Consensus four-star forward Cam Ward cut his recruitment to 10 schools on Sunday and Virginia made the cut. In addition to the Cavaliers, Ward is considering Michigan State, Marquette, Mississippi State, Alabama, Kansas State, Maryland, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, and Florida State.

Per a report from On3’s Joe Tipton, Ward has scheduled official visits to Kansas State (September 13), Maryland (September 21), Michigan State (September 28), and Alabama (October 12). Virginia hosted Ward for an unofficial visit back on June 27th, but the Cavaliers were not included in his initial list of scheduled official visits. Ward also previously took unofficial visits to Georgetown, Maryland, Notre Dame, Florida State, and Marquette.

Ward is ranked the No. 48 overall prospect in the class of 2025 according to the 247Sports Composite, which also rates him as the No. 15 power forward in the country and the No. 2 player in the state of Maryland.

A 6’7″ wing out of Largo High School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, Ward is already having himself an incredible year. After helping to lead Largo to a state championship and becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer in the spring, Ward has continued that momentum on the summer basketball circuit, drawing attention from countless major conference programs and coaches.

Per reporting from UVA basketball recruiting expert Hooz Got Next, Cam Ward is one of Virginia’s top remaining targets in the recruiting class of 2025, in addition to Derek Dixon, Nate Ament, Chance Mallory, Mason Blackwood, Isaiah Denis, JJ Mandaquit, Matthew Able, and Jack McCaffery.

Ciara Byars, a 6-foot-2 forward from Kentucky, shortened her list to just 7 schools. Byars is the 44th best player in the 2025 class, according to ESPN’s HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings. HoopGurlz also graded Byars at a 94, which is tied with Purdue’s Avery Gordon, Alabama’s Ace Austin, and Minnesota’s Makena Christian.

Virginia Tech has already landed two four-stars in the 2025 recruiting class, and Byars would be a huge addition. Virginia Tech’s two four-stars are point guard Katie Sears and 6-foot-2 forward Amani Jenkins. Sears, from Watauga High School, is graded as a 92 by ESPN’s HoopGurlz, and Jenkins is also graded as a 94, meaning that if Virginia Tech could land Byars, she would be the highest rated commitment in the 2025 recruiting cycle.

Byars suffered an ACL injury, but had put up very solid stats prior to that. In her junior year she recorded 14.1 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per game in only 15 games. She led her team to a 14-1 record in that stretch, and her school finished with a 30-5 record on the season.

Ciara hasn’t always been a forward first player. Coming up through the ranks of junior high and youth basketball, Byars was looked at as a combo guard, and took the ball up the court more times than not. Byars discussed this in an interview with YourSportsEdge, “The shot is there. I just don’t showcase it as much in high school,” Byars said. “I have been working on my ball handling as well. Most people don’t know that in seventh and eighth grade I was the primary ball handler for GRC. I can do that better than most people know and we all do it in EYBL. If you get the rebound, you can push it. I like that.”

Byars would be a huge addition to the class, especially knowing that she has a history of playing all around the court, she could be a dynamic player for the Hokies.