UVa picked up their first transfer commitment in nearly three weeks, when the addition of Kansas State center Ugonna Onyenso went public. UVa had a major need in the frontcourt and have addressed it this week, with the additions of both Onyenso and German big man Johann Grunloh, a pair of seven footers.

Onyenso comes to Virginia with one year remaining, after playing two years at Kentucky before moving on to K-State. Onyenso was the 37th-ranked player in the 2023 high school class, playing at Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut. Onyenso picked Kentucky over a ton of other offers, signing up to play for a Wildcats program with a history of producing quality rim protectors. As a true freshman, Onyenso played sparingly, which is often the case for young centers. The Nigerian forward played in 16 contests as a freshman, playing 6.9 minutes per game. He averaged 2.5 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, and saw nearly all of his minutes early in the season, in non-conference play. He did have a 7-point, 10-rebound game against Gonzaga, a bit of a breakout performance for the center. As a sophomore, Onyenso played more and had his best collegiate season to date. He started 14 games and played in 10 more off the bench, playing 18.6 minutes per game. He averaged 3.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, and showed off impressive rim protection skills, averaging 2.8 blocks per game. Onyenso finished first in the SEC in block percentage that year.

Onyenso opted for the transfer portal after John Calipari left for Arkansas, and Onyenso ultimately landed at Kansas State, a big NIL spender that was considered to be on the rise after a deep NCAA Tournament run. The 2024-25 season with K-State didn’t work out great for the program, or for Onyenso himself. Coming with a big NIL price tag, Onyenso didn’t take a leap forward with Kansas State, and saw a smaller role than he had the year prior at Kentucky. In 2024-25, Onyenso played in 24 games with two starts, and averaged just 11.1 minutes per game. He averaged 2.8 points and 2.4 rebounds per game, and his block rate dropped off rather considerably, to 0.9 per game.

UVa’s staff has had a tough task on their hands since accepting the job, having to rebuild the roster in a new environment. The frontcourt was going to be a big rebuilding project, and there are simply far more playable guards and wings in the portal than there are centers and power forwards. UVa ended up going to Europe for Grunloh, and now pair him with a player in Onyenso that has played high-level basketball. And while far from perfect, his block rate and rebound numbers are intriguing, and UVa won’t be looking to run their offense through Onyenso. At VCU, the new UVa staff rotated players in and out more than Tony Bennett did at Virginia, and that’s a good thing for Onyenso, who isn’t a 30 minutes a game type player, even if this move works out well. He’ll need to tag team the center spot with another player or two, but has the skillset to provide valuable minutes.

It seems pretty obvious, looking at how things went in Manhattan, that Onyenso needed a fresh start. K-State seemed primed for a solid season last year, and the hope was that Onyenso would take off in his third year of college basketball. The Wildcats ended up missing the NCAA Tournament, and Onyenso barely played, sitting behind fellow transfer Coleman Hawkins. So the opportunity to start over with a UVa staff that may allow Onyenso to be himself and not ask him to do a ton more, makes a lot of sense. At Virginia, Onyenso can still earn quite a bit of money with NIL and revenue sharing opportunities, a similar situation to the ones he has been in previously. He also will have a fair chance to compete for a much larger role, but with the addition of Grunloh and Ryan Odom’s style of play, likely won’t be asked to do more than protect the rim and be ready for lobs and second-chance opportunities. After a tough year at Kansas State, the move to UVa gives Onyenso one more shot at a career take-off, in a new setting with a new staff.

UVa is going to need Onyenso to play in some capacity this year. Obviously the hope is that they won’t be in a situation where he plays just 11 minutes a game as he did at Kansas State. Hopefully he can add about 50 percent more minutes this season, and will fit in with a group of shooters around him, and can run the floor, protect the rim, rebound the ball and simply be tall in the paint. If UVa is hoping that he’ll be anything more than that, it seems like a pipe dream. But there is potential here, and the hope is that even if Onyenso doesn’t suddenly turn into Hakeem Olajuwon, he can get closer to a ceiling that seemed pretty high just a couple years ago.