Virginia’s men’s basketball team enters the preseason with a familiar kind of respect attached to it: the Cavaliers are projected to finish second in the ACC, and second-year forward Thijs De Ridder has been voted the league’s Preseason Player of the Year.
The announcement came Tuesday, with Duke picked as the ACC favorite ahead of Virginia, Louisville, Miami and North Carolina. After those top five, Clemson landed sixth, followed by Florida State, NC State, Virginia Tech and SMU. Syracuse checked in 11th, then came Pittsburgh, Stanford, Wake Forest, California, Notre Dame, Boston College and Georgia Tech.
De Ridder’s recognition puts him in rare company in program history. He and Malcolm Brogdon are the only Cavaliers to earn preseason ACC Player of the Year honors. Brogdon was chosen as co-Player of the Year before the 2015-16 season.
Last season, De Ridder backed up the hype by making All-ACC first team while leading Virginia in scoring at 15.6 points per game and rebounding at 6.2 per game. This year, he headlines a first team that also includes Flory Bidunga of Louisville, John Blackwell of Duke, Shelton Henderson of Miami and Patrick Ngongba II of Duke.
Virginia also got another notable preseason nod in the backcourt. Second-year point guard Chance Mallory, coming off a strong rookie year in 2025-26, was picked to the preseason All-ACC second team.
Mallory averaged 9.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists last season. He was joined on the second team by Malik Reneau of Miami, Jackson Shelstad of Louisville, Amani Hansberry of Virginia Tech and Joaquim Boumjte Boumjte of Duke.
Boumjte Boumjte was also selected as the ACC’s Preseason Rookie of the Year.
The voting numbers show just how close the race looked behind Duke. Virginia received one first-place vote and finished with 778 points, just ahead of Louisville’s 758 and Miami’s 753.
North Carolina followed with 658. Duke led the way with 45 first-place votes and 861 points.
Virginia has been the model of meeting - and often exceeding - expectations in this stretch. The Cavaliers were picked fifth in the 2025-26 preseason poll and went on to finish second with a 15-3 record. UVA has finished at or above its predicted finish in 15 of the last 18 seasons.
The Cavaliers open the regular season on Tuesday, Nov. 3 against Drexel at John Paul Jones Arena. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on the ACC Network.
In Other News...
Virginia Heads To SMU With New Defensive Concerns Growing
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The bigger concern sits in the secondary, where starting cornerback Omillio Agard is now out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury. Virginia is also managing day-to-day uncertainty with players such as Brandyn Hillman and Maddox Marcellus, leaving Elliott and his staff to sort through more questions as SMU looms and the Cavaliers try to hold together their defensive plan. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia's Defense Suddenly Has A Huge Problem Before SMU
Virginias defense took a major hit this week as Tony Elliott confirmed that starting cornerback Omillio Agard suffered a torn ACL and will miss the rest of the 2026 season. Agard is set to undergo surgery after the injury, leaving Virginia with a significant hole in the secondary just as it heads into a high-profile matchup with No. 24 SMU.
The timing only adds to the uncertainty around the Cavaliers, who are already managing a cluster of injuries on both sides of the ball. Several players are still being evaluated ahead of the game, with some listed as day-to-day or questionable, while others, including Baxter, have already had surgery and are expected to be out for multiple games. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Transfers Are Driving A 4-2 Start And Raising New Concerns
Halfway through the 2026 regular season, Virginia has settled into a 4-2 start and a spot near the top half of the ACC, and a big part of that early stability has come from a roster rebuilt with transfers. Quarterback Pribula has generally met expectations while helping steer the offense, running back Middlebrook has piled up the most all-purpose production, and defensive additions such as Hillman and Fobbs-White have given the Cavaliers real help on that side of the ball.
Even so, the review of the newcomers comes with some real caveats, because not every transfer has been able to settle in cleanly. Middlebrook has been more of a ground-game presence than a receiver, Flores Jr. and Lewis have been slowed by injuries or limited roles, and Virginia is still sorting out how dependable this group can be as the schedule tightens and the margin for error shrinks. [Read more 🡒]