Chance Mallory retires from Virginia Basketball, reopens recruiting

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

BREAKING: 4 Chance Mallory, a top-50 recruit in the class of 2025, has decommitted from Virginia, he says @On3Recruits.

The 5-9 Point Guard and Charlottesville native reopened his recruitment after Tony Bennett’s decision to retire, but says he will still consider Virginia… pic.twitter.com/gKuMU0GhRM

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) October 29, 2024

Mallory’s decision to decommit comes on the same day Virginia lost senior guard and Florida State transfer Jalen Warley, who entered the transfer portal with one year of eligibility remaining Tuesday morning. Warley will redshirt the 2024-25 season as he looks for a new home for his final year of college basketball.

Mallory is a consensus four-star recruit according to each of the major recruiting services. He is rated as high as the No. 1 overall prospect. 48 in the class of 2025 by On3, is a top-three recruit overall in the Commonwealth of Virginia and several recruiting sites have him as one of the top 10 point guards in the country in his recruiting class.

Mallory pledged herself to Virginia back on Sept. 20, choosing the Cavaliers over Virginia Tech, Clemson, Miami, Tennessee and Villanova. Those schools, and likely others, are expected to jump right back into the mix for Mallory once his recruitment reopens.

With Mallory’s decommitment, Virginia now has two open scholarship spots for the 2025-26 season and no commitments from the 2025 high school recruiting class.

While Mallory is reportedly still considering Virginia as he reopens his recruitment, the instability of the schedule will likely hinder efforts by interim head coach Ron Sanchez and the UVA coaching staff to regain his commitment. Whether Sanchez and company return next year to lead the Virginia basketball program will depend heavily on the results of this season. That amount of unpredictability is unlikely to inspire confidence in a recruit of Mallory’s caliber. Only time will tell, but at the very least, Mallory will strongly consider other options in his recruitment.

UVA basketball guard Jalen Warley will enter the transfer window

Virginia basketball: Ron Sanchez has no plans to redshirt anyone

UVA basketball: Three breakout candidates for 2024-25 season

UVA basketball: What to make of Virginia’s secret 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 the decision