Virginia Guard Isaac McKneely Transfers to Louisville

In his third season at Virginia, McKneely led the Cavaliers in scoring at 14.4 points per game and his 42.1% three-point percentage was tops in the ACC and 21st in the country. Though he ends his time in Charlottesville playing only three seasons, McKneely's name sits fifth on the all-time UVA leaderboard in three-pointers made with 233 triples, trailing only Harold Deane (237), Kyle Guy (254), Joe Harris (263), and Curtis Staples (413). He would have undoubtedly moved into second place if he had finished his career at UVA. McKneely is currently second in Virginia program history with a career 42.2% three-point percentage, trailing only Kyle Guy at 42.5%.

A regular feature of Virginia's rotation since the moment he arrived on Grounds, McKneely played in 33 games as a first year before stepping into the starting lineup for each of the last two seasons, totaling 66 starts and 98 games played. McKneely at times struggled with the burden of being UVA's primary (and sometimes only) scoring option this season, but still averaged career-highs in points, assists, and shooting percentage from the floor.

Asked to be a leader of a team whose coach retired suddenly just before the season began, one can only appreciate what McKneely did for the Virginia basketball program on and off the floor, especially this season. No longer playing for the coach who recruited him and asked to put his faith in a new coach who is in the midst of a total overhaul of the Cavalier roster, it makes sense that McKneely was ultimately swayed by more attractive offers from programs who are better situated for success in McKneely's final season of college basketball.

McKneely entered the transfer portal on the first day it opened with a "Do Not Contact" tag, which meant that he initiated the communications with the specific schools he was interested in. He also stated that he was keeping open the option of returning to Virginia. While it's clear that he loves UVA and valued the opportunity to complete his degree, the offers from other schools, which inevitably included significant NIL considerations, were too difficult to turn down. McKneely reportedly visited Louisville and Tennessee before finally announcing his decision to commit to the Cardinals for his final season of eligibility.

Virginia's period of dominance over Louisville came to a crashing end this season, as the Cardinals swept the Cavaliers in convincing fashion. In year 1 under Pat Kelsey, Louisville went from last place in the ACC to a second-place finish in the final standings and a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Cards are trending strongly in the right direction and their pitch to McKneely was probably simple: be Reyne Smith.

The former College of Charleston transfer and three-point specialist was utilized with deadly effectiveness in Louisville's offense and Smith proceeded to average a career-high 13.1 points per game while shooting 39.1% from three on more than nine attempts per game. McKneely and the Cavaliers saw examples of that productivity up close, as Smith scored 15 and 19 points in two games against Virginia and knocked down nine threes in those two games.

Now, Louisville will utilize McKneely in that same role, inserting the ACC's best three-point shooter into its offense as the Cardinals look to build off of a very promising first season under Pat Kelsey. McKneely is ranked the No. 9 player in the transfer portal according to On3.

For Virginia, the door is now closed on the Cavaliers getting back their leading scorer and best player from this past season. It has become clear that Ryan Odom was intent on starting anew with what will essentially be a completely different roster next season, but I think we can assume that he would have welcomed back one of the best three-point shooters in the country.

With Elijah Saunders entering the transfer portal on Wednesday, there are 10 Cavaliers who have entered the portal and only one scholarship player from last year's roster - Elijah Gertrude, who sat out the season with an injury - expected to return for next season. Three of those ten players have since announced their commitments to other schools, with McKneely headed to Louisville, Blake Buchanan committing to Iowa State, and Dai Dai Ames transferring to California.

Keep track of all of the players Virginia has contacted in the transfer portal here: Virginia Basketball: Transfer Portal Contact Live Tracker

Stay up to date on all the latest Virginia basketball transfer portal activity, including outbound transfers from the current roster and UVA's effort to pursue players in the portal, here: Virginia Basketball Transfer Portal: Latest News and Updates