- Salt Lake Community College's men open Nov. 3 against Western Wyoming in Taylorsville in Dave Rice's third season. The women, Region 18 runners-up last season, begin under new head coach Kenzie Newton on Nov. 5 at Eastern Arizona.
- SLCC Bruins Men's Basketball, SLCC Bruins Women's Basketball connect back to Salt Lake Community College and the wider basketball picture.
- The story is backed by 22 sources and a visible last-verified date.
October 17, 2026
October 17, 2026
4 min / 842 words
22 official links
Salt Lake Community College basketball tips off its 2026-27 regular season in the first week of November. The men host Western Wyoming Community College at Bruin Arena on the Redwood Campus in Taylorsville on Tuesday, November 3, at 6 p.m.; the women open on Thursday, November 5, at Eastern Arizona College in Thatcher, Arizona, at 6 p.m. MST. Both programs play in the Scenic West Athletic Conference, NJCAA Region 18. This preview covers SLCC men's basketball and SLCC women's basketball, from SLCC's official rosters, schedules and releases read on October 16.
Who coaches SLCC basketball in 2026-27?
Dave Rice coaches the men. SLCC's August 15 release, announcing Salt Lake native Parker Van Dyke as an assistant, says Rice begins his third year as head coach. His biography notes that he played on UNLV's 1990 NCAA championship team, later coached UNLV from 2011 to 2016 and ranks third in program history in head-coaching wins there, and most recently assisted at California Baptist.
Kenzie Newton coaches the women in her first season. SLCC named her head coach on June 10, 2026, after Marcilina Grayer, who went 146-57 in seven seasons, left for Georgia State. Newton's biography says she was an assistant at Westminster, coached Mountain Ridge High School from 2019 to 2025, founded the Stansbury High School program in 2010 and began her head-coaching career at Grantsville High School in 2005. She played college basketball at Snow College and Southern Utah. SLCC announced her assistants, Tanesha Daniels and Megan Vera, on July 17.
Men: Muhammed Jobe returns, a Bingham guard arrives
SLCC's men went 11-18 and 4-11 in the Scenic West last season and finished with a 102-88 home win over Colorado Northwestern on February 25. Their leading scorer, all-region first-teamer Danny Young Jr., is not on the 2026-27 roster.
The returner to watch is 6-foot-9 redshirt sophomore Muhammed Jobe of Serekunda, The Gambia. He averaged 13.1 points and 5.3 rebounds on 61.2 percent shooting in eight games, six of them starts, before a medical redshirt, per the official statistics and his biography, which notes a 16-point game against Howard.
The most productive newcomer by last season's numbers is sophomore Luke Leatherwood of South Jordan, a Bingham High School graduate, who started 30 games at Central Arizona and averaged 13.0 points and 5.6 rebounds, per his SLCC biography. Hunter Schenck of Eden, a Weber High graduate, arrives from Utah Tech, and SLCC's February signing release named Mekhi Martin of Layton and Carter Doleac, an Alta High graduate from Sandy.
Women: rebuilding after a Region 18 final
SLCC's women went 22-10 and 10-5 in the Scenic West last season. In the Region 18 tournament they beat second-seeded USU Eastern 68-40 in their opener, per SLCC's schedule, then lost the final to top-seeded College of Southern Idaho 65-46 in Twin Falls, per SLCC's recap.
The roster turned over. All five Bruins named to the 2025-26 all-region and honorable-mention teams have moved on, and the returners with game experience are sophomore forward Nani Tuigamala, who played 23 games, and sophomore guard Calonni Holloway, who played 28 with five starts, per the official statistics. Newton inherits a program that had reached the region final the year before her arrival.
Jamborees, the opening stretch and the Region 18 race
Both teams spent October at preseason jamborees. As of October 16, the men's schedule lists the SLCC Jamboree at Bruin Arena on October 10, the Rocky Mountain Jamboree in Windsor, Colorado, on October 15 and 16, and a scrimmage at Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho, on October 31. The women's lists jamborees in Phoenix on October 3, Mansfield, Texas, on October 10, and at Bruin Arena on October 16.
After the Western Wyoming opener, the men play Eastern Arizona and Central Arizona at the Aztec Classic on November 6 and 7. The women's first home game is on November 28 against Northwest College at the SLCC Thanksgiving Tournament. Both teams open Scenic West play at Snow College on January 2. As of Oct. 16, SLCC's schedules list the men's Region 18 tournament for March 5 and 6 at Bruin Arena and the women's for March 11 to 13 at a site to be announced.
How to watch SLCC basketball
Home games stream on the Scenic West Network's SLCC channel, and the official schedules link live statistics for each game. The Utah sports schedule lists every Bruins game day, and Beehive's SLCC JUCO pipeline coverage tracks where Utah's two-year players go next.
Key facts:
- Men's opener: vs. Western Wyoming CC, Tue., Nov. 3, 6 p.m., Bruin Arena, Taylorsville
- Women's opener: at Eastern Arizona College, Thu., Nov. 5, 6 p.m. MST, Thatcher, Ariz.
- Coaches: Dave Rice (men, third season); Kenzie Newton (women, first season, named June 10, 2026)
- Conference: Scenic West Athletic Conference (NJCAA Region 18)
- 2025-26 records: men 11-18 (4-11); women 22-10 (10-5), Region 18 runners-up
- Men's returner: Muhammed Jobe, 13.1 points a game in eight games before a medical redshirt
- Men's newcomer: Luke Leatherwood, 13.0 points a game at Central Arizona
- Conference openers: both teams at Snow College, Jan. 2
