Why point guard has become the primary offseason focus for Utah women’s basketball team

Utah coach Gavin Petersen talks with LA Sneed (2) and Brooke Walker during a break in action against Arizona during the Utes' 81-67 win at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. | Brandon Judd, Deseret News

When the University of Utah lost to Eastern Kentucky in the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament three weeks ago, that signaled the start of a new era for the Utes.

Guards Lani White and Maty Wilke, the team’s leading scorers and the faces of the program, were both seniors.

It was supposed to help usher in a youth movement, giving the Utah program the chance to rely more on young stars — and then, the transfer portal exodus began.

As of Thursday, six players have reportedly entered the portal, and it’s a mix of youth and experience — on the young side, there’s LA Sneed, Avery Hjelmstad, Grace Foster and Brooke Walker, two freshmen and two sophomores.

Then there were juniors Reese Ross and Alyssa Blanck.

Only one Utah player from last season, forward Chyra Evans, has publicly announced she is returning to the Utes next year, while three others haven’t declared one way or another.

There is also a three-player freshman class entering the program this offseason that includes two four-star talents, Kanab High center Rylee Little and Colorado native Peyton Jones, along with shooting guard Milika Satuala from Bountiful High.

That leaves the Utes potentially needing to add as many as six transfers, depending on how things shake out this offseason as they try to bounce back from a season where Utah had its four-year NCAA Tournament streak snapped.

The women’s basketball transfer window officially opened Monday, less than 24 hours after the national championship game, and will stay open through April 20.

That means Utah could see more players exit the program, and likewise the Utes could also have players who’ve entered the portal end up returning to Salt Lake City.

For now, though, it looks as if head coach Gavin Petersen and his coaching staff will need to utilize the transfer portal heavily this offseason.

Utah Utes guard la Sneed (2) drives against BYU Cougars center Lara Rohkohl (13) at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News

Utah’s priority needs this offseason

Point guard — Both players who manned the point for Utah during the 2025-26 season, Sneed and Walker, are reportedly in the portal.

Sneed will be a sophomore next year and Walker a junior. The pair had taken over for the graduating Ines Vieira and had shown flashes during the season.

Sneed, as a five-star recruit, came to Utah with high expectations as the point guard of the future, and when she announced she would be entering the portal via social media on March 26, that changed the outlook of the offseason for the Utes.

Sneed earned Big 12 all-freshman honors after averaging 6.3 points, a team-high 3.3 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game, and she started 16 games for the Utes. Her 1.8-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio was also ninth in the Big 12.

According to reports, Sneed entered the portal with a “do not contact” tag.

During her sophomore campaign, Walker began the year as the starter before coming off the bench behind Sneed, and while Walker’s progression wasn’t as far along as it could be in her second year, she’s proven to be a valuable rotation piece with starting ability.

If neither Sneed nor Walker return, though, Utah is in need of someone to run the point, or likely even a pair of transfer point guards. That is priority No. 1 for a program that prides itself on running an efficient, assist-driven offense.

Scoring options — White and Wilke were the only two Utah players to average double-figures in scoring last season, as White averaged a team-high 15.9 points and Wilke 10.4.

Ross was the team’s third-leading scorer, and while she wasn’t likely to take over lead-scoring responsibilities, her entrance into the portal — along with other scoring options in Sneed, Hjelmstad, Walker and Foster — means that a lot of Utah’s scoring production is gone.

If none of Utah’s players who’ve entered the portal return to Salt Lake City, there won’t be a returning player with double-digit 3-point makes last season. That’s a critical stat, considering how much Petersen’s group relies on 3s in its offense.

It’s not all doom and gloom — Jones and Satuala are both shooting guards, and Ella Todd can contribute there as well.

Jones was rated the No. 65 overall prospect in the 2026 recruiting class by ESPN and averaged 23.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 2.5 assists per game as a senior at Valor Christian High, according to MaxPreps. She also shot 47% from the field and 39% from 3, with 74 made 3-pointers.

Satuala, who was named the 2026 Deseret News Ms. Basketball recipient, averaged 22.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 2.0 assists as a senior. She also hit 44 3-pointers, improving a previous weakness in her game.

Todd, a two-time prep all-state selection in Illinois, will be a redshirt freshman after missing last year due to injury.

Another potential scoring option is Kamryn Mafua, the former Cal four-star prospect who missed all but nine games last season due to injury and only played 57 minutes during nonconference action.

Finding some veteran shotmakers and 3-point specialists, though, to get the Utah offense on track will be paramount. There’s a lack of proven shotmakers at the collegiate level right now for the Utes.

Particularly in the back half of last season, the Utes struggled to string together back-to-back solid offensive quarters, and it cost them as they lost seven of their final 11 games on their way to finishing 19-13.

Not only were White and Wilke Utah’s top scorers, they were the team’s emotional leaders — and the Utes will need to sort out who their leaders will be.

Utah forward Reese Ross (20) reacts to a referee’s call during a game against Iowa State held at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News

Veteran post depth — Evans’ return is important for Utah, and the Utes are bringing in one of the nation’s top center prospects from the 2026 recruiting class in Little.

But they no longer have Ross, who spent her first three seasons at Utah and was the team’s leading rebounder a year ago.

She ended the 2025-26 season ranked second in the Big 12 in rebounding, and Ross’ scrappiness often paid major dividends for the Utes.

Otto, like many of the other freshmen, showed her potential while playing in the rotation last season, and she could take a leap in production as well in her sophomore year. She averaged 13.7 minutes, 4.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

Evans, who will be a senior and spent two prior seasons at Michigan, will be one of the team’s primary leaders one year after she started 31 games and averaged 8.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists for the Utes.

Little, rated the No. 82 recruit in the 2026 class by ESPN, is likely to be an instant contributor as a freshman. During her four seasons at Kanab, where Little was a four-time state champion, she showed the ability not only to score but be a menace on defense as well.

As a senior, she averaged 21 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks, two assists and two steals per game.

That still leaves room to add some depth in the paint for Utah.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Utes try to add a couple point guards, a pair of scoring wings and a couple bigs as a part of their transfer class — spread it out evenly, if you will.

Utah is replacing a lot of experience

If no other Utah players enter the portal and none of those six return to the Utes, they will return 1,200 minutes played from last season between Evans, Otto and Mafua, out of a total 6,425 — or 18.6% returning minutes from the previous year.

That dips slightly to 18.4% when factoring for returning scoring production and is still just 23.6% in returning assist production and 22.3% in returning rebounding production.

Evans was the lone Ute to shoot 50% or better from the field last season, at 50.2%, and she was also the team’s leading shot blocker, with 26.

Evans was also second on the team with 82 assists (Otto added 40) and 276 rebounds (Otto had 110). Their return could help alleviate some pressure off newcomers into the system.

Still, with the amount of turnover it is looking like Utah will be dealing with, there will be a lot of new faces trying to fill key roles for the Utes in the 2026-27 season.

Utah forward Chyra Evans drives to the hoop with Arizona's Nora Francois on defense during the Utes' 81-67 win at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. | Brandon Judd, Deseret News