CHARLOTTESVILLE – Virginia has its first transfer portal pickup of the offseason, adding Florida State guard Jalen Warley on Saturday.
Warley, a 6-foot-7 former McDonald’s All-American, averaged 7.5 points, 2.8 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game last season for the Seminoles, and can play both point guard and shooting guard.
Warley, who grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs, visited UVa on Thursday as coach Tony Bennett continues his work to remake a roster that loses point guard Reece Beekman and forward Ryan Dunn to the NBA draft, forwards Jordan Minor and Jake Groves to exhausted eligibility and wing Leon Bond III and guard Dante Harris to the portal.
People are also reading…
Inside the redshirt years of Virginia’s Christian Bliss and Anthony Robinson
Warley was a starter for FSU the past two seasons and gives Bennett his first in-conference transfer. UVa has seen guard Casey Morsell (North Carolina State) and forward Justin McKoy (North Carolina) transfer to other ACC schools, but, until now, the players the Cavaliers had brought in had all been from outside the league.
With two incoming freshmen and the addition of Warley, Bennett and his staff still have three scholarships open for the 2024-25 season. They’re hoping another McDonald’s All-American prospect, point guard Trent Perry, accepts one of those.
Perry, who decommitted from Southern California after coach Andy Enfield left for SMU, visited Virginia in April.
Virginia has two players – point guard Christian Bliss and forward Anthony Robinson – who redshirted last season. But the Cavaliers, who finished third in the ACC, then lost in the First Four to Colorado State, are still in the market for another guard and post player.
In addition to handling the ball, Warley could address another need for UVa – offensive punch. He scored in double figures nine times this past season, including putting up a career-high 23 points for FSU in a road loss at Louisville.
Warley also had six points, seven rebounds and two assists in a home loss to Virginia on Feb. 10.
The Seminoles’ leading scorer in that game and for the season, VCU transfer Jamir Watkins, is also in the portal.
