The Virginia Cavaliers are heading into the 2026 season with quite a bit of roster turnover, and in order for them to be successful this year, a few players in particular will be extremely important.
With that being said, let's take a look at what's been going on with the team this offseason in terms of personnel first.
- G Malik Thomas (out of eligibility)
- G Jacari White (out of eligibility/ signed a summer league deal
with the Los Angeles Lakers
)
- C Ugonna Onyenso
(selected in the 2nd round of the 2026 NBA Draft)
- G Dallin Hall (out of eligibility)
- F Devin Tillis (out of eligibility)
- G Jurian Dixon
(incoming transfer from UC-Irvine)
- G Christian Harmon
(incoming transfer from Arkansas State)
- F/C Kalu Anya
(incoming transfer from Saint Louis)
- G/F Jan Vide
(incoming transfer from Loyola-Marymount)
- C Favour Ibe
(4-star HS recruit)
- G Quincy Watson (walk-on)
- G Nick Rotter (walk-on)
As you can see, a lot of talent is on the way out, but some intriguing players are on the way in as well, especially in the backcourt. Guys like Jan Vide and Christian Harmon could end up playing big roles in 2026 when it's all said and done, but three specific Cavaliers stand out as crucial pieces to the puzzle going forward.
Mallory might honestly be the most important player on the roster heading into next season for UVA. The team's offensive success may end up hinging on his ability to become an impactful full-time starter at point guard.
With Dallin Hall and Malik Thomas out of the picture now, Mallory will likely be tasked with carrying a large workload when it comes to facilitating Ryan Odom's offense. If the sophomore point guard can continue to produce at a high level while bumping his minutes up in 2026, things should go smoothly for Virginia. If not, things could get really messy, really fast.
Looking at the Cavaliers' current roster, aside from someone like Sam Lewis, this team really doesn't have any proven three-level scoring threats anymore. Jurian Dixon showed the ability to be a dominant scorer at times last year in multiple different areas of the court, which is most likely why this coaching staff brought him in.
Dixon's undoubtedly going to be tasked with coming in and replacing the lost scoring production from Malik Thomas and Jacari White in 2026. Similar to Mallory at PG, if Dixon can't be effective from day one, it's not going to be good for UVA basketball.
Interesting, right? Everyone's talking about Silas Barksdale and Favour Ibe right now when it comes to being the next productive big man for UVA, but Kalu was one of the top rebounders in the A-10 conference the last time he played basketball.
Let's face it, Thijs De Ridder and Johann Grnloh are excellent scorers, but they're surprisingly underwhelming as rebounders. On top of that, the Cavaliers lost Ugonna Onyenso this offseason. For Virginia to be successful as a unit, Kalu Anya is going to have to play an enormous role in the frontcourt. Seeing him averaging 15-20 minutes per game wouldn't be surprising at all in 2026/2027.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/virginia as 3 Virginia basketball players who could shape the Cavaliers' 2026/2027 season .
