Utah basketball to host mid-major opponent during 2025-26 season

The Eagles, who enter their second season under head coach Dan Monson, visit Salt Lake City for a third year in a row after losing to the Utes, 101-66, in 2023 and 88-80 in a highly competitive matchup between the two teams last season.

Eastern Washington returns less than one-third of its minutes from a squad that went 10-22 (6-12 in Big Sky) in 2024-25, according to barttorvik.com, with its three double-digit per game scorers in Andrew Cook (15.8 ppg), Mason Williams (13.9 ppg) and Nic McClain (10.6 ppg) departed via graduation or transfer portal. Instead, the Eagles will likely lean on UC Riverside transfer Isaiah Moses (12.0 ppg) and their array of rising seniors to right the ship for the program in 2025-26.

Among the group of upperclassmen set to take charge for Eastern Washington this upcoming season is Sam Stockton, the son of NBA Hall of Fame point guard and Gonzaga legend John Stockton.

For Utah, the addition of junior college stud Joshua Hayes unofficially capped off Jensen's efforts to rebuild the Utes' roster from scratch. Hayes joins a lengthy list of incoming transfers that also includes Elijah "Choppa" Moore (5.2 ppg at Syracuse), 6-foot-8 forward James Okonkwo (6.9 ppg at Akron), 6-foot-3 guard Terrence Brown (20.6 ppg at Fairleigh Dickinson), 6-foot-6 wing Jahki Howard (4.2 ppg at Auburn), 6-foot-7 forward Seydou Traore (5.9 ppg at Iowa), Don McHenry (17.0 ppg at Western Kentucky) and 6-foot-8 forward Babacar Faye (15.2 pgg at Western Kentucky).

The Utes also welcome Jacob Patrick (Germany), Elmeri Abbey (Finland) and three-star recruit Kendyl Sanders. Additionally, Utah returns Keanu Dawes, Jerry Huang and Ibi Traore from last season's 16-17 squad.

Utah has not announced its official 2025-26 schedule.

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