Tony Bennett is currently active in the transfer portal. On Monday night, the Cavaliers made their second transfer of the day and third in the past 72 hours, as San Diego State transfer Elijah Sanders announced his transfer to Virginia. Sanders, who joined UVA with two years of eligibility remaining, committed to the Cavaliers just hours after the Cavaliers acquired a contract from Duke forward TJ Power.
Sanders, a 6-foot-8, 225-pound forward from Phoenix, Arizona, entered the transfer portal late last week. He played in 53 games over the past two seasons at San Diego State, starting 21 of them. This season, Sanders started 21 of 37 games, averaging 6.2 points and 3.6 rebounds in just over 20 minutes per game, while shooting 32.2 percent from 3-point range on 3.3 points per game. His best game was the win against Washington. He had 16 points and 3/3 in San Diego State's win over Yale in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Sanders entered the transfer portal just before the shutdown and reportedly heard from Virginia the first day his name was in the portal. He scheduled official visits to three schools, visiting Washington on Friday and Saturday and Virginia on Sunday and Monday. Apparently the Charlottesville visit went pretty well, with Sanders canceling his visit to Clemson and announcing his commitment to UVA on Monday night.
Tony Bennett and the Cavaliers went through the first six weeks of the offseason without signing a single transfer, and now they have added three transfers in three days. UVA acquired a commitment from Florida State transfer guard Jalen Worley on Saturday and acquired TJ Power and Elijah Sanders on Monday. Aside from Worley, who will have next season as his last year of eligibility, the Cavaliers are building a great foundation for the future by acquiring Sanders, who has two years of eligibility remaining, and Power, who has three years remaining.
With the additions of Worley, Power and Sanders, Virginia has filled 12 of its 13 scholarship spots for the 2024-2025 season.
More Virginia men's basketball news and content
Contact Virginia Basketball Transfer Portal Live Tracker
Duke forward TJ Power transfers to Virginia Basketball
Report: Virginia hosts Kansas National Guard transfers Die Die Ames
Virginia picks up forward Elijah Sanders, transferred from San Diego State.
Former Virginia wing Leon Bond III transfers to Northern Iowa
Virginia basketball commits to first transfer from FSU guard Jalen Worley
Virginia welcomes 4-star point guard Trent Perry on official visit
