CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 SPORTS) -- Center Francisco Caffaro becomes the first entry into the transfer portal from Virginia men's basketball after announcing on social media Thursday.

Caffaro enters the portal as a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility remaining following five years at UVA. The seven-footer from Argentina said following Virginia's loss to Furman in the NCAA Tournament coaches have known for awhile he would not return to Charlottesville.

"No, I won't be coming back, the coaching staff knows that," Caffaro told CBS19, "A decision that I made earlier in the year, so I won't be coming back here."

In five seasons with the Cavaliers, Caffaro played 92 games and made 21 starts, including all three of Virginia's ACC Tournament games this season. Always a bright presence in the locker room and on the bench, Caffaro also had some decisive moments on the court over the years, scoring a career-high 16 points in a win over Virginia Tech in 2022.

"I think I'm just grateful for all the opportunities that I had," Caffaro said, "As a basketball player, I think I've said this a couple of times, but as a basketball player you want to play, sometimes it's hard when you don't get to play, but I'm more than thankful for my time here at UVA and I'm just ready to take the next step."

With Caffaro and Kihei Clark leaving, next season will be the first without any players from the 2019 NCAA Championship team.