Cavaliers Now

Chance Mallory Decommits From Virginia Basketball, Reopens Recruitment

Matt Newton

Adam Finkelstein/X
In this story:

The bad news keeps coming for the UVA basketball program, as four-star point guard and Charlottesville native Chance Mallory has decommitted from Virginia, as reported by On3's Joe Tipton on Tuesday evening. Mallory is reopening his recruitment following the retirement of UVA head coach Tony Bennett a week and a half ago, but according to the reports, Mallory will still consider Virginia as he resumes his recruiting process.

Mallory's decision to decommit comes on the same day that Virginia lost senior guard and Florida State transfer Jalen Warley, who entered the transfer portal with one year of eligibility remaining on Tuesday morning. Warley will redshirt the 2024-2025 season while he looks for a new home for his final year of college basketball.

Related: UVA Basketball Guard Jalen Warley to Enter Transfer Portal

Mallory is a consensus four-star recruit according to each of the major recruiting services. He is rated as high as the No. 48 overall prospect in the class of 2025 by On3, is a top three overall recruit in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and multiple recruiting sites have him as one of the top 10 point guards in the country in his recruiting class.

Mallory committed to Virginia back on September 20th, choosing the Cavaliers over Virginia Tech, Clemson, Miami, Tennessee, and Villanova. Those schools, and likely others, are expected to jump right back in the mix for Mallory with his recruitment reopening.

With Mallory's decommitment, Virginia now has two open scholarship spots for the 2025-2026 season and has zero commitments from the high school recruiting class of 2025.

Though Mallory is reportedly still considering Virginia as he reopens his recruitment, the instability of the program will likely hamper the efforts of interim head coach Ron Sanchez and the UVA coaching staff to reacquire his commitment. Whether Sanchez and company are back next year to run the Virginia basketball program will largely depending on the results of this season. That amount of unpredictability is unlikely to inspire confidence for a recruit of Mallory's caliber. Only time will tell, but at the very least, Mallory will strongly consider other options in his recruitment.

More Virginia Basketball News & Content

UVA Basketball Guard Jalen Warley to Enter Transfer Portal

Virginia Basketball: Ron Sanchez Has No Plans to Redshirt Anyone

UVA Basketball: Three Breakout Candidates for the 2024-2025 Season

UVA Basketball: What to Make of Virginia's Secret Scrimmage Loss to VCU

UVA Basketball Head Coaching Candidates: Is It Ron Sanchez's Job to Lose?

Why Did Tony Bennett Retire? UVA Basketball Coach Explains Decision

Published
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.