Ryan Odom and the Virginia Cavaliers have their sights set on a highly-touted foreign basketball prospect. Johann Grünloh, a 6’11” German forward who currently plays for SC Rasta Vechta in Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the highest level of professional club basketball in Germany, is planning to come to the United States to play college basketball. According to a report from Rupert Fabig, a reporter for a German newspaper called Hamburger Abendblatt based in Hamburg, Virginia is the “favorite” to land a commitment from Grünloh.
💥 Vechtas Johann Grünloh vor Wechsel ans College. Favorit ist die University of Virginia. Nichts unterschrieben.
German Big Man Johann Grünloh about to transfer to the NCAA. University of Virginia (#GoHoos) in the lead according to my sources: https://t.co/HOZ6DCpmGF
— Rupert Fabig (@rupertfabig) April 24, 2025
In the above tweet Fabig, writes in German, “Vechta’s Johann Grünloh is about to transfer to college. The University of Virginia is the favorite. Nothing signed.” Fabig then offers an English version of his report, writing, “German Big Man Johann Grünloh about to transfer to the NCAA. University of Virginia in the lead according to my sources.”
A native of Löningen, Germany, Grünloh is 19 years old and will turn 20 on August 14th. Despite his young age, he already has quite an impressive basketball resume at the professional club level and on the international stage. In 2023, Grünloh played for Germany in the U18 European Championships and helped his country win a bronze medal as the top shot blocker at the tournament, averaging 3.9 blocks per game.
In the 2023-2024 basketball season, while Grünloh was still finishing secondary school, he played for both the professional Rasta Vechta team and the second Rasta Vechta team that plays in the highest youth division of basketball. Grünloh was instrumental in helping Vechta have the sixth-best defense in the BBL and also helped lead the junior team to a championship. He then graduated and played full-time with the professional Rasta Vechta squad for the 2024-2025 season.
This season, Johann Grünloh has played in 33 games, starting in every game, and averaged 8.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks in 23.3 minutes per game. He shot 47.6% from the floor and 35.4% from three-point range. Grünloh had 13 games in double-figures, including a 20-point performance in his most recent game just last week, and posted two double-doubles this season.
Watch some highlights from Johann Grünloh’s 2024-2025 season in the video below:
Ryan Odom has had more than his fair share of success recruiting and coaching international players. One of his best players at VCU last season was Max Shulga, a native of Ukraine who played for Odom at Utah State and then followed him to Richmond to play for the Rams for his final two seasons of college basketball. Last year’s VCU roster also had a pair of London natives in Michael Belle and Luke Bamgboye. Then there’s Martin Carrere, a 6’8″ wing originally from Pontonx-sur-l’Adour, France who redshirted last season at VCU and is the lone Ram who followed Odom to Virginia through the transfer portal.
Odom’s track record with international players isn’t the only factor working in Virginia’s favor, though. This season, Johann Grünloh has been teammates with former Virginia forward Jayden Gardner, who joined SC Rasta Vechta in 2024. Gardner and Grünloh have been the team’s starting front court tandem in every game this season. If Johann Grünloh is indeed seriously considering a transfer to Virginia, there is little doubt that Jayden Gardner is doing some solid recruiting work on behalf of the Cavaliers.
Virginia essentially cleaned house this offseason with the coaching change. Of the 12 scholarship players who were on the roster last season, 10 transferred out, one exhausted his eligibility, and just one returned – redshirt sophomore guard Elijah Gertrude. The Cavaliers are bringing in two incoming freshmen in Virginia natives Chance Mallory and Silas Barksdale and have so far secured commitments from five transfers: Toledo’s Sam Lewis, North Dakota State’s Jacari White, VCU’s Martin Carrere, BYU’s Dallin Hall, and UC Irvine’s Devin Tillis. That gives UVA eight projected players on next year’s roster.
Virginia is expecting to add at least four or five more players to its roster, with the front court being the most pressing area of need, and Johann Grünloh might just be one of those additions.
Stay up to date on all the latest Virginia basketball transfer portal activity, including outbound transfers from the current roster and UVA’s effort to pursue players in the portal, here: Virginia Basketball Transfer Portal: Latest News and Updates
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