Virginia just received some massive news via the portal. Coach Ryan Odom has upped the ante in the last few weeks, landing freshman center Johann Grünloh, Kansas State senior center Ugonna Onyenso, and, most recently, senior Malik Thomas from San Francisco. The 6’5”, 205 lb. guard led the West Coast Conference in scoring last season (19.9 PPG) and made the conference’s first-team list. He won a waiver after playing nine games at Southern California during his freshman campaign in 2021-22 and comes into Virginia as a graduate transfer. The news was first reported by Joe Tipton at On3.
NEWS: San Francisco transfer guard Malik Thomas has committed to Virginia, he told @On3sports.
The 6-5 senior averaged 19.9 points per game this season. Began his career at USC. https://t.co/hxnwxFsrWX pic.twitter.com/mEYDupiiMC
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) May 10, 2025
Thomas chose San Francisco prior to his junior season, ultimately finding his footing after transitioning from the Pac-12. He led the Dons to a 25-10 record last year and recorded 20-plus points in 17 of 34 games played. Notably, Thomas averaged a 39.7% 3PT clip over his two seasons in the WCC. Despite having played sparingly in a high-major conference, Thomas is a prime example of finding “greener grass” at the mid-major level and returning with confidence to a high-caliber league in the ACC.
The California native will now play his last season of college basketball on the East Coast. Although Virginia had been linked to the senior guard for quite some time, Odom and his staff had to wait for a verdict on an extra year of eligibility. All signs would point to Thomas as a starter who fills the last area of need for this roster — an elite scorer.
If you’re looking for more evidence of his chops, Thomas dumped 52 combined points on Gonzaga over two contests and went nine of 16 from three. He also put up 25 against Memphis and twice hit the 35-point mark against Loyola-Chicago, capped by a perfect 17-of-17 performance from the charity stripe in a second-round NIT loss to the Ramblers. Somehow, free-throw shooting might be a strength for the ‘Hoos.
As with Grünloh’s addition, Virginia’s ceiling drastically improves with Thomas’ announcement. Odom has rounded out his frontcourt and added a three-level scorer in the span of two weeks. Thomas would presumably slot in at the three to start the 2025-26 season.
In terms of his game, the San Francisco transfer is an offensive weapon who can aggressively drive to the basket or fire a three-pointer off of a quick screen. Virginia hasn’t been too familiar with downhill guards that can create for themselves, and the West Coast Conference’s scoring champion is just that. He has great size, explodes off of the dribble, and loves a fadeaway from the midrange. Thomas and North Dakota State transfer Jacari White will also be a high-octane duo in transition, another contrast from Virginia teams of recent.
With transfer news flying around in Charlottesville, here is what we predict will be the starting five and bench rotation next year. Thomas and Grünloh are the biggest fish.
Starters:
PG: Dallin Hall (6.8 PPG, 4.2 at BYU)
Backup(s): Chance Mallory (Fr.)
SG: Jacari White (17.1 PPG at North Dakota St.)
Backup(s): Elijah Gertrude (Jr.)
SG: Malik Thomas (19.9 PPG at San Francisco)
Backup(s): Sam Lewis (Jr.), Martin Carrere (R-Fr.)
PF: Devin Tillis (13.7 PPG, 7.8 RPG at UC-Irvine)
Backup(s): Silas Barksdale (Fr.)
C: Johann Grünloh (8.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG in Germany’s BBL)
Backup(s): Ugonna Onyenso (Sr.), Carter Lang (R-So.)
Virginia has top-20 potential and could find their way into some preseason polls with this transfer haul. Odom just landed arguably the best available scorer in the portal, and the new-look roster now features few holes coming into next season.
Hall, White, Thomas, Tillis and Onyenso all have one year of eligibility remaining.
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