PHILADELPHIA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – What Ryan Odom did in his first season with Virginia basketball – winning 30 games, finishing second in the ACC, and ending the program’s NCAA Tournament victory drought – was both impressive and encouraging. 

But the ultimate measure of his success will be determined in the years to come. 

Odom built a winning team in 2025-26 – Did he lay the foundation for a championship program?

“This group of guys came together and started the foundation of what’s going to come in the future,” junior guard Sam Lewis said. “30 wins is incredible for 14 new guys. The future is bright for UVA and Ryan Odom, getting more experienced and doing what we do.”

Lewis is one of a quartet of key contributors who have the option to return next season to UVA, a group that also includes international players Thijs DeRidder and Johann Grunloh and star freshman Chance Mallory, the Charlottesville native.

In the locker room after Sunday’s second-round NCAA Tournament loss to Tennessee, all four indicated they were at least open to another season with the Cavaliers. Lewis said he’s planning to return.

“I see myself here for sure,” said Lewis after a disappointing outing that saw him go 2 for 9 from the floor, including 1 for 5 from 3-point range. “I’m going to get in this summer and work my tail off, get bigger and stronger. I got a taste of March Madness and next time I’ll be back, I won’t lay an egg and miss so many shots. I’ll come up for my team.”

DeRidder was a first-team All-ACC who was widely expected to spend one year playing at UVA, with a pro future in either the NBA or Europe on the horizon. But despite averaging 15.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, leading the Cavaliers in both categories, DeRidder said he is “for sure” open to the possibility of returning to Virginia.

“Of course, there are a lot of emotions right now,” DeRidder said. “We have to sit down. This feeling is amazing. I love the coaching staff. I’m a humble guy, too, and I love the family feeling. What I had overseas, too.”

Grunloh started all 36 games at center for UVA, though he essentially split time in the second half of the season with Ugo Onyenso, one of the team’s five seniors. Mallory lived up to his hype, coming off the bench to play 24 minutes a game. With Dallin Hall, another senior, gone Mallory is in line to be the team’s No. 1 point guard next season.

There’s also another trio of names on the roster whose futures are in limbo. Silas Barksdale had originally committed to Odom at VCU, then followed him to UVA and redshirted.

Elijah Gertrude was the lone remaining scholarship player from the 2024-25 team, a year he missed with a knee injury. He did not crack the rotation this season. 

And Martin Carrere, a French import who redshirted for Odom last year at VCU, similarly saw limited playing time this season.

It’s likely Odom and his staff – associate head coach Griff Aldrich left Thursday to take the Pepperdine job – will meet with that trio in the near future to discuss their outlook at UVA, talks that could certainly end with a transfer or two leaving the program.

This offseason, Odom will need to, once again, dip into the transfer portal. The two players who hit the most 3-pointers for Virginia this season – Jacari White and Malik Thomas – were both seniors. Odom will need outside shooting, a veteran option at point guard to spell Mallory and a veteran center to backup Grunloh.

“We tried to leave the jersey better than we found it,” Thomas said. “We tried to put our all into this one year, these eight months that we had together. We tried to connect the best we can on the court and off the court. … I’m sure the coaches are going to do a great job of replacing us seniors and just continue to have this run going on.”

The Year 1 success, reaching and advancing in the NCAA Tournament, should help attract experienced talent.

“They set the table and set the bar really high for future teams,” Odom said of this year’s squad. “I’m really proud of what these guys did.”

Tony Bennett’s first season leading the Cavaliers resulted in his only losing season as a coach, a 15-16 mark, including a 5-11 record in ACC play. From there, Bennett built UVA into a national power, making 10 NCAA Tournaments over the next 14 years, reaching three Sweet 16s and winning the 2019 national championship.

That was in another era of college basketball, a developmental era where coaches inherited rosters, then rebuilt programs in their image over years.

Odom came to Charlottesville in a new age, one where NIL and the transfer portal accelerate both the opportunity and the expectation for success.

It appears – with a small sample size to evaluate – that Odom navigated the current landscape perfectly.

Only time will tell if that’s true.