The primary recruiting focus for the University of Virginia men's basketball program is on the class of 2021. The Hoos hosted two top targets from this class on officials in September and head coach Tony Bennett just extended a new scholarship offer to another high school junior prospect. Before checking in on 2021, though, let's take a look at the latest class of 2020 news.

Abdur-Rahim headlines Virginia basketball's 2020 Class, which is rated no. 5 in the nation by Rivals and 247Sports. ~ Photo courtesy of Abdur-Rahim.

The Virginia men’s basketball class of 2020, which consists of point guard Reece Beekman, shooting guard Carson McCorkle, and wing Jabri Abdur-Rahim, remains a top-five class as rated by 247Sports.com and Rivals.com. Both national recruiting outlets ranks UVA’s commitment haul as the no. 5 group in the nation.

In August another scholarship spot opened up for Virginia in 2020-21 when Francesco Badocchi left the basketball program. The Hoos extended a new scholarship offer to Huntington Prep (W.V.) senior forward Jaemyn Brakefield on September 24; however, the recruitment was short lived as Brakefield verbally committed to Duke on October 4. Another previous Virginia target, Richmond (VA) native Henry Coleman III, pledged to the Blue Devils on September 27.

So Virginia sits with one scholarship available in 2020 recruiting, but at this point it looks unlikely that the Hoos will add anyone else prior to the November Early Signing Period (Nov. 13-20). I fully expect head coach Tony Bennett to be on the lookout for another prospect, whether it’s a high school recruit or a transfer, to add next spring. Examining the projected 2020-21 roster, an athletic forward or post prospect would seem the likeliest positions the Cavaliers would pursue.

Coleman III and Brakefield aren’t the only one-time Virginia targets who made decisions recently. Missouri point guard Caleb Love and Georgia forward Walker Kessler will be competing against the Cavaliers in the Atlantic Coast Conference, as both have committed to North Carolina. So will Carson McCorkle’s backcourt mate at Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.), point guard prospect Cam Hayes, who verbally committed to NC State. Hayes was offered by UVA as a member of the class of 2021. Around the time of his commitment he revealed that he is reclassifying into the class of 2020.

New 2021 Offer Is Out

Virginia extended a new scholarship offer in the class of 2021 this week, to 6’8”, 200-pound DaRon Holmes of Millennium High School in Arizona. The 4-star prospect also boasts offers from Arizona, Arizona State, California, Kansas, Marquette, Oklahoma, Southern Cal, Texas A&M and Wake Forest, among others. He has taken unofficial visits to Arizona and Kansas and took an official visit to Marquette this past weekend.

Courtesy of EVision, here are highlights from Holmes’ sophomore year at Millennium.



While UVA currently has four open scholarship spots in the class of 2021, we have only confirmed six scholarship offers that have been extended to date (not including Cam Hayes, who again reclassified to 2020 and is now committed to NC State). In addition to Holmes, there is point guard Carter Whitt, guards Max Christie and Trevor Keels, and posts Caleb Furst and Efton Reid.

Of the targets Coach Bennett has offered, UVA has hosted two - Keels and Furst – on official visits. Whitt has taken numerous unofficial visits. Reid has too.

Keels, a 6’5” junior out of Paul VI (Fairfax, VA), made his official the same weekend that UVA raised hits national championship banner and Virginia football defeated Florida State. The 6’11” Reid made the trek from Richmond (VA) to Charlottesville for an unofficial that weekend, while Abdur-Rahim (unofficial visit), Beekman (official visit) and McCorkle (official visit) were also on Grounds.

It has been tough to get a read on where Keels might be leaning, if anywhere at this point. Virginia has pursued several Paul VI prospects in the past including class of 2020 point guard Jeremy Roach and former Louisville Cardinals wing V.J. King but has not been able to break through. Keels was one of Virginia’s first class of 2021 offers. He is a high priority and the fact that he visited is a positive, but again it’s tough to get a read on where Virginia is positioned right now.

Furst, a 6’9” junior out of Blackhawk Christian in Fort Wayne, Indiana, enjoyed his official visit to Virginia the weekend of October 20-22. I hope to speak with Furst directly soon, but I did speak with his coach, Marc Davidson, who discussed how the visit was received by the versatile post.

“I think it went really well,” Davidson said. “I think Caleb and his mom and dad were really impressed with everything about [UVA]. The basketball team is coming off a national championship. There is the opportunity to play in the ACC, which is the premiere basketball conference in the country right now. Academically, UVA is really good and Caleb is a really good student. A lot of positives.”

By all accounts, including Davidson’s, Virginia made a strong impression on Furst and should be considered a top contender. Bennett also impressed on a visit to Blackhawk Christian. The Hoos will have to work to get him out of the state of Indiana and the Midwest. Furst has taken an official visit to Purdue. Indiana is in heavy pursuit. And he reportedly has an official scheduled to Michigan State in early January. Davidson doesn’t see Furst rushing the college decision, but he indicated that the 4-star junior will decide when he’s ready – whether that’s earlier or later.

Virginia is certainly in the mix with Furst. Reid, who is quiet when it comes to discussing recruiting, appears interested in the in-state Hoos but reportedly made an official visit to Ohio State this past weekend.

Whitt seemed very high on Virginia; however, at this point I’m not sure where the two sides stand with each other. If Virginia amps up its interest, I think Whitt still has interest. As for Christie, 247Sports analysts feel Duke is the favorite for the Rolling Meadows (IL) star. We’ll see where UVA’s pursuit of Holmes goes.

Look for Bennett and company to continue to evaluate other high school juniors in the coming months, with more offers likely to go out in that time depending on how things shake out with the early targets.

At this point the projected 2021-22 scholarship breakdown looks like this:

Point Guards (2): Kihei Clark (Sr), Reece Beekman (Soph)

Wings (4): Kody Stattmann (Sr), Casey Morsell (Jr), Jabri Abdur-Rahim (Soph), Carson McCorkle (Soph)

Combo Forwards (1): Justin McKoy (Jr)

Posts (2): Francisco Caffaro (R-Jr), Kadin Shedrick (Jr)