Virginia Basketball Lands Commitment From Saint Louis Transfer Kalu Anya

Virginia Basketball has landed its third transfer portal commitment of the offseason today. Former Saint Louis forward Kalu Anya has committed to play for the Cavaliers, and he is another piece to the puzzle for Ryan Odom and this program as they try to build on last year's big debut season for Odom.

With the addition of Anya, Virginia is now at 14 players on their roster. He is the third transfer addition to this team and fourth overall offseason addition.

Anya redshirted this past season.

Anya (6'8 225 LBS) played 28 minutes per game for the Billikens during the 2024-2025 season and Anya was a productive player and will give UVA the length, size, and defensive versatility that they needed.

Anya brings experience from Saint Louis, but he was a productive player at Brown before he joined Saint Louis. During the 2024=2025 season for Saint Louis, Anya averaged 6.5 PPG and 7.5 RPG while shooting 61% from the field. He led the team in rebounds during his one season with the Billikens and was third overall in the A10 in rebounding. Virginia was one of the top teams in the country when it came to rebounding last season.

During the 2023-2024 season at Brown, Anya averaged a career 9.6 PPG and 7.4 RPG while shooting 47% from the field. The first season at Brown in 2022-2023, Anya was able to produce 8.2 PPG and 6.2 RPG in 18 games and shot 53% from the field.

Having not played in over a year, it might be an adjustment for Anya to head into playing in the ACC, bt it is not hard to see why Ryan Odom and his staff liked him.

So what are some of the drawbacks to Anya's game? He is not a three-point shooter, averaging less than one attempt per game and a career 25% from beyond the arc. The offensive game seems to be limited, but that is not what he is going to be asked to do on this team. Anya is going to be tasked with bringing perimeter defense to a team that was one of the best defenses in the country last season and helping out on the boards.

Will he start or come off the bench? I lean towards the bench right now. Sam Lewis, Thijs de Ridder, and Johann Grunloh are three starters that are slated to be back next season and I don't think that I want Anya playing SF and obviously not the other guard spot, which is likely going to be either Chanace Mallory or Arkansas State transfer Christian Harmon.

This is a solid take for Odom, and he should improve Virginia's rebounding and overall athleticism and defense in the frontcourt. Virginia has the look of an ACC contender next season and preseason top ten team. How will Odom finish out the roster?

Updated Roster outlook for UVA (as of 5/13)

G- Christian Harmon (Transfer)

G- Chance Mallory

G- Sam Lewis

G- Martin Carrere

G- Elijah Gertrude

G- Desmond Roberts

G- Owen Odom

C- Johann Grunloh

C- Favour Ibe (Freshman)

F- Jurian Dixon (Transfer)

F- Thijs de Ridder

F- Silas Barksdale

F- Carter Lang

F- Kalu Anya (Transfer)

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow