Sam Lewis reportedly returning to UVA basketball, nearly completing team’s core

Mar 20, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Virginia Cavaliers head coach Ryan Odom celebrates with Virginia Cavaliers guard Sam Lewis (5) after the game against the Wright State Raiders during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

UVA men’s basketball’s offseason momentum kept rolling Sunday, when Jon Rothstein reported that Sam Lewis has agreed to return to Virginia for the 2026-27 season for what is expected to be his senior season. For Ryan Odom and the Cavaliers, it is hard to overstate how important that news is.

The 6-foot-7 wing played a major role in Virginia’s 30-win season in Odom’s first year in Charlottesville, starting 35 of Virginia’s 36 games last season, averaging 10.6 points per game while shooting 40.3 percent from deep.

Lewis returning is significant on its own, but it matters even more in the context of what Virginia has built over the last week. Chance Mallory, Thijs de Ridder, and Johann Grünloh are all already set to return, and Lewis now joins Elijah Gertrude, Silas Barksdale, and Martin Carrere in what is becoming one of the most impressive retention stories in college basketball.

In an era when the portal has turned roster management into a year-round scramble, Virginia has managed to keep every scholarship player with remaining eligibility off the transfer market. That is a serious chunk of a very promising roster. In modern college basketball, that almost never happens.

At this time last year, some fans worried that an almost entirely new roster might feel like a collection of mercenaries rather than a real team. Instead, that group gelled quickly and became arguably Virginia’s most memorable team since the 2019 national title squad. Cavalier fans should have far less of that concern this offseason, because this level of roster retention gives UVA a foundation of established players.

That kind of continuity says a lot about the culture Odom has built in just one year. Yes, NIL matters. Resources matter. But players do not all stay put in 2026 college basketball unless they believe in what is happening. Virginia won 30 games in Odom’s first season, and now the staff has the rare luxury of building from a position of stability instead of starting over. That is not normal anymore. It is a sign that the Cavaliers have quickly become a place players want to be.

Lewis is central to all of that. He gives Virginia a proven shot-maker on the wing, a veteran presence, and a player who already knows how to thrive in Odom’s system. With Mallory, De Ridder, and Grünloh around him, Lewis helps form the core of a lineup that already looks like one of the ACC’s best on paper.

Rothstein’s updated top-10 has Virginia all the way up at No. 6 heading into next season, trailing only Michigan, Florida, Illinois, Michigan State, and Duke. That is lofty praise for mid-April which, of course, should be taken with a grain of salt. But it shows how much national respect this roster is already commanding.

Of course, Virginia’s offseason work is not finished. The Cavaliers still have a lot of production to replace after losing Malik Thomas, Jacari White, Devin Tillis, Dallin Hall, and Ugonna Onyenso, and the portal is going to remain a major focus over the next couple of weeks. Ratcliffe reported that Cornell guard Jake Fiegen has already visited Charlottesville. There have also been reports tying Virginia to NC State forward Cole Cloer as Odom and his staff continue surveying a wide portal board.

And the portal may not be the Cavaliers’ only avenue. Virginia’s 2025-26 roster was built in part through international additions, with de Ridder arriving from Bilbao Basket and Grünloh from RASTA Vechta, and both immediately became core rotation pieces.

Because the European calendar runs longer and because Virginia saw immediate returns from going overseas the first time, it would make sense for Odom’s staff to explore that route again, especially if the Cavaliers want another frontcourt body. That is more educated projection than confirmed reporting at this point, but it is an obvious possibility given last year’s blueprint and Virginia’s need for more size behind Grünloh after Onyenso’s departure.

For now, though, Virginia can celebrate another major win: Sam Lewis is back. While not as flashy to some as a new portal addition, this may be one of the biggest wins of all.