The Runnin’ Utes finally got to shift from offseason work to a true practice rhythm Monday, and for Alex Jensen, that meant the calendar started to matter in a real way. With 42 days left until the season opener against Long Beach State on Nov. 2, Utah held its first official practice at the Huntsman Center and took another step toward a 2026-27 season it hopes will look nothing like last year’s 10-22 finish and 2-16 mark in Big 12 play.
This is a Utah team that looks almost entirely new again. Only three of the 16 players on the roster were in Salt Lake City last season, so even with all the time the group has already spent together, Jensen is still figuring out what fits best once the games begin.
“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 roster picture has been complicated by more than just turnover. The NCAA’s new eligibility model for Division I student-athletes took effect with the 2026-27 academic season, giving players five years to play up to five seasons without waivers or redshirt years. But because the NCAA did not grandfather in the 2022 recruiting class, plenty of players across college sports have been left waiting on rulings, and Utah has been caught up in that uncertainty too.
One of the Utes in that mix is guard Trey Campbell, who finished his fourth NCAA season at Northern Iowa, where he earned all-league honors. Campbell is practicing with Utah and was suited up in a No. 9 jersey Monday, but his fifth year of eligibility is still unresolved.
“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).”
Utah has had other roster hurdles, too. International guard Noam Yaacov, viewed as the gem of the recruiting class, was ruled ineligible by the NCAA despite his pro experience. Center Fynn Schott, an Austrian big with upside, had surgery last week on his right leg and will miss the start of the season.
That has made this offseason a moving target for Jensen and his staff, especially with eligibility questions hanging around so many programs.
“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 Utes are trying to build around the players who are available, and that includes forward Alec Anigbata, who came from Germany and said the extended preseason has helped the group come together.
“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.”
That chemistry is still a work in progress, as is the identity Utah wants to establish on defense. Guard Lucas Langarita, a midyear transfer last season who was limited to five games because of injury, said the difference now is simple: he feels much more settled.
“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.”
The Utes will get their first outside test on Oct. 7, when they go to Las Vegas to face UNLV in their exhibition opener. Jensen said those games matter because the team has spent so much time going against itself.
“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 also plays at Nevada on Oct. 17 and hosts Oregon on Oct. 21 before the regular season starts Nov. 2.
Anigbata said the mood inside the program reflects the same anticipation Jensen described.
“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.”
After another offseason of roster churn and eligibility uncertainty, Utah is trying to turn all that work into something more stable - and, eventually, something that gets the program back to the NCAA Tournament and into the mix in the Big 12. For now, the first official practice has at least made the next phase feel real.
“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.”
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