According to multiple reports, Virginia is going to be losing one of its top assistant coaches. Per ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Virginia assistant coach Griff Aldrich is going to be taking the head coach at Pepperdine University.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 26, 2026
As Thamel referenced in his original report, this is not going to be the first head coaching job for Aldrich.
Aldrich guided Longwood to Big South championships and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2022 and 2024. In 2021-22, Aldrich earned league coach of the year honors after guiding the Lancers to their first Big South championship and first NCAA Tournament bid at the Division I level. Longwood went 15-1 in league play and stormed through the conference tournament to earn the Big South’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid.
Longwood’s 26-7 overall record and 15-1 Big South record were both high water marks in the team’s Division I history, and the 26 wins were the most since the team went 28-3 in the 1979-80 season and advanced to the Division III Final Four. Aldrich was a finalist for both the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award, given to the top Division I coach in the nation, and the Hugh Durham Award, given to the top mid-major coach in the country…