Turns out, UVA Basketball coach Ryan Odom wasn’t done with his roster, which we picked up on today with the news that Nolan Adekunle, a 6’6”, 218-pound guard from Germany, is headed to Charlottesville for the 2026-2027 season.
At age 24, Adekunle will be a one-and-done, under the new NCAA age-based eligibility rules.
Adekunle has been playing professionally in his native Germany since his age-17 season in 2019-2020.
He’s a solid perimeter shooter – Adekunle shot 42.3 percent from three in 2025-2026 while playing for Gladiators Trier in the Basketball Bundesliga, the top pro league in Germany.
Rising second-year UVA player Johann Grunloh also played in the German BBL before jumping to the U.S. college game last year.
Projected UVA Basketball rotation for 2026-2027
Guard
- 5’10” PG Chance Mallory: 9.3 ppg, 3.4 assists/g, 3:1 assist:turnover ratio, 49.6% 2FG, 34.5% 3FG.
- 6’6” PG Jan Vide: 12.1 ppg, 4.0 assists/g, 46.9% 2FG, 32.3% 3FG.
- 6’7” SG Sam Lewis: 10.6 ppg, 51.0% 2FG, 40.3% 3FG.
- 6’6” SG Christian Harmon: 12.8 ppg, 53.2% 2FG, 34.6% 3FG (Arkansas State).
- 6’6” SG Nolan Adekunle: 8.4 ppg, 70.7% 2FG, 43.2% 3FG (Gladiators Trier).
- 6’4” SG Jurian Dixon: 15.9 ppg, 45.9% 2FG, 38.5% 3FG (Cal-Irvine).
Forward/center
- 6’9” PF Thijs de Ridder: 15.6 ppg, 6.2 rebounds/g, 56.8% 2FG, 35.7% 3FG.
- 6’8″ PF Kalu Anya: 6.5 ppg, 7.5 rebounds/g, 65.8% 2FG (Saint Louis).
- 7’0” C Johann Grunloh: 7.1 ppg, 5.2 rebounds/g, 2.2 blocked shots/g, 62.1% 2FG, 35.0% 3FG.
- 7’1” C Favour Ibe: incoming freshman, four-star prep recruit in 2026.
In the mix
- Elijah Gertrude, a 6’4” former four-star recruit in 2023 who has seen limited action at Virginia in his seasons (medical redshirt in 2024-2025).
- 6’8” SG Martin Carrere: redshirted at VCU in 2024-2025; limited minutes at Virginia last season. Intriguing prospect who can shoot the lights out from the perimeter.
- 6’9” PF Silas Barksdale: four-star recruit in 2025; redshirted last season.
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Chris Graham
