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Francesco Badocchi leaves the men’s basketball program for personal reasons

Badocchi will continue to pursue his undergraduate degree at Virginia

<p>Redshirt sophomore forward Francesco Badocchi will no longer be a member of the men's basketball team.</p>

Redshirt sophomore forward Francesco Badocchi will no longer be a member of the men's basketball team.

Coach Tony Bennett announced Monday that sophomore forward Francesco Badocchi has decided to leave the Virginia men’s basketball program for undisclosed personal reasons.

"It is unfortunate that Frankie's basketball career at U.Va. has ended prematurely," Bennett said. "We appreciate Frankie's contributions to our program and wish him the best in the future." 

Badocchi, born in Milan, Italy, redshirted his first year at Virginia, but played in 11 games this past season, usually seeing time near the end of regulation.

While he will no longer be on the men’s basketball roster, Badocchi will remain a student at the University as he works towards completing his undergraduate degree.

Badocchi’s decision has huge recruiting implications for the Cavaliers as Virginia now has one open scholarship for the 2020 recruiting class. At the moment, Virginia’s 2020 class is the best recruiting class in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite. 

The class already includes four-star forward Jabri Abdur-Rahim, four-star guard Reece Beekman and three-star guard Carson McCorkle. 

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