After a long recruitment that saw his star rise significantly, UVa has landed coveted local four-star guard Chance Mallory.

The STAB standout’s decision comes a few days after taking an official visit to Virginia. He’s currently the 74th ranked player in the country and the first commitment in UVa’s 2025 class.

“I chose UVa because of the connections and relationships that I have built with the coaches,” Mallory told CavsCorner. “Coach (Tony) Bennett made it clear that he sees me being a possible early contributor as a leader and a guard on the team.”

Being from Charlottesville and going to St. Anne’s-Belfield for high school, Mallory has obviously known about the program his entire life and it’s a big deal to him to be playing for the hometown school at the next level.

“It means a lot to be able to stay home and play for Virginia,” he explained. “To be able to play in the city that I have lived my whole life means everything. It also comes with a responsibility to give my all for the city I love.”

Mallory is known as one of the quickest guards in the class of 2025 and fans should look for him to use that to his advantage when fitting into Bennett’s system in the future.

“I fit with UVa really well because I can help speed up the ball on defense while also being able to use ballscreens on the offensive side in order to get downhill and create open shots for my teammates and myself,” he explained

Mallory’s decision to end his recruitment in favor of UVa is obviously going to cause a lot of excitement among fans, something Mallory himself is always very aware of right now.

“Virginia fans can expect a player that wants to be there and play for his city,” he said, “and play to the best of my abilities every game.”