Virginia’s athletic department is still collecting hardware, and the national title conversation doesn’t stop with the two championships already banked this academic year. Men’s tennis and women’s swimming and diving have already delivered, and after another strong run in the Learfield Directors Cup, Carla Williams has Virginia sitting among the NCAA’s most productive departments. There are more trophies in play next year, too.
At the top of the list is Ryan Odom’s men’s basketball program, which is coming off a 30-win season and rolling into another year with plenty of continuity. That kind of stability matters, and Virginia also added some promising portal pieces. The Cavaliers have the look of a team that can crack the top 10 early and spend the season testing itself against elite competition.
Field hockey belongs in the national-title mix every year, and Virginia is no exception. The obstacle is obvious and brutal: North Carolina.
Beating the Tar Heels is the gatekeeper to a championship run, and that makes the road simple in theory and miserable in practice. If Virginia can finally turn some recent postseason frustration into a win over its archrival, it would have a real case for lifting the trophy.
Men’s lacrosse has been knocking on the door as well, but this version of the Cavaliers has a major personnel hit to absorb. Ben James has used up his eligibility, leaving Bowen Sargent - who was the ACC Coach of the Year again - with some retooling to do. Even so, Virginia should stay near the top of the ACC and remain a legitimate national contender.
Men’s tennis, one of Virginia’s reigning champions, is built to chase another title. Mans Dahlberg is gone, which will be felt, but Dylan Dietrich, Jangjun Kim, Keegan Rice and others are back to give the Cavaliers one of the strongest cores in the country. That kind of returning talent makes repeat-championship talk very real.
And then there’s women’s swimming and diving, which brushed off the preseason doubters and kept right on winning. Some expected a step back without a Walsh on the roster, but Virginia answered by setting multiple records at the national championships and cruising to another team title. Unless Stanford, Texas or Florida puts together something historic, the Cavaliers should be the overwhelming favorite again.
In Other News...
Virginia Still Has One Scoring Problem That Could Derail A Repeat
Virginias offense did plenty to keep the Cavaliers in games last season, but the final few yards remained a stubborn issue. The numbers tell the story: Virginia finished 96th nationally in red-zone touchdown percentage at 56.25 percent, a rate that left too many drives settling for less than seven and helped turn a handful of tight ACC games into missed chances.
The frustration showed up in the kind of matchups that can swing a season, including one-score losses to N.C. State and Wake Forest, plus the ACC championship game against Duke. Virginias defense had its own red-zone problem too, allowing touchdowns on 83.78 percent of opponent trips, so the path to a repeat is clear enough even if the fix is not: the Cavaliers need more reliable finishing on both sides of the ball, and they need it fast. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Is Quietly Building A New Path To The Pros
Ryan Odoms first Virginia roster is already sending players into the pro game, a useful early sign for a program trying to show recruits that development still matters in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers have long sold themselves on preparing players for what comes next, and that pitch is backed by a deep alumni network that stretches across professional leagues around the world.
This offseason has only added to that case, with more former Cavaliers finding opportunities overseas and in summer-league settings. Virginia finished the most recent season with 32 alumni active in pro basketball, and that kind of track record tends to resonate when the staff starts making its next recruiting push, especially for players looking for a path that keeps the NBA in view. [Read more 🡒]