Tony Bennett broke up the football news cycle in dramatic fashion on Thursday when the University of Virginia confirmed that he is stepping down immediately as the program’s basketball coach.
The news was particularly shocking considering Bennett took part in the ACC Media Tipoff earlier this month and that he recently signed a contract extension through 2030.
The news comes less than three weeks before the start of the 2024-25 season, and there was no immediate word of who will take his place at least on an interim basis. If there is a planned successor in place, the name has not been shared publicly to date.
Who takes the reins of the prestigious program on a permanent basis may be a question for next offseason, but here are the top three candidates to lead the Cavaliers at least through the upcoming season.
RON SANCHEZ
Sanchez came with Bennett from Washington State to Virginia before leaving to take over as the Charlotte 49ers’ head coach from 2018-23, posting a 72-78 record that included winning a CBI championship last year. He returned to the Cavaliers this offseason as an associate head coach, and would at minimum be the leading candidate to take over on an interim basis. Sanchez began his college coaching career as an assistant at SUNY Oneonta in 1996.
JASON WILLIFORD
Williford was promoted to an associate head coach position when Sanchez left for Charlotte, and the Cavaliers won the national title in his first season in the role. His roots run deep in the program, as Williford played four years for the Cavaliers, including on the 1992 NIT championship team. He returned to Virginia in 2009, joining Bennett’s staff after working as an assistant at American University and Boston University.
BRAD SODERBERG
Soderberg currently serves as the Cavaliers’ director of scouting after spending head coaching stints at Lindenwood, St. Louis, South Dakota State and Loras College. Yes, those are all far smaller programs, but Soderberg also served as the interim head coach at Wisconsin in 2000-01. He joined Bennett in 2015 as an assistant, moving into the director of scouting role in 2021.
Virginia, which went 23-11 and made the NCAA Tournament last season, losing 67-42 to Colorado State in the first round. The Cavaliers open the 2024-25 campaign Nov. 6 at home against Campbell.
