Pac 12 Preview: Utah

 

Pac 12 Preview:  Utah

Last Season:  

27-5 overall and 15-3 in Pac 12 play and The Pac 12 Champion in the Pac 12 Tournament and the co-Champ in League play.

The Coaches:

Lynne Roberts is in her 9th year after moving from the University of Pacific, UOP.  Roberts was

Coach Roberts

Head Coach at UOP for 9 seasons, being named Conference Coach of the Year twice in the last three years.  Before UOP Roberts was Head Coach at Chico State for 4 seasons.   

Gavin Peterson is in his 9th year after 2 seasons with Roberts at UOP.  Peterson has been an assistant in the West since 2002 and an Associate Head Coach for 6 of those seasons.

Jerise Freeman is in her 3nd season at Utah.  Freeman was an Assistant at Oklahoma State the past 4 years.  

Jordan Sullivan is in her 2nd year at Utah.   Sullivan is a former Montana player who was an Assistant at Montana the past 5 seasons.   

Losses:

Teya Sidberry, averaged 4 points a game and transferred to Boston College.   However she is the all time leading scorer in Utah HS history.

Payton McFarland, graduated after just playing in 13 games while recovering from a serious injury.   With a covid year she is now at Houston.

Kelsey Rees, graduated after averaged 3 points and 3 rebounds.   Again a covid year for Rees and she is now at Oregon State.

Additions:

Daniela Falcon Hernandez 6-2 Wing/ Forward from Spain

Reese Ross 6-1 Forward from SD Not ranked

Alyssa Blanck 6-2 Soph Forward who transferred from BYU.   Blanck didn’t play last season.

Matyson Wilke 5-10 Soph Guard who transferred from Wisconsin.  Wilke averaged 12 points making 61 threes at 35%.

Nene Sow, 6-8 Jr Post who transferred from Northeastern Oklahoma, and originally from Belgium.  Sow sat out last season.  The year before at NE Oklahoma she averaged 3 points and 5 rebounds.

Samantha Crispe 6-2 Soph Forward who transferred from Boston University.   Crispe averaged 5 points and 4 rebounds at BU last season.

The Schedule:   

Baylor, South Carolina and BYU are the tough games.   Utah plays Stanford and Cal only at home and ASU and Arizona on the road. 

The Returning Team:

Jenna Johnson 6-2 Jr Forward averaged 12 points and 5 rebounds. 

Kneepkens

Gianna Kneepkens 5-11 Jr Guard averaged 15 points and 5 rebounds and made 71 threes at 42%.

Alissa Pili 6-2 Sr Post who averaged 21 points and 6 rebounds.

Kennady McQueen, 5-10 Jr Guard averaged 9 points and made 59 threes at 36%.

Isabel Palmer is a 5-9 Sr Guard who transferred from Texas where as a Frosh she averaged 3 points.   Palmer was born in the US but moved to Australia with her family at the age of 4 months.  She averaged 8 ppg.

Lani White, 5-11 Soph Guard averaged 3 points. 

Dasia Young, 5-11 Sr Wing averaged 6 points and 3 rebounds last season.

Ines Vieira, 5-6 Jr  Guard from Portugal.   She averaged 3 points.  

Predictions:  

With 5 starters returning who averaged 8, 9, 12, 15 and 21 ppg and only backup losses this is a top team.  Utah is picked to win the conference and ranked # 5 in the nation to start the season.  

2024 Recruiting: 

Kylie Ray 5-8 PG from SoCal, not ranked

Brooke Walker 5-8 PG from KS Ranked # 69