Ryan Odom, now two weeks on the job, continues to build his first roster at Virginia. On Saturday, he picked up his first commitment from this transfer portal cycle when Toledo guard Sam Lewis made the call for the Cavaliers.
Lewis announced his decision on Instagram.
The 6’6”, 210-pound guard just completed a strong campaign at Toledo where he started all 33 games this season. Lewis led the Rockets with an average of 16.2 points per game, which ranked fourth in the Mid-American Conference. He also led the MAC at 44.4% 3-point shooting (59-133). Lewis posted averages of 4.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists as well. He earned second-team All-MAC recognition before entering the portal.
Lewis received some level of interest from Illinois, Texas A&M, Butler, Northwestern, and Villanova among others. That’s a step up in level from his high school offers when Toledo, Akron, Cleveland State, Illinois-Chicago, Northern Illinois, and Southern Illinois were among the schools that offered.
The Chicago native was unranked out of Simeon Academy with 247’s profile considering him a 2-star prospect in its scouting notes only. He played for Nike Mean Streets in the EYBL on the AAU circuit as well. He averaged 13.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists for Simeon as it captured the Chicago city championship.
Two years later, after a breakout season with Toledo, 247 Sports ranks Lewis as the No. 26 shooting guard in the transfer portal currently. It’s easy to see why the interest has risen as he showed the ability to be effective against high level competition. He had 14 points and 3 rebounds against Houston, who will play in the national title game on Monday, in December. He followed that up with a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds against NCAA Tournament qualifier Purdue. In terms of a Virginia connection, he posted 22 points and 5 rebounds against JMU in February.
With most of the UVA roster from last season in the transfer portal and multiple players already committed elsewhere already, Lewis would appear to have a clear path to playing time with the Hoos. The Rockets used him effectively in some handoffs and ball screen looks that have similarities to Odom’s offense at VCU last season.
Odom brought in two class of 2025 recruits in Chance Mallory and Silas Barksdale, both 4-star prospects in the 247 rankings as his first recruiting moves. Otherwise the roster only features holdovers 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, as players that have not entered the transfer portal or completed their eligibility from last season.
Toledo highlights for Lewis can be seen in this YouTube video.
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