Virginia added another key piece to a new-look roster over the weekend, when San Francisco guard Malik Thomas committed to the Hoos. UVa has been involved in Thomas’ recruitment for more than a month, but had to wait for the NCAA to approve a waiver request for Thomas before they could seal the deal. Thomas got a waiver last week for another year of eligibility, and committed to UVa on Saturday.

Thomas played prep basketball at Damien High School in La Verne, California, and played for the Compton Magic AAU program, the same one that produced fellow transfer commit Devin Tillis. He signed with USC out of high school and played very sparingly in his first year there. Thomas played just 18 minutes total over nine games, and was able to get that year back through last week’s granted waiver. Thomas played one more year with the Trojans, coming off the bench and playing 8.4 minutes per game, scoring 2.4 points per game.

Thomas moved on to San Francisco after his second year with USC, and immediately took on a much-larger role with the Dons. Thomas started 21 games in his junior year, averaging 12.4 points per game despite playing just 23 minutes per contest. Thomas shot 40 percent from three as a junior, and 86 percent at the free-throw line. Thomas had a few breakout performances that year, going for 20+ points six times, including 45 points over two games late in the season against Gonzaga, and 31 points in the NIT against Cincinnati. In 2024-25, Thomas took his game to an even higher level, and led the West Coast Conference in scoring at 19.9 points per game. Thomas shot 39 percent from three and hauled in 3.9 rebounds per game while dishing out 2.1 assists per contest.

Thomas became one of the nation’s most-prolific scoring guards, going for 20+ points on 17 occasions, and 34 or more four times, with two of those performances coming against Loyola Chicago, once in the regular season and again in the NIT. Thomas was good against quality competition, too. He went for 25 in one game against Gonzaga and scored 27 in a rematch against the Zags. He scored 25 against Memphis and 14 against future ACC rival Clemson as well.

This is a no-brainer addition for UVa. Thomas certainly commanded a major NIL deal, but players with his level of experience and productivity are not a dime a dozen. While Thomas didn’t play his last couple years in a power conference, the WCC is one of the better mid-major leagues, which makes Thomas less of a projection at the high-major level. Thomas has also already notched a bunch of impressive showings against quality opponents, which makes him more of an obvious fit to move up a level.

UVa had already assembled a roster that was capable of competing, but the Thomas addition raises the ceiling. He is also a good fit for what Ryan Odom typically likes to do. Thomas is a good shooter, making 40 percent of his threes over the past two years, and he adds to the group of sharpshooters already assembled on UVa’s projected roster. But Thomas can do more than just shoot. He can handle the ball and create his own shot off the bounce, something that UVa needed to some degree, to compliment their shooters. Thomas gets to the line a lot too, something that Cavalier fans haven’t seen from a UVa player in a while, but he can certainly impact a game by drawing fouls. Thomas shot 6.5 free throws per game for USF this year, and made 85 percent of those attempts. He went 17-for-17 from the line in his final game with the Dons against Loyola Chicago in the NIT.

This new era of NIL and transfer portal madness has been pretty chaotic for the sport, but the changes actually benefit a player like Thomas quite a bit. Thomas worked out for NBA teams while he waited to hear the NCAA’s decision on his waiver request, but wasn’t projected to get drafted. In the past, a player in his situation, even if granted an extra year, may have decided to move on to pro basketball and make a go of it in the G League or overseas. But with NIL opportunities available, Thomas is more incentivized to play another year of college basketball, which adds a good player to the sport, and gives Thomas a shot to make money, improve his pro outlook, and advance academically off the court.

Thomas is a good fit for Odom’s style, too. At VCU and other stops, Odom rotated guards quite a bit and used them as interchangeable parts. But he would always have a few good shooters out there, with a driver, and ideally, a player like Thomas that can do both. He’s perhaps not as much of a distributor as former star VCU guard Max Shulga was, but there are some offensive similarities between the two, and that could be the role Thomas ends up playing on the 2025-26 UVa team.

Adding Thomas is a coup for UVa, especially given how the rest of the roster is shaking out. UVa should have plenty of firepower on the 2025-26 team, which will help them compete in the ACC. Thomas’ addition is probably worth at least a couple of extra wins for UVa, and maybe more. The hope is that he can come in and pick up where he left off at San Francisco, approaching 40 percent from three and scoring in double digits consistently. There’s a decent chance Thomas ends up leading the Hoos in scoring, and if not, he should be a productive player that raises the ceiling of this team. We’re projecting Thomas as a starter in Virginia’s backcourt, with a great chance to be the team’s top scoring option.