Cavaliers Now

Ryan Odom Tabs Longwood HC Griff Aldrich as Associate Head Coach

Matt Newton

John David Mercer-Imagn Images
In this story:

Ryan Odom has finalized the first hire to his new Virginia men's basketball coaching staff, reportedly hiring Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich to be the associate head coach at UVA. The news was first reported by Matt Norlander of CBS Sports and was confirmed when Longwood officially acknowledged Aldrich's departure on Sunday evening, while simultaneously announcing the promotion of assistant coach Ronnie Thomas to the position of head coach at Longwood.

Connections continue to be a major storyline for Ryan Odom's brand new tenure as Virginia's head coach. Odom and Aldrich were teammates for their entire college basketball careers at Hampden-Sydney from 1992 to 1996. Aldrich then attended the University of Virginia School of Law, graduating in 1999 before returning to Hampden-Sydney as an assistant coach, helping the Tigers achieve a perfect 24-0 record in the regular season, the No. 1 national ranking at the Division III level, and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championship.

Aldrich departed the college basketball coaching ranks after that one season and worked in the private sector as a lawyer and business executive for the next decade and a half, while also coaching AAU basketball in Houston. When Ryan Odom earned his first Division I head coaching job at UMBC in 2016, he got his old college teammate to join his staff, with Aldrich serving as the Director of Recruiting and Program Development for two seasons.

Questions for UVA Basketball Coach Ryan Odom: A New Chapter Begins

Of course, that means that Aldrich was on the UMBC staff when Odom coached the Retrievers to their historic upset over Virginia in the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Less than a week later, Aldrich got his first college basketball head coaching gig, becoming the Longwood men's basketball head coach. In his first season at the helm, Aldrich took the Lancers to their first-ever postseason appearance at the Division I level, qualifying for the 2019 College Basketball Invitational.

Aldrich was named the Big South Coach of the Year in 2021-2022, guiding the Lancers to a 26-7 record, a 15-1 mark in the Big South, and the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Two years later, Aldrich took the Lancers to the Big Dance once again by winning the 2024 Big South tournament title. This past season, Longwood went 18-14 and finished fifth in the Big South.

In seven seasons at Longwood, Aldrich turned in a 127-100 overall record, leading the Lancers to the postseason four out of the seven years, including two NCAA Tournament appearances.

Now, Aldrich will once again reunite with Ryan Odom and return to the University of Virginia. Aldrich will provide valuable experience as a Division I head coach, recruiting pedigree given his time coaching on the AAU circuit, and potentially some other significant benefits regarding UVA's ability to navigate the modern era of college basketball (NIL, transfer portal) given his time in the private sector.

More announcements will come soon as Ryan Odom continues to fill out his Virginia men's basketball staff, which will likely include at least a couple of assistants from his staff at VCU. Odom will be formally introduced as the UVA men's basketball head coach in a press conference at John Paul Jones Arena on Monday (March 23) at 3pm ET. The press conference is open to the public and will also be broadcast live on the ACC Network.

More Virginia Basketball News

Questions for UVA Basketball Coach Ryan Odom: A New Chapter Begins


Virginia Basketball Transfer Portal: Latest News and Updates

UVA Basketball Roster Turnover Prediction: What to Expect This Offseason

Report: Virginia Guard Dai Dai Ames Plans to Enter Transfer Portal

Blake Buchanan Set to Enter the Transfer Portal

Published |Modified
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.