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What the Runnin’ Utes said after the team’s first official practice
The Huntsman Center was abuzz with activity Monday as the University of Utah men’s basketball program held its first official practice ahead of the 2026-27 season.
Yes, the Runnin’ Utes have been able to gather and work out prior to that — but with 42 days remaining until the season opener against Long Beach State on Nov. 2, Utah could officially return to a full schedule of preparation.
For second-year coach Alex Jensen, his coaching staff and the players, it’s one more step towards a season where the Utes will try and improve upon a frustrating 2025-26 campaign, when the Utes went 10-22 and 2-16 in Big 12 play, last in the conference.
They’re doing it with a nearly new cast of players, yet again — only three of the 16 players on Utah’s roster were in Salt Lake City last season.
“I think we had more time and we were able to put more thought into the roster and how the pieces fit together,” Jensen said of his staff as it assembled this year’s roster. “But until you get them here and they play ... there’s going to be rotations or lineups that we haven’t thought of yet. So I think (we’ll) get more and more of an idea.”
> The countdown begins for Nov. 2‼️ pic.twitter.com/pz1J8ys3Vm
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> — Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) September 22, 2026
Getting the roster together this year has been a major storyline of its own for the Utes. There have been more eligibility unknowns than normal this offseason, and Utah hasn’t been immune to it.
This summer, the NCAA officially approved a new eligibility model for Division I student-athletes, allowing them five years to play up to five seasons, with no waivers or redshirt years.
That rule took effect with the start of the 2026-27 academic season.
There have been hundreds of athletes who recently finished four seasons of eligibility, though, and were a part of the 2022 recruiting class where many have sought to also be granted a fifth year of eligibility.
The NCAA did not grandfather that class into the ruling, however, and has been involved in numerous legal battles as these athletes seek a fifth year — it’s created eligibility uncertainty across a variety of sports, even leading up to and into the season at times.
The Runnin’ Utes are involved in their own battle with one player who’s on the roster, guard Trey Campbell. Campbell was a member of the 2022 class and recently completed his fourth NCAA season, all at Northern Iowa, where he earned all-league honors.
Campbell is practicing with the team — he was suited up in a No. 9 jersey Monday — and has been added to the roster, though it’s unclear if he’ll ultimately be granted a fifth year of eligibility or if the NCAA will rule against it sometime in the future.
“I like to think I operate on a logical level. I don’t know all the rules. I’m not a law guy, but it just seems like it makes sense for some guys to get the year. I stay out of it,” Jensen said.
“I think a lot of schools assumed that there’s going to be a rule in place with their roster and it wasn’t quite the case. So yeah, it’s hard — it’s hard when there’s not much to go by. Hopefully there’ll be a couple rules and it’ll be easier when you go out and you try to build a roster (going forward).”
That’s one of several roster issues impacting the Utes before the season even begins.
Utah signed international guard Noam Yaacov — and he was considered the gem of the Utes’ recruiting class — but the NCAA ruled the 21-year-old with several years of pro experience ineligible.
The Utes also leaned into their international ties and signed center Fynn Schott, a promising Austrian big, but he underwent surgery last week on his right leg and will miss the start of the season.
With the NCAA ruling and its subsequent drama, there have been a lot of things to keep track of for Jensen and his staff in terms of eligibility.
“Since I took the job, (it) seems like a week doesn’t go by about some type of legislation or rule that’s going to go through,” Jensen said. “You know, I’ve got a great staff and I leave that to others to worry about because I’m not going to try to guess what the future holds as far as rules.”
For now, the task is focusing on what Utah can control and on the players who are available.
One of those is forward Alec Anigbata, who hails from Germany and is used to a different sort of practice schedule from his time overseas.
“We compete a lot. I think you can see it today. And I feel like it’s easier to build a good chemistry over here because in Europe, you only have like one or 1.5 months to prepare for your first game,” he said. “And now we’ve been together for three months, so we’ve really come along very well and it’s easy to build good chemistry.”
Developing team chemistry and a team identity — one anchored in defense — is a process, including for the few holdovers like guard Lucas Langarita, a midyear transfer addition last season who only ended up playing five games due to injury.
“It was hard in the beginning because I got injured like the first game (at Utah),” Langarita said. “But now I feel so much (more) comfortable. I got much confidence now. I just want to play and do it good.”
After all this time working together during the offseason, the Utes will have their first chance to face someone new on Oct. 7, when they travel to Las Vegas to take on UNLV in their exhibition opener.
“It’s hard when you go against each other for every day as much as we do. It’s why I think those exhibition games are a good idea,” Jensen said.
Utah will also play at Nevada (Oct. 17) and host Oregon (Oct. 21) before opening the regular season Nov. 2.
“I feel like everybody’s super excited because like I said, we’ve been practicing for three months,” Anigbata said. “Everybody’s just excited to team up together and play against an opponent. And yeah, we’re looking forward to it for sure.”
With another year together, the hope is that Jensen and his staff will take steps toward the program’s ultimate goal of returning to the NCAA Tournament while also becoming a bigger factor in the Big 12.
In two and a half weeks, this edition of the Runnin’ Utes will get their first taste of facing someone else with the exhibition opener.
“There’s nothing like replicating a full game. That’s why I referenced the exhibition games are great,” Jensen said. “The more time I think they can spend together on the court and off the court helps. And like I said, it’s a fun group.”
