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Virginia's international add
Ryan Odom snags a 22-year-old who's played professionally the last four years. If he's cleared, it'll make the Cavaliers an experienced (old) ACC contender. Plus: Kansas loses a guard to the transfer portal, more U19 World Cup notes, Baylor and Memphis agree to new series, and spotlighting college GMs.
Mike Miller
July 08, 2025
Good morning! Thanks for supporting The Field of 68 Daily. It may be July 8, but we’ve got plenty of college hoops news to share.
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1. Virginia adds 22-year-old European forward
Most rosters are pretty well set by July. Sure, there might be minor additions here and there, but for the most part teams are in the middle of summer workouts.
But it’s also not often that a team adds a 6-8, 22-year-old forward who’s played professionally for the last four years.
That’s why Virginia earning a commitment from Belgian forward Thijs de Ridder is so intriguing. His numbers don’t pop — just 9.3 ppg and 38% from deep for Surne Bilbao Basket last season — but he sure looks the part of an impact player.
6’8 🇧🇪 Thijs De Ridder has put together a strong season for Bilbao in the ACB
He’s averaging 10.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game while shooting 54% and 38.3% from 3 on 2.1 attempts per game
The 22-year old, dominated in all Fiba youth competitions, 6’8 with
— Arman Jovic (@PDTScouting)
9:39 PM • May 7, 2025
Even more intriguing? de Ridder’s still awaiting NCAA clearance.
If he is cleared to play, he’ll certainly vie for a starting spot on a Virginia roster that’s all transfers and incoming freshmen. Scratch that: It’s mostly really experienced (old) players and incoming freshmen. Guards Dallin Hall (22), Jacari White (23) and Malik Thomas (23) are all older than de Ridder, as is wing Devin Tillis (23).
If you’re new Virginia coach Ryan Odom, that’s a solid core to have because of that experience. They’ll likely vie with North Carolina and N.C. State as a top three ACC team, which probably sounds pretty good to Cavs fans right now.
The only thing that’d make those fans happier is for de Ridder’s clearance to come through.
2. Kansas loses a guard to the transfer portal
I know what you’re thinking: “Wait a minute. Didn’t the transfer portal close months ago?” Yes. Yes it did. But Kansas still had a player enter it on Monday — and that was without a coaching change.
