As the Virginia track and field team competitors wrap up the past year of athletics at the NCAA Championships in Oregon, the rest of the UVA sports world has turned its attention to the summer ahead. For the Cavalier basketball teams, that means the start of summer workouts this month.

Coinciding with the start of the University’s Session II for summer courses, the Virginia men’s and women’s basketball teams will begin workouts on Monday. This is a critical time for both rosters as the players for the upcoming year get together for the first time to prepare for the upcoming season.

Last summer, Ryan Odom had few holdovers from the previous roster so there was a lot of time spent on building relationships and trust while also introducing a cast of new players to the tradition of Virginia basketball. This summer will be a little different in terms of how many new faces are around.

Odom will be trying to blend together a group of newcomers with the returning players from last season’s 30-win campaign. The Hoos brought back all 10 players with eligibility from that team, including Thijs De Ridder, Sam Lewis, Johann Grünloh, and Chance Mallory that played big roles a year ago. They then hit the transfer portal to add Christian Harmon, Jurian Dixon, Kalu Anya, and Jan Vide to the mix. High school recruit Favour Ibe also committed.

Some players started arriving in Charlottesville already ahead of Monday’s summer session.


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The women’s program will open the summer in a different spot. UVA rattled off 22 wins last season and made a run in the NCAA Tournament to the Sweet 16 last season, but the program underwent a coaching change in the offseason. Richmond coach Aaron Roussell was hired to take over from Amaka Agugua-Hamilton.

The Cavaliers return Kymora Johnson, Olivia McGhee, Adeang Ring, Breona Hurd, and Tabitha Amanze from that roster, though Amanze is expected to miss the upcoming season after a late knee injury last season. There are also seven newcomers in Emilie Brzonova, Lyla Coogen, Erica Gribble, Eris Lester, Sintija Aukštikalnytė, Mary-Anna Asare, and Caterina Piatti as a mix of transfers and recruits join the program.

Roussell told Jeff White at VirginiaSports.com that the Hoos “won’t have a full complement of players immediately” this summer as Piatti, Brzonova, Aukštikalnytė, and Asare are playing elsewhere around the world. He also said that McGhee and Coogan are coming off of injuries so the staff will be careful with their return to the court.

Either way, fans are eager to hear more news about the teams so these summer workouts may provide the first clues for the year ahead. Can both teams make it back to the NCAA Tournament? Stay tuned.

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