Revisiting Potential UVA Basketball Head Coaching Candidates

William Smythe | Mar 17, 2025

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The Ron Sanchez experiment has come to an end, with UVA athletics director Carla Williams making the announcement that Sanchez will not be retained as Virginia's full-time head coach just hours after the season ended in a second round loss to Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament on Wednesday afternoon. UVA's interim head coach deserves credit for navigating the team through this unusual season following the abrupt retirement of Tony Bennett, but it was clear by the end that a significant change was needed. This program is still fortunate enough to attract a host of suitors from both the high-major and mid-major ranks. In a reevaluation of Virginia’s coaching candidates, I’ve divided the options into those which are realistic and those which are more idealistic.

This search is already underway. Changes have taken place at Miami, Florida State, and Utah and absences have been announced at Indiana, Minnesota and potentially Villanova, Oklahoma, Arizona State, and Iowa. More moves will be announced which affect the coaching carousel, including the possibility that UCLA’s Mick Cronin or even Clemson's Brad Brownell returns to the Midwest to take the Hoosiers’ job. The Hawkeyes’ Fran McCaffery could leave his post in return for West Virginia’s Darian DeVries — an Iowa native — thus prompting a series of openings.

Last year, chaos ensued when USC’s Andy Enfield sought a new start at SMU, thus bringing about major changes at Arkansas, Kentucky, and BYU, among others. A similar sort of carousel could reemerge at the end of this season. As Gandalf says in Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: “Things are now in motion that cannot be undone."

Click here to see our Virginia Basketball Coaching Search HQ with the latest news regarding the top candidates to fill UVA's head coach vacancy and the most recent updates with the college basketball coaching carousel.

Virginia Basketball Head Coach Candidates: Realistic

1. Ryan Odom, VCU

It’s impossible to ignore Odom’s connections to Virginia. The son of former assistant to Terry Holland and Wake Forest head coach, Dave Odom, VCU’s head coach grew up around University Hall and went to school down the road at Hampden-Sydney College. His coaching chops are evidenced by UMBC’s 2018 upset of No. 1 Virginia, a 26-9 season at Utah State in 2022-23, and a 25-6 overall record with the VCU Rams this year heading into postseason play. Even if he has hopped around a bit, Odom would surely capitalize on a Virginia offer if given the nod.

He has noticeably upped his win totals from Years 1 and 2 at both Utah State and VCU, respectively. Bracketologist Joe Lunardi has the Rams as a play-in team for an 11 seed in the Big Dance; they’ll also be the favorite to win an automatic bid through the Atlantic 10 Tournament. Virginia likely needs to see another tournament appearance from Odom.

Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be able to bring any of his starting five with him to Charlottesville. With multiple fifth-years scattered throughout his roster, Odom has relied on veteran leadership in a successful season for the Rams. Nonetheless, he’s proven to be a capable portaler who can rebuild a team in short order; Virginia would be quite pleased to have someone with acute knowledge of the current landscape and a close connection to the program itself.

Read more on Odom here: UVA Basketball Coach Search: Is Ryan Odom the Frontrunner?

2. Ben McCollum, Drake

McCollum simply wins. After 15 years at his alma mater — Northwest Missouri State (DII) — the Iowa City native leveled up to Division I and secured the job at Drake, in Des Moines. Despite making a major jump in terms of competition, McCollum’s coaching prowess can’t be questioned. He won four National Championships at Northwest Missouri State and has now led the Bulldogs (30-3) to the Missouri Valley Conference Championship and an automatic berth to the Bid Dance. He has filled the shoes of another stellar coach at Drake — DeVries — who led the Bulldogs to three tournament appearances and six 20+ win seasons.

It’s not a far cry to imagine that Iowa parts ways with longtime head coach Fran McCaffery. He could also retire, as the last McCaffery is headed to play for Butler, not Iowa. The Hawkeyes are likely fearful of missing the opportunity to land either DeVries or McCollum, both native Iowans who could value that position over any other one available, including at Virginia. DeVries’ buyout would be pricey, though. If McCollum doesn’t land at Iowa, Indiana, or another school yet to be named, Carla Williams ought to give him a serious, serious look. Moreover, a rising star in guard Bennett Stirtz (19.1 PPG) has one more year of eligibility.

Don’t panic, but Drake is dead last in adjusted offensive tempo this season. They play Bennett Ball with a Bennett on the roster. The decision-making process depends on whether the search committee wants a stark shift in styles or would prefer to keep the slow pace alive. 

While Power Five hires are sexy, mid-major guys who have a track record of winning at consistent clips would have access to resources not available at their previous stops. One of the most prolific mid-majors in recent years, Drake is still a far cry from Virginia. It’s exciting to think about what McCollum could do in Charlottesville.

3. Tony Skinn, George Mason

Virginia has two compelling candidates in its own backyard. 

Skinn, whose Patriots fell to Odom’s Rams in the Siegel Center earlier this season, has nonetheless starred in his first two years coaching at his alma mater. After leading George Mason to a 20-win season (more impressive considering all of the departures to Providence, where ex-Mason coach Kim English ended up), Skinn coached the Patriots to a share of the Atlantic 10 regular season title, finishing the regular season 15-3 in league play and 24-7 overall. George Mason has the No. 2 seed in this week's Atlantic 10 Tournament. Although he has signed a contract extension keeping him in Northern Virginia until 2028-29, Virginia can afford to poach him. However, would Skinn prefer to wait things out at his alma mater?

Alongside having worked with power-conference coaches in Maryland’s Kevin Willard and DePaul’s Chris Holtmann — formerly at Ohio State — Skinn was an assistant coach for AAU’s Team Takeover and could help Virginia succeed in recruiting the ultra-talented DMV. The ‘Hoos have ceded ground to the likes of Maryland, Georgetown, Virginia Tech, and Duke, in particular, who has established a pipeline with Northern Virginia’s Paul VI High School since 2020. Guard Casey Morsell — a D.C. native and four-star recruit in 2019 — was the ‘Hoos’ last high school commit from the DMV. There’s no reason why Virginia shouldn’t compete with the aforementioned programs for this talent pool.

Skinn can also recruit out of the portal. His top six scorers jumped ship from other schools either in his first offseason or this past spring/summer, and he nabbed a Power Five transfer  — Auburn guard KD Johnson — who has provided a spark off of the bench. While the portal reliance might seem worrisome, Skinn had to patch the holes left by English’s departure.

It may be too early, but Skinn is an in-state talent whose appeal may increase over the next few seasons. He’s only 42 years old and has steered George Mason to a wildly impressive 2024-25 campaign. The Patriots also rank 22nd in overall defensive rating according to KenPom and 322nd in adjusted tempo. Sound familiar?

Virginia Basketball Head Coach Candidates: More Idealistic

1. Shaka Smart, Marquette

Virginia’s No. 1 option should still be Smart, even if it’s a longshot that he decides to step away from a comfortable job in the Big East. While it might take some significant leverage to pull the Wisconsin native away from Milwaukee, the ‘Hoos could feasibly scrounge together the resources to attract a coach of his caliber. Smart — VCU’s head coach from 2009 to 2015 — has reestablished his footing after an interesting stint at Texas, having steered Marquette to a Big East regular season title, a conference tournament title, and back-to-back No. 2 seeds in the Big Dance. In 2023, they beat the National Champions — UConn — twice.

Smart has carved out a niche in the transfer portal era. He has only brought in a couple of players from other schools in his four-year tenure, and two of them — guard Tyler Kolek and forward Oso Ighodaro — were drafted in the second round of the NBA Draft last year. Only Purdue and Houston come to mind as programs with a similar mentality, relying more on player development and harkening back to a style that Virginia enjoyed in the Bennett era. That cultural piece would lend itself well to Charlottesville.

While Smart’s Golden Eagles have regressed a bit this season, he’s put together a strong campaign following the departures of Kolek and Ighodaro. Virginia would have to offer a compelling deal to Smart to lure him from Wisconsin. We’ll have to keep a close eye on the rest of Marquette’s season as they look to bounce back from a recent slump.

2. Mark Byington, Vanderbilt

Byington has put the nation on watch after staying afloat in one of the deepest conferences in college basketball’s history. No, I don’t think that’s hyperbole, as the SEC is currently projected to have 13 teams qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Left in a tough spot by former coach Jerry Stackhouse, Vanderbilt turned to JMU’s Byington after he led the Dukes to a school-record 32 wins and an appearance in the Round of 32. The Commodores have beaten two top-ten teams in No. 6 Tennessee and No. 9 Kentucky, and they currently sit as one of the “Last Four Byes” in bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s recent March Madness predictions. 

Byington patched his roster through portal additions and built a lineup that looked questionable on paper. The results are evident, though, with the Commodores vastly exceeding expectations with an 8-10 record in conference, including five wins over ranked SEC opponents. Vandy fell to Texas in the first round of the SEC Tournament, but again, this has arguably been the SEC’s best campaign ever. Simply making the NCAA Tournament, which is still on the board for Byington's Commodores, would be a huge marker of success and improvement for Vanderbilt.

Would Byington — a Salem native and Virginia’s Director of Basketball Operations in 2005 — return to the Commonwealth after one year in the SEC? Vanderbilt will do all they can to retain what looks to be one of the ascending coaches in Division I hoops. Virginia has the upper hand on the Commodores from a success standpoint, with a National Championship and a fine track record in the ACC to boot. But, the conference is trending downwards as opposed to the SEC. That might be a primary factor in Byington’s decision to stay put.

Virginia Basketball Head Coach Candidates: Eliminated

Note: the below analysis was written and published on February 25th.

Ron Sanchez, Virginia

Sanchez will still factor into the coaching search. Virginia could go all-in on its core, which features an ascending freshman in Anthony Robinson, an improved guard in junior Andrew Rohde, and a sharpshooter in junior Isaac McKneely. However, if Sanchez gets the full-time job, it does not necessarily prevent a transfer portal exodus.

This era is too unpredictable to bank on this roster remaining intact. It is somewhat encouraging to consider the possibility of the recommitment of guard Chance Mallory — a Charlottesville native — and the return of an injured Elijah Gertrude, though. Sanchez provides the best chance of landing Mallory and establishing continuity within the Virginia men’s basketball program, even if signs point to an overhaul of Bennett ball. The ‘Hoos could afford to lose sophomore forward TJ Power and freshman Christian Bliss, and it’ll be interesting to monitor the frontcourt’s movements. It’s become rather crowded with Robinson, freshman Jacob Cofie, sophomore Blake Buchanan, and junior Elijah Saunders all vying for minutes.

Sanchez’ window may have passed after double-digit losses against Duke and North Carolina. Virginia didn’t look competitive in either contest, and its interim coach made some head-scratching decisions against the Tar Heels, in particular. Why wasn’t Robinson starting against an overmatched frontcourt? Moreover, what has happened to the Pack-Line? If Virginia is to stray from its defensive principles, it must adapt offensively.

Don’t be surprised if Sanchez is one of the top candidates throughout this search.

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