Q&A with Kalu Anya

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Kalu Anya joins the Cavaliers following collegiate stops at Brown and St. Louis. Anya redshirted the 2025-26 season after averaging 6.5 points and a team-best 7.5 rebounds (3rd in the Atlantic-10) for the Billikens in 2024-25. He shot 60.5% from the field and led the Billikens in steals (39) and blocked shots (33), and was third in assists (85). Anya played in 49 games (47 starts) over his two-year career at Brown from 2022-24

Get to know the Worcester, Mass., native in the Q&A below.

Why did you choose Virginia?
I think Virginia is just a great winning program and I knew that I could come here and be an impactful player. Being a part of that was crucial for me.

How has Charlottesville been so far?
Charlottesville, outside of basketball, has been great. All the people have been great, the community, the environment – just a great environment for me. I think basketball wise, too, it’s been great. Learning under head coach Ryan Odom, being with my new teammates, everything has been great.

What can fans expect from you this season?
Fans can expect a dog. Fans can expect a guy who’s going to come out and play hard, and who’s going to do whatever his team needs to do to win.

What’s one element of your game you’ve been working on this summer?|
I’m going to say shooting. I think my junior year, I didn’t shoot the ball well at all. And then last year, I obviously didn’t play, so guys are kind of iffy on my shooting. I think that’s the main thing I worked on. I’m really ready and excited to show up and make it happen.

How did you get into playing basketball?
I started playing basketball in eighth grade. I was watching the finals with my brother and Kyrie Irving hit that sidestep shot on Steph Curry and I kind of went like “I really want to play”, and my brother said, “we got you, we could do AAU”. So at 13, I started playing AAU and ever since then I’ve loved the game. I really locked in and had a great work ethic at a young age. I think I really just kind of blew up from there. And then I hit a crazy growth spurt too, so it’s really all meant to be.

What’s been your favorite moment in your basketball career so far?
In high school, I really liked dunking on people. I think probably when I caught someone, or like maybe it was one week when I caught a lot of bodies, like that was crazy. That’s probably what I would say.

What’s one thing you’re looking forward to this season?
I would say just winning big games. Being in those environments, winning those close, hard games. That’s really hard to do and I’m just excited to be a part of that and win those games.

Do you have any specific goals for this season, individually or as a team?
For me, particularly, just being able to maximize myself and really show all the work that I’ve put in. I’ve really been grinding since my junior season ended, so I think just being able to show what I can do. And then for the team, just winning a championship. Everyone wants to win a championship, win the natty, that’s the big goal.

What do you plan on studying?
I graduated last year from St. Louis with an economics degree. I’m getting my certificate in intercollegiate administration at UVA.

What’s one thing people might not know about you?
I’m ambidextrous.