Interim Coach Ron Sanchez announced Tuesday that senior guard Jalen Warley will leave the program and enter the transfer portal. After Tony Bennett retired, any student-athlete in the men’s basketball program received the option to transfer during a 30-day window, which closes Nov. 16.
Warley was entering his first season at Virginia after transferring from Florida State, where he started 32 games and averaged 7.5 points per game in the 2023-24 season. At 6-foot-7, his impressive frame and defensive talent were coveted across the college basketball world.
Instead of competing for a starting role with the Cavaliers, Warley will be forced to redshirt and sit out during the 2024-25 season at whichever school he transfers to. The transfer rules prohibit Warley from playing this season because Virginia was already his new destination after transferring from the Seminoles during the offseason.
Warley becomes a significant domino to fall after Bennett’s retirement, and the exact reason for this transfer decision has yet to be revealed. Perhaps Warley’s main attraction to Virginia was Bennett. Sanchez also neglected to name his starting guards Monday at media availability, which may have played a role in Warley’s sudden exit.
"I think it's going to be by committee,” Sanchez said. “All those guys are going to have to contribute.”
Warley was competing with sophomore guard Dai Dai Ames and redshirt freshman guard Christian Bliss for the chance to start, but now, the latter two Cavaliers will receive the lion’s share of playing time.
Freshman guard Ishan Sharma should benefit as well. Instead of redshirting like he probably would have under Bennett, the young guard will have a chance to compete for significant playing time in his debut campaign.
It remains to be seen whether or not Warley is the only transfer loss, but for now, Virginia fans are left wondering as to where Warley will go — and why he would choose to leave and redshirt the season rather than playing for Sanchez’s Cavaliers.
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