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Utah Runnin' Utes head coach Alex Jensen has his program in the mix for four-star recruit Junior County. Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Utah basketball in the mix for top-ranked local recruit

Originally posted on Utah Utes on SI | By Cole Forsman | Last updated Jul 18, 2025 5:00 PM ET

It shouldn't come as a surprise that the NBA wisdom spread throughout Alex Jensen's first-year coaching staff has helped the Utah men's basketball program get its foot in the door with several high-profile recruits lately.

Given the shifting ideologies in college sports — from an age of amateurism to one dominated by revenue-sharing models and salary cap restrictions — universities and their athletic departments across the country like Utah's have started to operate under similar principles that guide professional sport franchises, hiring specific personnel to handle the business side of competition while coaches and players control what they can on the court.

Jensen, formerly on the Dallas Mavericks staff, has embraced college basketball's new culture by adding three recent NBA assistants to his bench, including one — Wes Wilcox — to be the team's general manager after spending the past year as an assitant general manager with the Sacramento Kings.

Some high school prospects, such as 6-foot-4 guard Junior County, have taken notice of the evolving landscape and the way in which some programs are restructuring their staff hierarchy to accommodate.

Junior County talks visits and breaks down what’s next.

Where things stand with Purdue, Maryland, UConn, Michigan State, Texas, Tennessee, Utah, Houston, and Washington.

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County, a product of local Wasatch Academy in Pleasant, Utah, recently visited with the Runnin' Utes virtually and commended their pro-style approach during an interview with Rivals.

“Our relationship is growing really well," County told Rivals regarding his ties with Utah's coaching staff. "We just had a Zoom, and it’s been great just to hear from the new coaching staff, and just kind of hear what they’re building over there. They’re going to build one of the colleges that can just produce NBA guys. I mean, they got a lot of NBA coaches over there, and just analytic dudes. I think they’re gonna become a very good developmental school.”

According to Rivals, County has heard the most from Utah, UConn, Purdue, Tennessee, Texas, Michigan State, Washington and Maryland during his recruitment process. He's ranked by 247Sports as a four-star and the No. 1 prospect from the state of Utah in the 2026 class.

County, currently suiting up for the Utah Prospects on Nike's EYBL circuit, also told Rivals he plans on cutting his options down to five once the annual Peach Jam tournament concludes from North Augusta, South Carolina, on Sunday. He added that he wants to take all his visits in the fall before making a decision in mid-October.

The Runnin' Utes have also been added to the mix for County's AAU teammate, Dean Rueckert. The 6-foot-6 Timpview High School (Utah) product and four-star wing listed Utah, BYU, Clemson, Washington and Stanford in his final five schools last month. 247Sports ranked Rueckert as the No. 4 player from the state of Utah and the No. 71 recruit nationally in the 2026 class.

In addition to holding offers from the schools he's heard from frequently, County also fields offers from Arizona State, BYU, Houston, TCU, Indiana, Texas and Virginia, among others.

This article first appeared on Utah Utes on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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