2024–25 Utah Utes men's basketball team

The 2024–25 Utah Runnin' Utes men's basketball team will represent the University of Utah during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team is led by fourth-year head coach Craig Smith, and will play their home games at the Jon M. Huntsman Center located in Salt Lake City, Utah. This will be the Utes' first season in the Big 12 Conference.^[1]

2024–25 Utah Utes men's basketball
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Record	2–0 (0–0 Big 12)
Head coach	Craig Smith (4th season)
Assistant coaches	Josh Eilert David Evans Lo Leath
Home arena	Jon M. Huntsman Center (Capacity: 15,000)
Seasons ← 2023–24 2025–26 →

2024–25 Big 12 men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 10 Arizona	0	–	0		–			2	–	0		1.000
BYU	0	–	0		–			2	–	0		1.000
No. 20 Cincinnati	0	–	0		–			2	–	0		1.000
Colorado	0	–	0		–			2	–	0		1.000
No. 1 Kansas	0	–	0		–			2	–	0		1.000
Kansas State	0	–	0		–			2	–	0		1.000
Oklahoma State	0	–	0		–			2	–	0		1.000
TCU	0	–	0		–			2	–	0		1.000
Texas Tech	0	–	0		–			2	–	0		1.000
UCF	0	–	0		–			2	–	0		1.000
Utah	0	–	0		–			2	–	0		1.000
West Virginia	0	–	0		–			2	–	0		1.000
No. 5 Iowa State	0	–	0		–			1	–	0		1.000
Arizona State	0	–	0		–			2	–	1		.667
No. 8 Baylor	0	–	0		–			1	–	1		.500
No. 4 Houston	0	–	0		–			1	–	1		.500
† 2025 Big 12 tournament winner As of November 9, 2024 Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Utes finished the 2023–24 season 22–15, 9–11 in Pac-12 play, to finish in a tie for 6th place. In the 2024 Pac-12 men's tournament, Utah won their first-round game against Arizona State before falling to Colorado in the quarterfinals.^[2] The team played in the 2024 National Invitation Tournament, being the only Pac-12 team to accept one of two automatic bids for teams in the conference.^[3] This marked the program's first appearance in a postseason tournament since the 2018 NIT six years prior. Utah advanced to the semi-finals before being eliminated by the Indiana State Sycamores.^[4]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Num.	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Ben Carlson	1	F	6'9"	223 lbs	Senior	Woodbury, MN	Pursuing pro career (signed by QTSA United)[5][6]
Cole Bajema	2	G	6'7"	188 lbs	GS	Lynden, WA	Graduated
Deivon Smith	5	G	6'0"	173 lbs	Senior	Decatur, GA	Transferred to St. John's[7]
Wilguens Jr. Exacte	11	G	6'6"	236 lbs	Sophomore	Montreal, Canada	Transferred to Bowling Green[8]
Keba Keita	13	C	6'8"	231 lbs	Sophomore	Bamako, Mali	Transferred to BYU[9]
Luka Tarlac	21	G	6'7"	220 lbs	Sophomore	Belgrade, Serbia	Transferred to Cal Poly[10]
Rollie Worster	25	G	6'4"	204 lbs	Senior	Missoula, MT	Transferred to Nebraska[11]
Branden Carlson	35	C	7'0"	220 lbs	GS	South Jordan, UT	Graduated (signed by the Toronto Raptors)[12]

Incoming transfers

Name	Num.	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school(s)
Miro Little	1	G	6'3"	194 lbs	Sophomore	Tampere, Finland	Baylor[13]
Ezra Ausar	2	F	6'8"	242 lbs	Junior	Atlanta, GA	East Carolina[14]
Brady Smith	6	G	6'1"	173 lbs	Sophomore	Logan, UT	Salt Lake CC
Keanu Dawes	8	F	6'9"	218 lbs	Forward	Houston, TX	Rice[15]
Caleb Lohner	11	F	6'8"	235 lbs	GS	Flower Mound, TX	BYU, Baylor[16]
Mike Sharavjamts	25	G	6'9"	190 lbs	Junior	Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia	Dayton, San Francisco[17]
Zach Keller	32	F	6'10"	234 lbs	Junior	Highlands Ranch, CO	Wake Forest[18]
Mason Madsen	45	G	6'4"	193 lbs	GS	Rochester, MN	Cincinnati, Boston College[19]

Recruiting classes

2024 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jaxon Johnson PF	Sandy, UT	Alta High School	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Nov 2, 2023
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 82
Ibrahima Traore C	Bamako, Mali	West Oaks Academy	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jul 8, 2024
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports:
David Katoa SG	Salt Lake City, Utah	Utah Prep Academy	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sep 26, 2022
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 79
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 59
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2024 Utah Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com. "Utah Utes 2024 Player Commits". ESPN.com. "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Preseason

Big 12 Preseason Poll

	Big 12 Coaches	Points
1.	Kansas	215 (9)
2.	Houston	211 (5)
3.	Iowa State	194 (1)
4.	Baylor	185
5.	Arizona	179 (1)
6.	Cincinnati	140
7.	Texas Tech	135
8.	Kansas State	133
9.	BYU	116
10.	TCU	90
11.	UCF	83
12.	Arizona State	64
13.	West Virginia	62
14.	Oklahoma State	46
15.	Colorado	37
16.	Utah	30
Reference:[20] (#) first-place votes

Pre-Season All-Big 12 Team

First Team

Player	School
Caleb Love	Arizona
LJ Cryer	Houston
J’Wan Roberts
Tamin Lipsey	Iowa State
Hunter Dickinson†	Kansas
† denotes unanimous selection Reference:[20]

Second Team

Player	School
Norchad Omier	Baylor
Jeremy Roach
Keshon Gilbert	Iowa State
Dajuan Harris Jr	Kansas
Coleman Hawkins	Kansas State
† denotes unanimous selection Reference:[20]

• Player of the Year: Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
• Co-Newcomer of the Year: Jeremy Roach, Baylor & Coleman Hawkins, Kansas State
• Freshman of the Year: V. J. Edgecombe, Baylor

Roster

2024–25 Utah Utes men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Hunter Erickson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 198 lb (90 kg) GS Salt Lake CC Provo, UT G 1 Miro Little 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 194 lb (88 kg) So Baylor Tampere, Finland F 2 Ezra Ausar 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 242 lb (110 kg) Jr East Carolina Atlanta, GA G 3 Jayden Teat (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Capital Christian HS Sacramento, CA C 5 Joul Karram 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 222 lb (101 kg) Fr Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. Nazareth, Israel G 6 Brady Smith 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 173 lb (78 kg) So Salt Lake CC Logan,UT F 8 Keanu Dawes 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 218 lb (99 kg) So Rice Houston, TX G 9 Jerry Huang (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 187 lb (85 kg) RS Fr Wasatch Academy Taipei, Taiwan F 10 Jake Wahlin 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 211 lb (96 kg) So Timpview HS Provo, UT F 11 Caleb Lohner 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) GS Baylor Flower Mound, TX G 14 Brandon Haddock (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 183 lb (83 kg) Sr Carroll HS Southlake, TX F 32 Ayomide Bamisile (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 206 lb (93 kg) RS Fr Montverde Academy Lagos, Nigeria G 25 Mike Sharavjamts 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr San Francisco Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia F 31 Ibi Traore 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 219 lb (99 kg) Fr West Oaks Academy Bamako, Mali F 32 Zach Keller 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 234 lb (106 kg) Jr Wake Forest Highlands Ranch, CO C 34 Lawson Lovering 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 233 lb (106 kg) Jr Colorado Cheyenne, WY G 45 Mason Madsen 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 193 lb (88 kg) GS Boston College Rochester, MN G 55 Gabe Madsen 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 202 lb (92 kg) Sr Cincinnati Rochester, MN	Head coach Craig Smith (North Dakota) Assistant coach(es) Josh Eilert (West Virginia) David Evans (Real Salt Lake Academy) Lo Heath (Sacramento State) Tyler Larson (Santa Cruz Warriors) Jayden Olson (Williston State College) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: October 12, 2024

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 29, 2024* 7:00 p.m.		CSU Pueblo	W 98–67	–	17 – Erickson	7 – Lovering	9 – Little	Jon M. Huntsman Center (801) Salt Lake City, UT
Non-conference regular season
November 4, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Alcorn State	W 100–59	1–0	27 – G. Madsen	7 – Wahlin	7 – Little	Jon M. Huntsman Center (6,785) Salt Lake City, UT
November 7, 2024* 8:30 p.m., ESPN+		Central Arkansas	W 98–63	2–0	25 – G. Madsen	11 – Dawes	8 – Sharavjamts	Jon M. Huntsman Center (6,722) Salt Lake City, UT
November 12, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Queens						Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, UT
November 17, 2024* 2:00 p.m., ESPN2		vs. Mississippi State						Landers Center  Southaven, MS
November 22, 2024* 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		Utah Tech						Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, UT
November 26, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Mississippi Valley State Mountain to Sea Showcase						Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, UT
November 30, 2024* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		Eastern Washington Mountain to Sea Showcase						Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, UT
December 7, 2024* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		Saint Mary's						Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, UT
December 14, 2024* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		Radford						Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, UT
December 17, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Florida A&M						Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, UT
December 21, 2024* 4:00 p.m., BTN		vs. Iowa						Sanford Pentagon  Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Big 12 regular season
December 31, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Baylor						Foster Pavilion  Waco, TX
January 4, 2025 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		Texas Tech						Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, UT
January 7, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Iowa State						Hilton Coliseum  Ames, IA
January 11, 2025 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		Oklahoma State						Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, UT
January 15, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at TCU						Schollmaier Arena  Fort Worth, TX
January 18, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		BYU Rivalry						Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, UT
January 21, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Houston						Fertitta Center  Houston, TX
January 25, 2025 2:30 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2		Baylor						Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, UT
January 28, 2025 8:00 p.m., CBSSN		Cincinnati						Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, UT
February 1, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Oklahoma State						Gallagher-Iba Arena  Stillwater, OK
February 5, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Colorado						Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, UT
February 8, 2025 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		at West Virginia						WVU Coliseum  Morgantown, WV
February 11, 2025 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Cincinnati						Fifth Third Arena  Cincinnati, OH
February 15, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN		Kansas						Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, UT
February 17, 2025 9:00 p.m., ESPN2		Kansas State						Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, UT
February 23, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at UCF						Addition Financial Arena  Orlando, FL
February 26, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Arizona						McKale Center (–) Tucson, AZ
March 1, 2025 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		Arizona State						Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, UT
March 4, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		West Virginia						Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, UT
March 8, 2025 8:30 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU		at BYU Rivalry						Marriott Center  Provo, UT
Big 12 tournament
March 11–15, 2025 TBA		vs.						T-Mobile Center  Kansas City, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain Time.

Source:

References

1. Cobb, David (2023-08-05). "Arizona, Arizona State, Utah join Big 12: Programs follow Colorado departing Pac-12 before 2024 season". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
2. Judd, Brandon (2024-03-15). "Utah's likelihood of missing NCAA Tournament again hits home after loss in Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals". Deseret News. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
3. Daschel, Nick (2024-03-20). "Did Oregon State turn down an invitation to play in the NIT?". Oregon Live. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
4. Judd, Brandon. "What Utah said about its run to the NIT semifinals". Deseret News. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
5. "Report: Utah's Ben Carlson moving on to pursue pro career". Deseret News. 2024-04-26. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
6. "Ben Carlson New Forward QSTA United". bnxtleague.com. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
7. "Utah's Deivon Smith joining Pitino, St. John's". ESPN.com. 2024-05-06. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
8. Edmond, Kyle (2024-05-09). "BGSU Lands Utah Transfer Guard Wilguens Jr. Exacte". Bowling Green State University Athletics. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
9. "Here's what new BYU center Keba Keita had to say last week about transferring from Utah". Deseret News. 2024-06-21. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
10. "Cal Poly adds 6-7 Forward Luka Tarlac from Utah for 2024-25 Season". Cal Poly. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
11. King, Cameron (2024-04-26). "What Nebraska men's basketball fans can expect from Rollie Worster". The Daily Nebraskan. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
12. Todd, Sarah (2024-07-14). "Toronto Raptors pleasantly surprised by former Utah standout Branden Carlson". Deseret News. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
13. Judd, Brandon (2024-05-07). "Utah basketball adds another transfer, this one a 4-star prospect from Big 12 territory". Deseret News. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
14. Bodkin, Michelle (2024-05-29). "Runnin' Utes Add ECU Transfer Ezra Ausar". KSL Sports. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
15. McDonald, Ryan (2024-04-07). "Utah native and former elite recruit Keanu Dawes is transferring to the Beehive State". Deseret News. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
16. Bodkin, Michelle (2024-05-06). "Former Basketball Star Caleb Lohner Commits To Utah Football". KSL Sports. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
17. Judd, Brandon (2024-06-03). "Report: Utah basketball lands commitment from 4-star wing". Deseret News. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
18. Borba, Kevin (2024-04-26). "Utah Lands Former Top 100 Recruit, Wake Forest Transfer Zach Keller". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
19. Borba, Kevin (2024-04-15). "Utah Runnin' Utes land BC transfer Mason Madsen, twin brother of Gabe Madsen". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
20. "Kansas Selected As Big 12 Men's Basketball Preseason Favorite, KU's Dickinson Named Preseason Player of the Year". Big12sports.com. Big 12 Conference. October 10, 2024.