Last season the Utah Utes had to course correct quickly after Lynne Roberts accepted a job to be the head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA. Her top assistant, Gavin Peterson, took over. He kept the ship moving forward and helped the Utes get back to the NCAA Tournament.
Now it’s Peterson’s program from the jump and it will be up to him to ensure that the Utes remain a winning team. Like the start of last season, there has been plenty of change in Salt Lake City in the offseason and this year’s edition looks like a relatively new team. Here is a preview of the upcoming season.
Utah Utes
2024-25: 22-9, 13-5 in Big 12, tied for sixth place. Lost to Texas Tcch in the second round of the Big 12 women’s basketball tournament. Lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Indiana.
Head coach: Gavin Peterson took over the program on Nov. 19 after Lynne Roberts accepted the job coaching the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks. It was his first season as a head coach at any level. He is 19-8 as a head coach.
Big 12 history: Utah joined the Big 12 last season after spending more than a decade in the Pac-12. The Utes have been to the NCAA Tournament each of the last four seasons. Utah reached the Elite Eight in 2006.
Utah Schedule: Click here for a complete 2025-26 Big 12 schedule.
Utah 2025-26 Roster Review
Gone: G Ines Vieira (5.1 ppg), G Gianna Kneepkens (19.3 ppg), G Kylie Ray, F Maye Toure (13.2 ppg), F Jenna Johnson (8.0 ppg), G Kennady McQueen (10.4 ppg), C Nene Sow (0.7 ppg)
Returning: G Brooke Walker (1.8 ppg), G Grace Foster (1.8 ppg), F Alyssa Blanck (0.3 ppg), F Reese Ross (7.8 ppg), G Matyson Wilke (9.2 ppg), F Samantha Crispe (2.8 ppg), F Chyra Evans (missed season with injury)
Incoming transfers: G Lani White (9.6 ppg at Virginia Tech), F Kamryn Mafua (1.6 ppg at Cal)
Incoming freshmen: G LA Sneed (No. 27 ESPNW recruit), F Evelina Otto, G Ella Todd, G Avery Hjelmstad (Top 50 ESPNW recruit)
Projected Starting Lineup
G Matyson Wilke: Last year’s returning leading scorer should be guaranteed a spot on the starting lineup.
G Lani White: She transferred into play, not to sit, and her scoring should be a boost early for the Utes.
G LA Sneed: She looks like the freshman that is most likely to make an impact right away. She could win a starting job for the opener.
F Reese Ross: She averaged five rebounds per game, in addition to her 7.8 points per contest.
F Samantha Crispe: She didn’t get the chance to do much last year, but she’s one of the tallest players in the team and likely to start if Peterson wants to go with a two-forward alignment.
Starting Lineup Crashers
F Avery Hjelmstad: There will be opportunity for the Top 50 recruit to make an impact early and compete for a starting job.
F Chyra Evans: Don’t forget that she averaged 6.2 points per game at Michigan before she transferred to Utah last year.
Lineup Competition
The downside for Peterson is that he lost his top three scorers from a year ago, including the indispensable Kneepkens, who transferred to UCLA. He has players, such as Wilkie, Ross and Crispe, who have ceilings they haven’t reached yet. Player development is going to be key to Utah’s season. They’ll lean heavily on White to get acclimated to the system. What they didn’t bring in from the transfer portal the Utes made up for with a talented freshman class and it’s possible three of them could push for serious playing time by conference play. The competition should be fierce, and roles may not be set till January.
Early Prediction
Peterson proved he could navigate choppy waters when Roberts resigned after four games to take the Sparks job. Utah should look much different than a year ago. It won’t have the centralized scoring of Kneepkens and it won’t have a player with Toure’s length inside. What Utah hopes it can accomplish in non-conference is to build balance in its roster and cultivate depth from players that received few opportunities to contribute a year ago. Don’t be surprised if Utah is above the middle of the pack as it enters conference play.
