Recapping a Great Recruiting Weekend for UVA's Football and Basketball Programs

The Virginia football and men's and women's basketball programs each landed key commitments over the weekend

Matt Newton | Jul 5, 2022

Kamren Robinson Virginia football, Olivia McGhee Virginia women's basketball, Blake Buchanan, Virginia football — (Left to right) Kamren Robinson, Olivia McGhee, Blake Buchanan

It was a banner Fourth of July weekend for the Virginia athletics department on the recruiting front. The UVA football, women's basketball, and men's basketball programs each landed big-time commitments over the weekend.

On Thursday night, Olivia McGhee announced her commitment to the University of Virginia, the culmination of a brilliant recruiting run for new UVA women's basketball head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton. McGhee is the No. 42-ranked player in the nation in the class of 2023 and one of the best prospects in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Playing the first three years of her high school basketball just outside Charlottesville in Louisa County (McGhee will play her senior year at IMG Academy in Florida), Coach Mox convinced McGhee to stay home and commit to the Cavaliers over offers from nearly 40 schools, including fellow finalists Virginia Tech and Kentucky.

Read the full story on Olivia McGhee's commitment here: UVA Women's Basketball Lands Big-Time Commitment From Star In-State Guard Olivia McGhee

A few days after McGhee's announcement, Virginia added an early commitment from 2024 three-star Breona Hurd, a 6'2" forward from Waynesville, Missouri, who chose the Cavaliers over offers from Missouri and Missouri State. In addition to Olivia McGhee and Breona Hurd, Coach Mox has landed commitments from transfers Alexia Smith (Minnesota) and Samantha Brunelle (Notre Dame), a Virginia native and former No. 1 overall high school prospect, as well as from 3,000-point scorer Cady Pauley and top-15 point guard Yonta Vaughn. Without coaching in a single game, Amaka Agugua-Hamilton has already transformed the UVA roster into one which could compete with the best in the ACC within the next couple of seasons.

On Friday, Tony Elliott and the Cavaliers won a tough recruiting battle for one of the top players in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Kamren Robinson, a 6'2", 215-pound linebacker and the No. 8-ranked prospect in Virginia, announced his commitment to UVA. The No. 36-ranked linebacker in the country is Virginia's highest-ranked commit so far in its recruiting class of 2023. Robinson, who attends Essex High School in Tappahannock, Virginia, chose UVA over finalists Virginia Tech and Tennessee and he also held offers from 13 other schools, including Florida State, Penn State, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Indiana, Pittsburgh, and Boston College.

Read the full story on Kamren Robinson's commitment here: Three-Star In-State Linebacker Kamren Robinson Commits to UVA Football

On Sunday evening, the Virginia men's basketball program landed its first commitment in the class of 2023 from Blake Buchanan, the No. 1-ranked player in Idaho. A 6'10" forward/center from Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, Buchanan chose the Cavaliers over Gonzaga, even though he grew up just 30 minutes from Gonzaga's campus in Spokane, Washington. Currently ranked the No. 15 center in the country and the No. 107 overall player in the class of 2023, Buchanan is expected to rise significantly when the recruiting rankings are updated as he has garnered significant national attention after several strong performances in the last few weeks.

Read the full story on Blake Buchanan's commitment here: Virginia Basketball Lands First 2023 Commitment from Blake Buchanan

Not a bad holiday weekend for the Virginia Cavaliers.

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