The Virginia basketball team is picking up steam in the transfer portal. UVA added its second pickup of the weekend Sunday when North Dakota State transfer guard Jacari White made the call for the Cavaliers.
White, who announced his decision on social media, joined Toledo transfer Sam Lewis as commitments for Ryan Odom as he begins his Virginia tenure.
The 6’3”, 180-pound guard just completed a strong campaign at NDSU where he started 29 games this season. White poured in 17.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. He’s the second all-conference guard to join the Wahoos this weekend. White earned second-team All-Summit League honors, while Lewis received second-team All-Mid-American Conference recognition this past season with Toledo.
A sharp-shooter on the perimeter, White is also the second player with consistent 3-point range joining the Virginia roster. Lewis led the MAC at 44.4% 3-point shooting (59 makes), while White knocked down 39.8% of his 3’s on 88-221 shooting. That’s the third straight season White has made at least 40 triples with increases each year, growing from 42 in his first season with the Bison to 66 and 88 the last two years.
White received interest across the country once he entered the portal. That included a who’s who from the college basketball landscape this past season with Houston, Alabama, Tennessee, and BYU on the list as NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 teams. Other schools that checked in on White included Texas, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Boston College, and many more. His agency had reported to On3 on Wednesday that his final five schools were Houston, Virginia Tech, Texas, Ole Miss, and West Virginia, but he chose the Cavaliers in the end. He began his college basketball career at State College of Florida, a junior college.
After a solid career at North Dakota State, 247 Sports ranks Lewis as the No. 13 shooting guard in the transfer portal currently. That’s not surprising as he’s been a consistent producer for the Bison with 14 games of 20+ points this season, which included a pair of games with 30+ points.
He had 30 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists against Samford in November and 32 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists against South Dakota in January. White also had 27 points and 7 rebounds against Butler from the Big East.
With most of UVA’s players from last season in the transfer portal and multiple already committed elsewhere already, Odom’s first roster in Charlottesville is starting to take shape. He’s added two class of 2025 recruits in Chance Mallory and Silas Barksdale, both 4-star prospects in the 247 rankings, in addition to White and Lewis from the portal.
Elijah Gertrude, a former 4-star prospect coming off a knee injury, and Carter Lang, a walk-on from local school St. Anne’s-Belfield via a transfer from Vanderbilt, are the only returning Virginia players that have not entered the transfer portal or completed their eligibility from last season.
North Dakota State highlights for White can be seen in this YouTube video.
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