UVA Football: Wide Receiver Malachi Fields Enters Transfer Portal

Originally posted on Virginia Cavaliers on SI
By Aidan Baller | Last updated Dec 17, 2024 11:46 AM ET

Virginia is losing its top wide receiver from the 2024 season and one of the best pass-catchers in program history. Malachi Fields has entered the transfer portal for his fifth and final year of eligibility after spending his first four years in Charlottesville, a source told Virginia Cavaliers On SI.

Losing Fields is a massive loss to the Virginia offense with Fields amassing 1,619 receiving yards and ten touchdowns over his final two seasons in Charlottesville. Fields departs the program with the 9th-most receiving yards (1,849), 11th-most receptions (129), and 19th-most receiving touchdowns (11).

Fields, a Charlottesville native, attended Monticello High School, initially playing quarterback before transitioning to wide receiver, which led him to be recruited to his hometown school, the University of Virginia. It’s sad to see that Fields will not finish his collegiate career in the city he grew up in.

As a freshman, he recorded 11 catches for 172 yards before undergoing surgery to repair a broken metatarsal in his foot. This injury sidelined him for the majority of his sophomore season. Despite this, in the one game he played, Fields showed glimpses of star power with five catches for 58 yards and a touchdown against Pittsburgh.

Keep track of all of UVA's transfer portal activity, including outgoing and incoming transfers, here: Virginia Football Transfer Portal Tracker

Fields came alive in his junior year alongside now-NFL wide receiver Malik Washington. That year, as the wide receiver two, Fields registered 58 catches for 811 yards and five touchdowns, including two touchdowns in the season's final game against Virginia Tech. In 2023, Fields finished eighth in the ACC in receiving yards.

In 2024, the season started strong with wins over Richmond and Wake Forest, with Fields recording a combined 248 receiving yards in those first two games. Despite the strong start, Fields would only have one more 100+ receiving game the rest of the season (against Louisville). Further, Fields would register less than 50 yards in four of the last five games of the 2024 season, a potential contributing factor to his departure.

Fields finished his final season in the orange and blue with 55 catches for 808 yards (8th in the ACC) and five touchdowns, about the same production as his junior season, although he was destined for so much more.

Transferring to a new school could give Fields a bigger spotlight on a better team and, most importantly, a greater opportunity to improve his draft stock for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Fields' announcement is UVA's most significant loss in the transfer portal during this cycle. It is a massive loss for the Virginia football team, and despite landing some nice incoming transfer pieces in the early window of the portal, this sends a negative signal about the program's current state by being unable to retain its best offensive player.

Virginia's wide receiver room headed into 2025 currently consists of Trell Harris, Kameron Courtney, Suderian Harrison and Andre Greene Jr., and the Cavaliers will likely be looking to improve that position in the transfer portal.

Stay up to date on all of the transfers who have received offers from Virginia or who have scheduled visits to UVA here: Tracking UVA Football's Offers and Visits in the Transfer Portal