We’re just days away from tipoff of the Ryan Odom era, and the Virginia Cavaliers will bring an almost entirely new cast of characters to the backcourt for Monday’s season opener against Rider.
Like most
of this UVA roster, the backcourt isn’t lacking in collegiate experience, but it will take time for all the new pieces to get into sync in the Virginia orange and blue.
Let’s break down the guards that will be running the show in 2025-26.
Starters
Dallin Hall
A 6-foot-4, 197-pound graduate transfer from BYU, Dallin Hall will operate as Virginia’s primary ballhandler and starting point guard to begin the season. A seasoned vet with a strong frame and a good handle, Hall isn’t going to light up the scoring column, but he’ll be a steadying presence in command of the offense and a great veteran leader in the locker room.
At BYU, Hall started 30 games in 2023-24 before coming off the bench for most of last season. Despite operating as a reserve, Hall still appeared in 32 games for the Cougars in 2024-25, averaging 6.8 points and 4.2 assists in 24.7 minutes of action per game while finishing 12th in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio.
Hall also brings experience on the biggest stage to a roster with postseason aspirations — he averaged over 19 minutes per game in the Big Dance during BYU’s run to the Sweet 16 last March.
In Virginia’s recent exhibition against Villanova, Wahoo fans got a taste of what to expect out of the crafty point guard from Plain City, Utah. Hall finished with seven points (2-3 FG) and five assists while getting the ’Hoos into their sets on the offensive end, and he’s clearly already earned Odom’s trust to steer the ship.
Malik Thomas
It took a while for Malik Thomas’s additional season of eligibility to be approved (he played just 16 total minutes as a freshman at USC), but when he officially became a Cavalier in May, Virginia’s ceiling was instantly taken to new heights.
A 6-foot-5, 215-pound graduate transfer from the University of San Francisco, Thomas was Odom’s biggest get in the portal and will be Virginia’s go-to scorer this season. A true three-level scoring threat from Fontana, California, Thomas can use his big frame to power into the paint or sit back and light it up from beyond the arc.
Thomas was Virginia’s leading scorer in the exhibition against Villanova — 16 points (5-10 FG, 3-4 3PT) — and in nine games against top-125 KenPom teams last season, Thomas averaged 26.5 points per game.
Thomas, who was named to the All-WCC First Team after leading the conference in scoring at 19.9 points per game, is a perfect match for Odom’s system. The ’Hoos aren’t going to shy away from the three-ball under Odom, and Thomas made 39.4% of his shots from beyond the arc on over five attempts per game last season. It would not be a surprise in the slightest if Thomas found himself in first-team All-ACC conversations late in the season.
Sam Lewis
Reports out of preseason practice are that Sam Lewis has really impressed the coaching staff, and the 6-foot-7 transfer from Toledo was rewarded with starts in each of Virginia’s two exhibition contests.
A pure shooter who averaged 16.2 points per game and shot an astounding 44.4% from three last season, Lewis earned Second-Team All-MAC honors after delivering 31 double-digit scoring efforts for the Rockets.
Odom set out to fill Virginia’s roster with shooters, and Lewis might be the most potent outside threat of the bunch. Though he played just 10 minutes in the exhibition against Villanova — two points (1-2 FG, 0-1 3PT) — it’s hard to keep that type of shooter off the court, and Lewis seems like the early favorite to be the third starter in the backcourt alongside Hall and Thomas.
Depth
Jacari White
For now, it looks like Jacari White will fill the sixth-man role in Odom’s rotation, providing a potent scoring spark off the bench. But it would not be at all surprising for White to rotate into the starting lineup in certain matchups.
A 6-foot-3, 180-pound grad transfer from North Dakota State, White is yet another elite shooter in Odom’s arsenal. Despite coming off the bench against Villanova, White played 21 minutes (twice as many as starter Sam Lewis) in the exhibition, and finished with eight points (3-7 FG, 2-5 3PT), four rebounds, and two assists.
Last year at NDSU, White drained 39.8% of his attempts from deep on extremely high volume (over seven attempts per game), earning All-Summit League Second Team honors. A starter in 29 of his 32 appearances in 2024-25, White averaged 17.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game while turning in 23 double-figure scoring efforts and a career-high of 32 in a January game at San Diego.
Whether it’s off the bench or as a starter, White will be one of Virginia’s go-to options when it needs a bucket. A creative finisher around the rim with the ability to pull up off the double or shoot on the move, White can beat a defense in a variety of ways and is the early favorite to be the most electric watch on this UVA roster.
Chance Mallory
The No. 65 overall recruit in the class of 2025 (via ESPN), Chance Mallory had initially committed to UVA before Tony Bennett’s retirement. Fortunately, despite the Charlottesville native briefly reopening his recruitment, Odom was able to keep Mallory at home.
At 5-foot-10, the St. Anne’s-Belfield product is an undersized yet twitchy point guard with elite quickness and a great handle. Mallory is also known to punch above his weight with undeniable toughness and a smooth outside shot.
In our first look at Mallory against Villanova, he had his fair share of freshman moments, namely three turnovers in just 17 minutes of action. But he also knocked down 1-of-2 three-point attempts, dished out a pair of assists, and flashed his grit by skying for an impressive offensive rebound in traffic.
Though his role as a freshman will primarily be to spell Dallin Hall, Odom has workshopped a two-point guard look with both on the floor at the same time in each of Virginia’s exhibitions. It’s a lineup that might put some limitations on the defense, but it gives the ’Hoos a lot of playmaking on the floor and an added level of ball security with each of UVA’s best ballhandlers sharing the court.
Elijah Gertrude
One of just three returning Cavaliers, and the only one who figures to be involved in the rotation, Elijah Gertrude is back after missing the entirety of last season with a knee injury. A 6-foot-4 redshirt sophomore, Gertrude turned heads before his injury with his elite athleticism in his true freshman season.
The coaching and athletic staff are still being careful with Gertrude, slowly ramping him up as he works his way back into real games. He played just a few minutes in Virginia’s first exhibition at Vanderbilt, then saw 12 minutes of playing time against Villanova, finishing with four points, two assists, and three steals against the Wildcats.
As just about the only familiar face on the roster and the last thread connecting Virginia to the Tony Bennett era, Gertrude will undoubtedly be a fan favorite throughout his remaining time with the ’Hoos. On the court, however, it wouldn’t be surprising if it took some time for Gertrude to reintegrate himself into the rotation and re-find his footing. Once he regains his form, however, Gertrude is one of the most naturally explosive players on this roster and could be a difference-maker over the back half of the season.
