San Francisco transfer guard Malik Thomas commits to Virginia

San Francisco transfer guard Malik Thomas is taking his talents to the ACC, committing to join Virginia via the NCAA Transfer Portal, On3’s Joe Tipton reports. He averaged 19.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists last season.

Prior to his time with the Dons, Thomas began his collegiate career with USC. He spent two seasons with the Trojans, seeing action in 36 games over two seasons. However, he truly blossomed as a player after transferring, and now he’ll be hoping to continue his growth with the Cavaliers.

Malik Thomas played high school basketball at Damien (La Verne, CA), where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 76 overall recruit in the 2021 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

More on the Virginia Cavaliers, NCAA Transfer Portal

Meanwhile, former Kansas State big man Ugonna Onyenso signed with Virginia out of the NCAA Transfer Portal earlier this offseason in another sizable move. Onyenso began his career playing under John Calipari at Kentucky.

Onyenso spent two seasons at UK, and one with Kansas State. He appeared in 64 games over that stretch, averaging 3.0 points (59% FG), 3.3 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game.

He originally reclassified to commit to Calipari’s Wildcats as a four-star prospect and Top-30 recruit in the class of 2022. Onyenso played his first two seasons at UK where he posted 3.2 points (54.3% FG), 3.9 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks. That included a career-best year as a sophomore with stats of 3.6 points (55% FG), 4.8 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game.

After Calipari left for Arkansas, Onyenso decided to transfer along with most of the entire team. However, he also declared for the 2024 NBA Draft. After several weeks mulling his option, Onyenso committed to Kansas State as one of their seven transfer additions last offseason.

However, this season didn’t work out for Onyenso or Kansas State. Onyenso put up just 2.8 points (70% FG) and 2.4 rebounds as a junior. The Wildcats then didn’t get the returns on those investments with a losing record of 16-17 overall for their first such mark under Jerome Tang.

Onyenso is now set to join a new-look Virginia squad under first-year head coach Ryan Odom. Odom has been the head coach at VCU for the past two seasons. In his debut campaign with the Rams, Odom led the team to a 24-14 record and an appearance in the NIT.

— On3’s Barkley Truax contributed to this article.