Sam Lewis had plenty to weigh after Virginia’s 2025-26 season ended against Tennessee. Stay in Charlottesville, or test the market and chase a different path?
He chose the Cavaliers.
That decision matters because Lewis brings a profile plenty of programs would have loved to claim: a 6-foot-7 wing with real shooting juice and the kind of versatility that makes him valuable anywhere. He could have gone looking for a championship elsewhere. Instead, he’s back with a clear message about what he wants this season.
“I want to be better,” Lewis said. “For the team, myself, be a professional.
Lead these guys. Just go deeper in March Madness this year, that’s my emphasis - go into every game like it's the championship game.”
Lewis wasn’t the only one who opted to return. Thijs De Ridder, Johann Grunloh, Chance Mallory, Elijah Gertrude, Silas Barksdale and Martin Carrere also stayed put, giving Virginia a core that wants to turn last season’s progress into a real tournament push in 2026-27.
There’s also unfinished business baked into this group. Virginia watched another team celebrate a conference title, and the Cavaliers know how close they came to changing that scene themselves. Duke was right there in front of them, and Virginia ended up a few points short of an ACC championship.
Lewis knows what postseason disappointment feels like, too. His first year at Toledo ended with the Rockets as the No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament, only for them to fall in the opening round.
The next season, Toledo entered the 2025 conference tournament as the No. 4 seed and made it to the semifinals. Lewis put up 23 points against Akron - the third-most in the game - but the Rockets still came up short.
In the 2026 postseason, Lewis’ numbers went down, but the mistakes piled up in another way, with costly fouls and even some technicals. He said he has taken something from that stretch, and Virginia’s coaches have noticed the growth. Ryan Odom, Bryce Crawford and others have praised the way Lewis has developed mentally as both a shot-taker and a slasher.
Lewis sees this as a second act in Charlottesville, and he’s not pretending the road will be easy. Virginia’s schedule is loaded, with two games against Duke and matchups against Arkansas, UConn, North Carolina, Kentucky, Miami and more.
For Lewis, though, that’s the point. The Chicago native isn’t ducking the challenge. He’s embracing it, and he sees the brutal schedule as a chance to put together the best season of his college career.
“I’ve been here before so I know what to expect,” Lewis said.
In Other News...
Virginia May Be Better Equipped For Duke Than Fans Realize
Virginias path back into the ACC elite may look a lot sturdier than it did a year ago, and the coming matchup picture with Duke is a big reason why. The article takes a close look at projected starting lineups for the 2026-27 season, weighing who is likely to return, who could step into bigger roles and how last seasons production shapes the conversation. For Cavaliers fans, the encouraging part is that this is not just a story about keeping pace with the leagues blue bloods, but about having enough on hand to make the matchup interesting from the opening tip.
Duke still carries the usual heavyweight expectations, and both programs are forecast to be among the ACCs top contenders, but the personnel comparison suggests Virginia may have more answers than many would assume. The real intrigue lies in the individual battles and how the Cavaliers blend of returning experience and emerging options stacks up against Dukes own projected lineup. It is the kind of early-look conversation that does not settle anything, but it does make clear why Virginias ceiling in that season feels more consequential than the broader preseason chatter might suggest. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Special Teams Have One Big Chance To Change Games
Special teams may end up carrying an outsized share of Virginias identity this fall, and there is a real reason to keep an eye on the return game. The Cavaliers bring back kicker Will Bettridge and punter Daniel Sparks, both of whom landed on preseason watch lists, while the search continues for a new kickoff returner after Cam Ross. In that mix sits Solomon Beebe, the junior transfer from UAB who is on the Paul Hornung Award preseason watch list and arrives with the kind of versatility that usually gives a staff options it has not had before.
Coach Keith Gaither has made it clear Virginia wants to spread the load across several players, especially with newer NCAA rules opening the door for freshmen to help in those roles. Beebe is expected to be part of that rotation in more than one way, and the staffs willingness to mix and match could turn a routine hidden-yardage phase into one of the more interesting parts of the season. The challenge, as always, is turning preseason promise into a return unit that actually changes games when the margins get thin. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Defense Is Entering A Conversation Fans Rarely Get To Have
Virginias defense gave the program something it does not often get to enjoy: a legitimate place near the top of the ACC discussion. Even with star linebacker Kam Robinson missing six games, the Cavaliers finished as the leagues No. 2 scoring defense in 2025, allowing 19.6 points per game. That kind of steady work changes the tone around a team, especially when it comes with plenty of familiar pieces set to return for 2026.
There is also reason to think the group can keep rising. Virginia brings back many of its key defensive players and has added new contributors Jacob Holmes and Cazeem Moore, both of whom were responsible for a significant share of last seasons sack production elsewhere. And with a schedule that looks friendlier than what some of the other top ACC defenses will face, the Cavaliers have a real chance to turn last years breakthrough into something even more durable. [Read more 🡒]