda Cup, which will be presented during a live telecast on CBS Sports Network on June 30, at 7 pm ET, in New York City.
Walsh (Nashville, Tenn.) was selected via a nationwide vote of administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. The other finalists for this year’s award were Jillian Cox (Texas), Claire Curzan (Virginia) and Chiara Pellacani (Miami).
This is the ninth time that a Cavalier has won the Honda Sports Award and the fourth-straight year that a Virginia swimmer has earned the accolade. Walsh joins Dawn Staley (1991-92) and Kate Douglass (swimming, 2022-23) as the only Virginia athletes to twice win the award. Staley (1991) is the only Cavalier to win the Honda Cup, the female student-athlete award across all sports.
Walsh has cemented her legacy as one of the most decorated swimmers in collegiate history. The 2024 Honda Award winner for Swimming & Diving and a three-time Honda Award finalist, Walsh played a pivotal role in leading Virginia to its fifth consecutive NCAA team title. A two-time CSCAA Swimmer of the Year and two-time ACC Most Valuable Swimmer, she captured seven NCAA titles in 2025, including individual victories in the 50 Free, 100 Free, and 100 Fly, bringing her career total to 25 NCAA Championship titles, with nine individual wins. Walsh’s dominance extended to relay events, where she went a perfect 16-for-16 in NCAA relay competitions over her four-year career.
Her impact on the sport reaches beyond the NCAA. Walsh has set 11 world records (nine individual, two relay) and claimed seven world titles at the 2024 World Aquatics 25m Championships, where she was named the Best Female Swimmer (MVP Award). A four-time Olympic medalist (two gold, two silver) in 2024, she also posted two world records and one Olympic record at the Games. A seven-time World Champion (SCM) in 2024, Walsh was honored as the 2024 Virginia Sports Hall of Fame Steve Guback Sportsperson of the Year and was named the ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Swimming & Diving.
Her commitment to excellence in and out of the pool is further reflected in her four-time All-ACC All-Academic and four-time CSCAA Scholar All-American honors.
The CWSA, now in its 49th year, continues to honor the nation’s top NCAA women athletes for their exceptional athletic achievements, leadership, academic excellence, and dedication to community service. Since the inception of its partnership in 1986, Honda has contributed over $3.4 million in institutional grants to support women’s athletics programs at the universities of award winners and nominees.
About Honda Corporate Social Responsibility and the Honda USA Foundation
For more than 65 years in the U.S., Honda has been committed to making positive contributions to the communities where its associates live and work. The company’s mission is to create products and services that help people fulfill their life’s potential, while conducting business in a sustainable manner and fostering an inclusive workplace. Advancing its corporate social responsibility, Honda and the Honda USA Foundation support this direction through giving focused on education, the environment, mobility, traffic safety, and community.
Learn more at http://csr.honda.com/.
Softball: Bigham tosses another shutout as No. 25 Cavaliers top Dukes, 11-0
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Photo: UVA Athletics
Bella Cabral drove in five runs and Eden Bigham threw another complete-game shutout as No. 25 Virginia posted an 11-0 run-rule victory at JMU on Tuesday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Virginia (34-14) scored in the first with a single up the middle from Macee Eaton that scored Jade Hylton from third. Hylton reached on an error before stealing second and taking third as the throw to second on the steal was deflected by the fielder into right field.
The Hoos extended the lead in the third inning with a three-run home from Bella Cabral. Hylton and Kelly Ayer scored on the Cabral long ball after reaching with a leadoff double and a walk, respectively.
Virginia added six more runs in the sixth inning. It started with a bases-loaded fielder’s choice to short from Kailyn Jones that put Virginia up 5-0 and left runners at the corners. Hylton walked to reload the bases before Ayer drove a two-RBI double to the wall in right center.
Cabral drove in two more with a double to left to make it 9-0 for the Hoos. Virginia loaded the bases a third time before singles from Kassidy Hudson and Reece Holbrook made it an 11-0 lead.
Eden Bigham (15-7) picked up the win, allowing two hits in the complete-game shutout. She struck out four and walked one in the 6.0 innings of work.
Kirsten Fleet (9-6) took the loss for the Dukes (21-23), allowing four runs – three earned – on four hits with a walk and a strikeout in 3.0 innings of work.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- Bella Cabral’s home run was her ninth of the season and she has homered in back-to-back games.
- Cabral turned in a career-high five RBI with her three-run home run and a two-RBI double.
- Macee Eaton has 54 RBI this year, tying for second on the UVA single-season list with Sara Larquier (2005).
- Virginia tied the program’s single-season RBI record with the 11 RBI, matching the 2001 mark of 272 RBI.
- With the 34 wins, the Hoos matched last season’s win total with four games remaining in the regular season.
FROM HEAD COACH JOANNA HARDIN
“We stuck with it really well. We scored in the first inning, capitalizing on a couple of mistakes before Macee got that first RBI. Then we got the home run in the third inning. The quality at-bats back-to-back-to-back all night was great. It was nice to break it open in the sixth inning there. Our strike zone awareness was tremendous. Eden has been throwing it well and pounding the zone; really all of our pitchers have been throwing it well and combining well. Tonight was Eden’s night to go. A clean defensive night was the goal and that’s what it is going to take down to win late in the season. It was a good way to send us out to the west coast to take on a really good Stanford team.”
UP NEXT
Virginia continues to play on the road, heading to the west coast for a three-game series at No. 15 Stanford as the Cavaliers close out ACC play. The series is set to begin on Friday with a 9 p.m. EDT first pitch.
Virginia blasts Georgetown in seven innings, 13-1
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Photo: UVA Athletics
The Virginia baseball team rode a 10-run third inning to a 13-1 seven-inning run-rule victory over Georgetown on Tuesday night at Disharoon Park.
In the 10-run third, UVA (21-15) sent 15 batters to the plate and collected eight hits, including a home run and a pair of doubles. The 10 runs tied the 10-run third on March 5 against William & Mary for the most runs scored in a frame by the Cavalier bats this season.
The Virginia trio of Aidan Teel, Eric Becker and Henry Ford each tallied a multi-hit game in the victory, while Henry Godbout drove in four runs to match his career high.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Georgetown’s lone run came in the top of the first when the Hoyas (13-27) strung together three straight two-out singles to take an early 1-0 lead.
The visitors’ lead didn’t last long, as Chris Arroyo tied the game with one out in the bottom of the first with an RBI single that plated Teel for the first of his three runs scored in the contest.
Virginia took the lead for good one at-bat later when Becker raced home on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Godbout.
After surrendering the lone run in the first, UVA starting pitcher Evan Blanco only allowed three Hoyas to reach base over his final three innings of work.
In the bottom of the second, Teel extended the Virginia advantage to 3-1 with a no-doubt solo home run to right field. The dinger was Teel’s fifth of the season.
Virginia’s 10-run third started when Ford legged out a leadoff triple and scored in the next at-bat on a wild pitch.
Following an Arroyo walk, Godbout turned on a 1-2 offering and sent it over the wall in left for his fourth home run of the season. The two-run blast put the Hoos up 6-1 with no one out in the bottom of the third.
Virginia’s final seven runs of the frame were scored with one away, highlighted by RBI doubles from James Nunnallee and Becker.
In relief of Blanco, the bullpen duo of Kevin Jaxel and Michael Yeager combined for three shutdown innings to seal the 13-1 victory for Virginia.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- Virginia improves to 11-4 on the season when Aidan Teel bats leadoff.
- With a pair of doubles on the evening, Eric Becker now leads Virginia with 18 doubles onthe year.
- Henry Ford extended his on-base streak to 20 games with his leadoff triple in the second.
- Henry Godbout tied his career-high with four RBIs on Tuesday.
- Kevin Jaxel matched his season-best with three strikeouts during his relief appearance.
- UVA improves to 23-17 in the all-time series against Georgetown
UP NEXT
Virginia is set to host James Madison at Disharoon Park on Wednesday. First Pitch is slated for 6 p.m. and will be carried on ACCNX and WINA (98.9 FM/1070 AM).
WBB: Virginia adds FSU guard Dias Dos Santos
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Photo: UVA Athletics
Virginia women’s basketball head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton announced Tuesday that Raiane Dias Dos Santos will join the program for the 2025-26 season.
A 5-9 guard, Dias Dos Santos competed as a redshirt sophomore at Florida State last season. In her lone season as a Seminole, the team advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament as a six seed.
“I’m excited about the addition of Raiane,” said Agugua-Hamilton. “I love that she has played in the ACC and has familiarity with the conference. She is a combo guard who will be able to play multiple positions, including backup point guard.
“She is very fast in the open court and has great court vision. She’s a good three-point shooter, but also a savvy finisher in the paint. She can be a pest defensively, which is great. Raiane fits our culture seamlessly as she is a high character, selfless person who just wants to compete and win.”
Prior to her arrival at Florida State, Dias Dos Santos excelled at Gulf Coast State in 2023-24. The Sao Paulo, Brazil native averaged 11.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists on the year. In 33 appearances she scored in double-figures on 21 occasions with four 20-point games.
In 2021, Dias Dos Santos played for Brazil at the U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup in Hungary. She recorded 19 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots in a Round of 16 game against the Czech Republic.
WBB: UVA 2025-26 season tickets now on sale
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Photo by Nikolozi Khutsishvili
The Virginia women’s basketball program announced Tuesday that season tickets are now available for renewal for the 2025-26 season.
Season tickets start at $65 each and may be renewed online at UVATix.com or by calling the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office at (434) 924-8821 (UVA1). The deadline to renew season tickets is May 19.
New season ticket members can place a deposit online here. Deposit holders will be contacted in Virginia Athletics Foundation Priority Point order this summer to discuss available seating options.
WBCA All-America honorable mention and All-ACC First-Team guard, Kymora Johnson announced Friday on social media that she will return to Virginia for the 2025-26 season. Johnson comes off a sophomore campaign in which she averaged 17.9 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists.
Johnson put her name in the UVA record books in 2024-25, accomplishing major milestones by recording the program’s third-ever triple-double and becoming the 37th member of UVA’s 1,000-point club.
The Virginia program has also announced the addition of five transfers ahead of the 2025-26 season including: Raiane Dias Dos Santos (Florida State), Romi Levy (USF), Adeang Ring (UCF), Sa’Myah Smith (LSU) and Caitlin Weimar (NC State).
CAVALIER ATTENDANCE FIGURES
Virginia women’s basketball broke program records for season ticket sales in back-to-back seasons in 2024 and 2025. The Cavaliers have averaged over 4,000 spectators at home games in each of the past two seasons for the first time since the 1992 and 1993 seasons.
With an average of 4,307 spectators in attendance at JPJ in 2024-25, the only season with a higher attendance figure was in 1991-92, when the team was coming off its first national championship appearance.
It’s all about the portal, the bag and pricy seats at JPJ
What a week, with Deion talkin’ ‘bout the bag, UVA poaching Colorado’s best running back, portal comings and goings in football and basketball and backlash from fans about Virginia’s plan to raise prices for seat licensing at John Paul Jones Arena in 2027.
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