The Utes lost a lot of talent from last year’s team, including seniors Maty Wilke and leading scorer Lani White, the latter being drafted to the WNBA. Forward Reese Ross, the leading rebounder and third-leading scorer from last season, transferred to Big 12 opponent Baylor. Freshmen guards Avery Hjelmstad and LA Sneed transferred to TCU and Oklahoma State, respectively, which was another big blow. Hjelmstad and Sneed were factored heavily into the future, as two five-star recruits from the previous year. Brooke Walker (Colorado) and Grace Foster (Boise State) entered the transfer portal, leaving the Utes facing a complete rebuild.
Transfer Portal Additions
Kamryn Mafua, Chyra Evans, Ella Todd and Evelina Otto are the only returning Utes from last year’s team. Head Coach Gavin Petersen and his staff brought in five transfers this cycle.
Sophomore guard Lena Girardi transferred in from Oklahoma State, where she averaged 7.8 points and 2.8 rebounds a game in 14.8 minutes off the bench. Redshirt junior forward Olivia Bradley transferred in from UC Santa Barbara, where she averaged 13.2 points a game and 5.7 rebounds. Redshirt Senior guard Filipa Barros transferred in from Cal Baptist, where she averaged 11 points, 9.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists a game. Senior guard Leia Conesa transferred in from Kansas, where she averaged 3.7 points, 3 rebounds and 2.1 assists a game in 20 minutes per game. Junior guard Elise Livingston transfers in from Utah State, where she averaged 8.1 points and 2.6 rebounds a game.
High School Recruiting
The Utes were active in high school recruiting, landing four freshmen from this class. The class includes incoming freshman Rylee Little, a 6 ‘5 forward from Kanab, Utah, who was a consensus 4-star recruit; Emma Petrie, a 6’2 forward from Australia; Milika Satuala, a 5 ’10 guard/forward from Bountiful, Utah and Peyton Jones, a 6′ 0 guard from Highlands Ranch, Colorado, the second 4-star recruit of the class.
26-27 Conference Opponents
The Utes will play Arizona, Arizona State and BYU twice, one game at home and one game away. At home only, the Utes play UCF, Colorado, Houston, Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma State once each. Only on the road, Utah plays Baylor, Cincinnati, Iowa State, TCU, Texas Tech and West Virginia once each. The BYU series is especially notable, considering the Utes lost all 3 matchups to the Cougars last year. They’ll be looking for payback. The majority of the road teams the Utes play made the NCAA Tournament last year, meaning the Utes’ new players will have to gel quickly for a brutal road schedule.
Players like Chyra Evans and Kamryn Mafua will be looked to for leadership and experience for the freshmen and transfers. But it will take time for the team to gain chemistry and experience in Head Coach Gavin Petersen’s offensive system. I expect Girardi, Barros and Livingston to be the main contributors in the backcourt. With depth in Leia Conesa. Olivia Bradley, Kamryn Mafua, Chyra Evans and Evelina Otto as depth in the frontcourt. I expect freshmen Rylee Little and Peyton Jones to be in the rotation, but they could be redshirted, too.
Overall, the team has talent, but they need to figure out how to play with each other. Which the coaching staff will be instrumental in teaching. It is a completely new team with nine new players to integrate and building an identity and culture will be the blueprint for success.
