Utah forward Kendyl Sanders commits to Mississippi State out of NCAA transfer portal

Feb 21, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; UCF Knights forward Jordan Burks (99) drives to the basket against Utah Utes forward Kendyl Sanders (13) during the first half at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Utah forward Kendyl Sanders has committed to Mississippi State out of the NCAA transfer portal, he announced. He spent just one season with the Utes.

Sanders played in 32 games for Utah off the bench this season. He did not log any starts.

While playing 20.1 minutes per contest, Kendyl Sanders logged 5.2 points and 3.1 rebounds per contest. But what’s most interesting, at least for Mississippi State now, was how well he shot from the perimeter.

At 6 foot 8, 230 pounds, Sanders shot 40.3% from 3-point range. And he did it on decent volume, too, hoisting 77 attempts on the season.

Oddly, Kendyl Sanders struggled mightily from the free-throw line. Though he made only 31 trips there, he converted just 12 of those opportunities — an abysmal 38.7% from the charity stripe.

As far as his best outputs go, Sanders scored a season-high 13 points in a win over Eastern Washington in mid-December. He also twice recorded games with eight rebounds, also a season high.