Virginia coaching candidates: Ron Sanchez, Ritchie McKay among options to replace Tony Bennett

National championship-winning Virginia men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett is retiring from the sport effectively immediately. That gobsmacking news landed Thursday with just 20 days separating the Cavs and their season opener against Campbell on Nov. 6.

The change comes at a nearly unprecedented time of year for the sport. By October in a normal season, the carousel has long stopped spinning. The timing puts Virginia brass in a precarious position with few options on hand but to promote — either on an interim basis or a full-time basis — from within. 

Still, an internal hire seems most likely, as you’ll see in our list of potential candidates below. But even if they promote from within, Virginia may — and likely will — cast a wide net in the coming months to vet candidates. This is a good job in a good conference with good resources. 

Replacing a coach at a power program is tough on its own. Doing a legend like Bennett in mid-October comes with its own challenges. It likely won’t be done on a whim. The timing is inconvenient, but should give UVA ample time to dig into who and what it wants for its next head coach.

Here’s who may or may not be worth watching as UVA decision-makers weigh their options. 

Ron Sanchez

Sanchez was one of the original members of Tony Bennett’s staff when he started at Virginia in 2009 and has been an integral piece of building the Cavaliers into the consistent force they are now. Of the internal candidates, Sanchez may be the most viable given his stature on the current staff — he’s one of two Associate Head Coaches — and his past experience as a head coach. He left Bennett’s staff in 2018 and had a successful stint at Charlotte helping turn around a really difficult 49ers program before returning to Charlottesville in 2023. 

Jason Williford

The other senior member of Bennett’s staff, Williford is in his 16th year with the program. He was promoted to associate head coach after the 2017-18 season. Williford played at Virginia and graduated in 1995. He had nine years of assistant coaching experience at Boston University and American University prior to his long concurrent stint at UVA.

Ryan Odom

Hard to imagine Odom making the move after taking the VCU job just last year. But it’s hard to deny that this wouldn’t be a considerable upgrade, too. Odom and his UMBC Retrievers famously beat Bennett’s Virginia team in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, becoming the first-ever No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed. He left UMBC with a 97-60 record and spent two seasons at Utah State — where he went 44-25 — before taking the VCU job that’s roughly an hour away from Charlottesville. Odom has quite a bit of respect in the area — including from Bennett, who has praised him publicly. 

Ritchie McKay

One of several members of Bennett’s coaching tree, McKay was on staff at Virginia from 2009-2015 as Associate Head Coach before moving on to become head coach at Liberty. He’s 244-127 at Liberty with five regular season conference titles in his last six seasons. 

Bucky McMillan

Virginia was consistently amongst the best defensive teams in college basketball but also struggled on offense in Bennett’s final years, which may prompt Virginia to look for a coach with a starkly different style. McMillan would provide that. The 41-year-old is the architect of an efficient and fun style of basketball predicated on tempo — which has been labeled “Bucky Ball” — that could bring UVA’s offense into the 21st century. He’s entering his fifth season at Stamford after coaching at the high school level but could be in line for bigger jobs, and soon.