Tony Bennett’s Son, Eli Bennett, Accepts Preferred Walk-On Spot With Charlotte

Eli Bennett, the son of Virginia head coach Tony Bennett, will join the D-1 basketball ranks next season as a preferred walk-on at Charlotte. Bennett, who played high school ball in Charlottesville at both Covenant and STAB, announced the news via Instagram.

Charlotte is coached by longtime Tony Bennett assistant Ron Sanchez. Sanchez was an assistant alongside Tony Bennett at Washington State when Dick Bennett was the head coach, then remained on staff when Tony got the job. He then followed Tony to Virginia as an assistant and stayed until 2018 when he took his first head coaching gig at Charlotte.

The 49ers have had one winning season during Sanchez’s three-year stint, 2019-20 when he led them to a 16-13 record during the COVID-shortened season. Charlotte plays in Conference USA alongside nearby Old Dominion and notable programs like Marshall and Rice.

Some notable Virginia names issued their congratulations to Eli on Instagram. Among them were Sam Hauser, Ty Jerome, Jay Huff, Darion Atkins, Kihei Clark, and Trey Murphy III.

Besides the connection to the coaching staff, the Bennett family has strong ties to Charlotte. Tony played his entire NBA career with the Charlotte Hornets and it’s not too far from C-Ville. The decision makes a lot of sense, especially since Eli mentioned D-II and D-III schools as an option back in February. Wahoo Nation is definitely behind him and I’m sure folks will regularly keep tabs once the season kicks off this winter.