Preseason expectations around Virginia basketball keep climbing, and Tuesday brought another big one: Thijs De Ridder was voted Preseason ACC Player of the Year.
The Cavaliers also landed at No. 2 in the ACC preseason media poll for the second straight year, a sign that the conference thinks last season’s group has plenty left in the tank.
De Ridder’s recognition was no fluke. He was one of only two returning players from last year’s All-ACC First Team, and he led a Virginia core that also features Sam Lewis, Johann Grunloh and Chance Mallory. Mallory was named to the Preseason Second Team All-ACC, giving Virginia two preseason all-conference selections under Ryan Odom for the first time.
The vote for Player of the Year wasn’t especially tight. De Ridder pulled in 30 of the 48 votes, while the nearest challenger, Duke guard John Blackwell, finished with 12. That makes De Ridder just the second Cavalier ever to earn Preseason ACC Player of the Year honors, joining Malcolm Brogdon in 2015-16.
There’s one notable distinction, too: Brogdon shared that award with Marcus Paige of North Carolina, which means De Ridder is Virginia’s first outright winner of the honor.
Mallory’s rise is part of the reason Virginia is viewed so highly. The sophomore has not started a college game yet, but he still drew the third-most votes among ACC guards. After flashing real ability last season, he could take another step this year.
That’s also why the Cavaliers are being projected near the top again, even with the conference picture expected to look different than it did a year ago. Duke, Virginia, Louisville and Miami all placed multiple players on the preseason All-ACC teams, and those four programs filled every spot except for Virginia Tech’s Amani Hansberry.
Virginia opens the season Nov. 3 against Drexel, kicking off what looks like a long road back to the NCAA Tournament.
In Other News...
Virginia Just Got The Kind Of ACC Hype Fans Crave
Virginia is entering the season with an unusual kind of buzz for a program that tends to let February do most of the talking. Forward Thijs De Ridder was picked as the Preseason ACC Player of the Year, and the Cavaliers landed second in the league's preseason standings behind Duke, with Louisville, Miami and North Carolina rounding out the top five. It is the kind of early conference respect that can turn a quiet October into a much louder winter in Charlottesville.
The recognition does not stop there, either, because point guard Chance Mallory also earned preseason All-ACC second-team honors. For Virginia, the combination of De Ridder's headline status and Mallory's inclusion gives the roster a little more sizzle before the games count, even if the real test will come once the league's favorite, and the teams chasing it, start sorting themselves out on the floor. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Defense Faces One Fixable Problem Before ACC Play Gets Ugly
Virginias defense has been uneven enough early in 2026 that the issue feels less structural than basic, which is often a better sign for a staff trying to clean things up before ACC play sharpens the edges. Missed tackles have piled up, and the secondary has had trouble holding up in one-on-one coverage, with Jacobie Henderson and Ethan Minter among the defensive backs finding those matchups tougher than the Cavaliers would like.
There is still a path to a steadier unit, though, if the tackling gets tighter and the pass rush starts turning pressure into sacks instead of just forcing hurried throws. Health matters here too, especially with Omillio Agard and Jason Hammond unavailable, because Virginia needs more bodies to make the back end less exposed and give the defense a chance to settle in before the conference schedule starts asking harder questions. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Faces A Brutal Early ACC Test In Dallas
Virginias trip to Dallas arrives with a familiar kind of early-season tension: a conference road test against a program that has quickly made itself uncomfortable to visit. SMU has become one of the ACCs tougher away assignments, and Virginia is heading into its first game in Dallas with only a handful of previous trips to Texas on its rsum, which gives this matchup a little extra weight beyond the standings.
The Cavaliers also have to navigate an SMU offense built around senior quarterback Kevin Jennings and senior running back Kendrick Raphael, two experienced pieces that have helped set the tone for the Mustangs since their arrival in the league. For Virginia, the bigger concern is not just the opponent in front of it, but the timing of the test, with a road atmosphere and a new setting combining to make this one of the more revealing games on the schedule. [Read more 🡒]