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Merrimack Transfer Jordan Minor Announces Commitment to Virginia

The 2022-2023 Northeast Conference Player of the Year is UVA's first transfer portal commitment of the offseason

Matt Newton

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The Cavaliers have landed their first transfer portal commitment of the offseason. Following an official visit last week, Merrimack transfer Jordan Minor announced his commitment to the Virginia men's basketball program on Thursday afternoon. 

A 6'8", 240-pound senior forward from Kingston, Massachusetts, Minor comes to UVA after a decorated four-year career at Merrimack, where he appeared in 107 games, including 76 starts. In the 2022-2023 season, Minor averaged career-highs in points (17.4), rebounds (9.4), assists (2.3), and blocks (2.6), recorded 15 double-doubles, and shot 51.5% from the field this season, garnering his third career All-Northeast Conference selection and the awards for the 2022-2023 Northeast Conference Co-Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Minor helped Merrimack win the NEC Men's Basketball Tournament Championship this season, but the Warriors were ineligible for the NCAA Tournament, while they complete their transition from Division II to Division I. Their title game opponent, Fairleigh Dickinson, got the bid from the NEC and went on to upset No. 1 Purdue in the first round.

Minor visited Virginia on April 6th and 7th and then took a visit to Florida Gulf Coast immediately after that. He was originally scheduled to take two additional visits to Iowa and Seton Hall this weekend, but Minor's visit with the Cavaliers convinced him that those visits wouldn't be necessary. 

Minor's commitment helps Virginia address a significant area of need on the roster as the Cavaliers lacked depth in the front court following the departures of Jayden Gardner, Ben Vander Plas, Isaac Traudt, Francisco Caffaro, and Kadin Shedrick. Given his size and strength, there is some potential for Minor to serve as a small-ball center, but he can definitely fill in at the power forward spot. Minor provides strength and aggressive rebounding on the defensive end and offers a well-rounded skillset on the offensive end as a mobile and athletic big who can operate well in the pick and roll and finish strong at the rim. While he isn't the most polished as a shot creator, Minor knows what to do with the ball when he gets it anywhere near the rim, which will be a valuable asset for the Hoos next season. 

Minor comes to Virginia with one year of eligibility remaining and brings the Cavaliers officially to eight scholarship players for the 2023-2024 season. UVA still has five open scholarship spots for next season, which means that Tony Bennett and his coaching staff should be expecting to make at least a few more splashes in the transfer portal this offseason. 

Keep track of all of Virginia's movement in the transfer portal here: Virginia Basketball Transfer Portal Updates

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.

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