2025–26 Utah Valley Wolverines men's basketball team

2025–26 Utah Valley Wolverines men's basketball
NIT, First round
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Record25–9 (14–4 WAC)
Head coach
Associate head coachTodd Okeson (7th season)
Assistant coaches
  • Adam Jacobsen (2nd season)
  • Ivory "Trey" Young (1st season)
    Trevor Stranger (1st season)
Home arenaUCCU Center
(Capacity: 8,500)
2025–26 WAC men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Utah Valley 14 – 4   .778 25 – 9   .735
California Baptist † 13 – 5   .722 25 – 9   .735
Utah Tech 11 – 7   .611 19 – 15   .559
UT Arlington 9 – 9   .500 18 – 14   .563
Southern Utah 6 – 12   .333 10 – 22   .313
Abilene Christian 5 – 13   .278 14 – 19   .424
Tarleton 5 – 13   .278 14 – 18   .438
† 2026 WAC tournament winner

The 2025–26 Utah Valley Wolverines men's basketball team represented Utah Valley University in the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wolverines, led by third-year head coach Todd Phillips,[1] played their home games at the UCCU Center in Orem, Utah and compete as members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).[2]

This was the Wolverines' last season in the WAC. In March 2025, the Big West Conference reportedly invited Utah Valley to join their conference beginning in 2026.[3] UVU's Big West move was officially announced on June 4.[4]

In February 2026, due to disputes with the WAC over unpaid exit fees, the Wolverines were declared to be not in good standing with the conference, and thus were initially prohibited from participating in the conference championship (including the 2026 WAC men's basketball tournament), or having their games be broadcast.[5] The Fourth District Court in Utah later granted the university's motion for a preliminary injunction that allowed them to play in the conference tournament.[6] The WAC then reasserted that Utah Valley would not play in the conference tournament if they did not pay the exit fee by March 10th at 5:00 p.m. MST, a day prior to the tournament's start.[7] It was confirmed later that day that Utah Valley would play in the conference tournament, as the WAC was assured by the Fourth District Court in Utah that the payment from Utah Valley was in process.[8]

Previous season

Main article: 2024–25 Utah Valley Wolverines men's basketball team

The Wolverines finished the 2024–25 season 25–9, 15–1 in WAC play, to finish in first place.[9] As the No. 1 seed in the WAC tournament, they defeated Utah Tech in the quarterfinals and Seattle in the semifinals before falling to Grand Canyon in the championship game 89–82.[10] As the WAC regular season champions, Utah Valley was invited to participate in the 2025 National Invitation Tournament.[11] The Wolverines were defeated in the first round by San Francisco 70–79.[12]

Offseason

Departures

Name Position Height Year Reason for departure
Kylin Green G 6' 0" Junior Transferred to Houston Christian[13]
Osiris Grady F 6' 8" Junior Transferred to UC Riverside
Andre Johnson Jr. G 6' 4" Junior Transferred to Ouachita Baptist[14]
Tyler Medaris F 6' 7" Sophomore Entered transfer portal April 10; decided to return
Dylan Metoyer G 6' 1" Freshman Transferred to Pierce College
Jake Nadauld G 6' 2" Freshman Transferred to Westminster[15]
Dominick Nelson G 6' 5" Junior Transferred to Iowa State[16]
Ethan Potter F 6' 8" Junior Transferred to Utah Tech[17]
Majer Sullivan C 6' 8" Senior Transferred to Weber State football[18]
Noah Taitz G 6' 4" Junior Entered transfer portal March 28; decided to return
Tanner Toolson G 6' 5" Sophomore Transferred to TCU[19]
Carter Welling F 6' 10" Sophomore Transferred to Clemson[20]
Cory Wells F 6' 7" Senior Transferred to Prairie View A&M

Incoming transfers

Name Position Height Year Previous school
Isaac Davis F 6' 6" Sophomore Utah State[21]
AJ Dixon G/F 6' 5" Junior Western Illinois
Isaac Hawkins F 6' 10" Junior College of Southern Idaho[22]
Tyler Hendricks G 6' 6" Junior Central Florida[23]
Braden Housley G 6' 4" Redshirt Junior Utah State
Joul Karram C 6' 10" Sophomore Utah
AJ Riggs G 6' 3" Sophomore Fort Lewis
Sherman Weatherspoon IV G 6' 3" Sophomore Frank Phillips

Roster

2025–26 Utah Valley Wolverines men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 1 Isaac Davis 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So Hillcrest HS
Utah State 		Idaho Falls, ID
G 2 Jackson Holcombe 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS So Timpanogos HS Orem, UT
G 3 Jaxson Roberts  6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Corner Canyon HS Draper, UT
G 4 Sherman Weatherspoon IV 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Bethesda-Chevy Chase HS
Valparaiso
Frank Phillips 		Bowie, MD
G 5 AJ Riggs (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Highland HS
Fort Lewis College 		Gilbert, AZ
G 7 Noah Taitz 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Sr Bishop Gorman HS
Loyola Marymount 		Las Vegas, NV
F 8 Hayden Welling 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Corner Canyon HS
UC Irvine 		Draper, UT
G 9 Braden Housley 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Jr Skyridge HS
Utah State 		Lehi, UT
G 10 Trevan Leonhardt 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Jr Davis HS Kaysville, UT
F 11 Tyler Weaver 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Fr Aliso Niguel HS Aliso Viejo, CA
F 12 Tyler Medaris (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Fr Middleton, HS Middleton, ID
G 15 Tyler Hendricks 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Jr Calvary Christian Academy
Central Florida 		Fort Lauderdale, FL
F 23 Isaac Hawkins 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Legion Collegiate Academy
College of Southern Idaho 		Fort Mill, SC
G/F 24 AJ Dixon  6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Jr Merrillville HS
Triton College
Western Illinois 		Merrillville, IN
C 99 Joul Karram 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Hakfar Hayarok
Utah 		Nazareth, Israel
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Strength and conditioning coach(es)
  • Kaleb John-Lewis
Athletic trainer(s)
  • Troyce Solley
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: July 22, 2025

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 4, 2025*
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		West Coast Baptist W 116–35  1–0
  19 – Holcombe   14 – Hawkins   9 – Leonhardt  UCCU Center (1,409)
Orem, UT
November 8, 2025*
2:00 pm, MW Network 		at Boise State L 77–101  1–1
  22 – Holcombe   5 – Leonhardt   4 – Leonhardt  ExtraMile Arena (10,240)
Boise, ID
November 12, 2025*
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Westminster W 91–60  2–1
  22 – Hendricks   10 – Holcombe   13 – Leonhardt  UCCU Center (2,114)
Orem, UT
November 15, 2025*
7:00 pm, MW Network 		at Fresno State L 74–75  2–2
  17 – Welling   6 – Davis   7 – Leonhardt  Save Mart Center (2,969)
Fresno, CA
November 19, 2025*
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		UC Irvine
Cancun Challenge campus game 		W 79–72  3–2
  18 – Davis   12 – Holcombe   5 – Tied  UCCU Center (1,374)
Orem, UT
November 25, 2025*
4:00 pm, FloCollege 		vs. South Dakota State
Cancun Challenge 		W 75–52  4–2
  16 – Tied   7 – Housley   5 – Holcombe  Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (300)
Cancún, Mexico
November 26, 2025*
4:00 pm, FloCollege 		vs. Samford
Cancun Challenge 		W 89–45  5–2
  21 – Holcombe   6 – Hendricks   5 – Housley  Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya 
Cancún, Mexico
December 3, 2025*
8:00 pm, MW Network 		at San Diego State L 66–77  5–3
  17 – Holcombe   10 – Holcombe   5 – Tied  Viejas Arena (11,683)
San Diego, CA
December 6, 2025*
11:00 am, ESPN+ 		at Bowling Green W 82–71  6–3
  19 – Holcombe   11 – Hendricks   9 – Leonhardt  Stroh Center (1,929)
Bowling Green, OH
December 10, 2025*
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Idaho State W 73–69  7–3
  18 – Tied   11 – Leonhardt   8 – Leonhardt  UCCU Center (1,423)
Orem, UT
December 13, 2025*
12:00 pm, ESPN+ 		vs. UC Santa Barbara
Salt Lake Slam Showcase 		W 68–53  8–3
  18 – Welling   11 – Holcombe   10 – Leonhardt  Delta Center (1,987)
Salt Lake City, UT
December 17, 2025*
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Weber State W 90–74  9–3
  22 – Hendricks   7 – Weatherspoon IV   6 – Leonhardt  UCCU Center (1,457)
Orem, UT
December 20, 2025*
3:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Bethesda W 109–48  10–3
  16 – Holcombe   15 – Holcombe   6 – Leonhardt  UCCU Center (1,426)
Orem, UT
WAC regular season
December 29, 2025
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		California Baptist W 73–66  11–3
(1–0) 		 25 – Holcombe   4 – Tied   8 – Leonhardt  UCCU Center (2,171)
Orem, UT
January 1, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Tarleton W 91–85  12–3
(2–0) 		 22 – Holcombe   9 – Hawkins   5 – Leonhardt  EECU Center (987)
Stephenville, TX
January 3, 2026
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Abilene Christian L 68–85  12–4
(2–1) 		 15 – Hendricks   6 – Welling   6 – Holcombe  Moody Coliseum (958)
Abilene, TX
January 8, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Southern Utah W 89–72  13–4
(3–1) 		 23 – Holcombe   9 – Holcombe   6 – Housley  UCCU Center (1,872)
Orem, UT
January 10, 2026
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Utah Tech
Old Hammer Rivalry 		W 92–76  14–4
(4–1) 		 26 – Leonhardt   6 – Davis   7 – Tied  UCCU Center (2,551)
Orem, UT
January 17, 2026
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		UT Arlington W 86–74  15–4
(5–1) 		 16 – Holcombe   9 – Leonhardt   9 – Leonhardt  UCCU Center (2,517)
Orem, UT
January 21, 2026
6:30 pm, ESPN+ 		at Southern Utah L 70–84  15–5
(5–2) 		 26 – Holcombe   13 – Holcombe   4 – Tied  America First Event Center (1,151)
Cedar City, UT
January 24, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at California Baptist L 71–78 OT 15–6
(5–3) 		 22 – Holcombe   10 – Holcombe   4 – Leonhardt  Fowler Events Center (3,907)
Riverside, CA
January 29, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Tarleton W 83–55  16–6
(6–3) 		 20 – Leonhardt   8 – Holcombe   4 – Housley  EECU Center (2,267)
Stephenville, TX
February 5, 2026
6:00 pm 		Abilene Christian W 68–55  17–6
(7–3) 		 18 – Hendricks   8 – Holcombe   7 – Leonhardt  UCCU Center (1,581)
Orem, UT
February 7, 2026
2:00 pm 		UT Arlington W 81–60  18–6
(8–3) 		 18 – Hendricks   7 – Hendricks   6 – Leonhardt  UCCU Center (2,245)
Orem, UT
February 12, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Utah Tech
Old Hammer Rivalry 		L 77–81  18–7
(8–4) 		 20 – Holcombe   8 – Hawkins   6 – Leonhardt  Burns Arena (2,786)
St. George, UT
February 19, 2026
6:00 pm 		California Baptist W 65–46  19–7
(9–4) 		 14 – Davis   9 – Hawkins   8 – Leonhardt  UCCU Center (2,364)
Orem, UT
February 21, 2026
1:00 pm 		at UT Arlington W 66–54  20–7
(10–4) 		 19 – Holcombe   10 – Tied   5 – Holcombe  College Park Center (1,555)
Arlington, TX
February 26, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Tarleton W 79–72  21–7
(11–4) 		 24 – Davis   9 – Holcombe   4 – Tied  UCCU Center (2,355)
Orem, UT
February 28, 2026
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Abilene Christian W 74–67  22–7
(12–4) 		 16 – Leonhardt   9 – Leonhardt   7 – Leonhardt  UCCU Center (2,094)
Orem, UT
March 5, 2026
6:30 pm, ESPN+ 		at Southern Utah W 92–88  23–7
(13–4) 		 28 – Davis   8 – Holcombe   7 – Leonardt  America First Event Center (1,540)
Cedar City, UT
March 7, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Utah Tech
Old Hammer Rivalry 		W 104–101 2OT 24–7
(14–4) 		 27 – Weatherspoon   9 – Holcombe   9 – Leonhardt  Burns Arena (3,116)
St. George, UT
WAC tournament
March 13, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		(1) vs. (4) UT Arlington
Semifinals 		W 67–65  25–7
  14 – Holcombe   7 – Leonhardt   3 – Leonhardt  Orleans Arena (1,474)
Paradise, NV
March 14, 2026
10:00pm, ESPN2 		(1) vs. (2) California Baptist
Championship 		L 61–63  25–8
  18 – Holcombe   10 – Leonhardt   8 – Leonhardt  Orleans Arena (1,151)
Paradise, NV
NIT
March 18, 2026
6:00pm, ESPN+ 		(4 AL) George Washington
First round 		L 78–79  25–9
  27 – Holcombe   7 – Davis   7 – Holcombe  UCCU Center (1,582)
Orem, UT
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
AL=Alberquerque.
All times are in Mountain.

See also

References

  1. ^ "UVU has chosen its next head basketball coach". Deseret News. April 7, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  2. ^ "UVU Marks 10 Years in the WAC With Impressive Athletic and Academic Records". uvu.edu. November 15, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  3. ^ Duarte, Gabriel (April 1, 2025). "Conference Expansion: California Baptist and Utah Valley to the Big West". Daily Sundial. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  4. ^ "Utah Valley University Joins The Big West" (Press release). Big West Conference. June 4, 2025. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
  5. ^ "Utah Valley University faces exclusion from WAC championships". Deseret News. February 5, 2026. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
  6. ^ Walker, Sean (March 6, 2026). "WAC champion Utah Valley receives another injunction to play in conference tournament". KSL Sports. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  7. ^ "WAC holds hostage Utah Valley's No. 1 seed, demands $1 million exit fee for conference tourney play | Sporting News". www.sportingnews.com. March 10, 2026. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
  8. ^ Services, ESPN News (March 10, 2026). "Utah Valley to play in WAC tournaments after settling $1M exit fee dispute". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
  9. ^ Preece, Brian (March 6, 2025). "Utah Valley's Magical Season Continues With 13-Point Win". KSL Sports. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
  10. ^ "Lopes triumph over top-seeded Wolverines to clinch WAC championship". 12news.com. March 15, 2025. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
  11. ^ Tripp, Tanner (March 16, 2025). "Utah Valley Misses First NCAA Tournament Bid, NIT Next". KSL Sports. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  12. ^ "UVU men's hoops has season come to an end at San Francisco in NIT first round". heraldextra.com. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  13. ^ "2025 Fantasy College Basketball - RotoWire NCAAB". RotoWire. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  14. ^ "Andre Johnson Jr. - Men's Basketball". Ouachita Baptist University Athletics. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  15. ^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Roster". Westminster University Athletics. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  16. ^ Rapay, Eugene. "Iowa State basketball: Utah Valley transfer, WAC's top player Dominick Nelson commits". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
  17. ^ "Trailblazers Add Utah Valley Transfer Ethan Potter For 2025-26 Season". Utah Tech University Athletics. May 8, 2025. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  18. ^ "Majer Sullivan - Football". Weber State University Athletics. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  19. ^ "TCU adds Utah Valley wing Tanner Toolson from transfer portal". 247Sports. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  20. ^ "Clemson basketball adds WAC Defensive Player of the Year in transfer portal". Yahoo Sports. April 4, 2025. Retrieved April 7, 2025.
  21. ^ Tripp, Tanner (May 7, 2025). "Former Utah State F Isaac Davis Transfers To Utah Velley". KSL Sports. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
  22. ^ Emplit, Kole (October 8, 2024). "CSI's Isaac Hawkins commits to Utah Valley University". KMVT. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  23. ^ Tripp, Tanner (April 16, 2025). "Tyler Hendricks, Twin Of Utah Jazz Forward, Transfers To UVU". KSL Sports. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.