- Utah Tech enters the Big Sky with Jon Judkins in his 22nd season and Layton's Ethan Potter, a First Team All-WAC forward, back for a fifth year. The men open at New Mexico on Nov. 2; new coach Adam Wardenburg's women open the same day against Life Pacific.
- Utah Tech Men's Basketball, Utah Tech Women's Basketball connect back to Utah Tech University 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 / 896 words
22 official links
Utah Tech basketball plays its first Big Sky Conference season in 2026-27. Both Trailblazer programs begin on Monday, November 2: the women host Life Pacific at Burns Arena in St. George at 11 a.m. MT, and the men play at New Mexico in The Pit in Albuquerque at 7 p.m. This preview covers Utah Tech men's basketball and Utah Tech women's basketball, from the official rosters, schedules and releases read on October 16.
Utah Tech's move to the Big Sky
Utah Tech and Southern Utah officially joined the Big Sky on July 1, 2026, from the WAC, giving the conference 11 full-time members. Utah Tech had been in the WAC since 2020, per the Big Sky's announcement. The men's Big Sky debut is at home against Weber State on December 3, and the women's is at Weber State the same night.
Who coaches Utah Tech basketball in 2026-27?
Jon Judkins coaches the men in his 22nd season on the Utah Tech bench. His biography calls him a six-time Pacific West Conference Coach of the Year and the 2026 WAC Coach of the Year, with a 357-244 record at Utah Tech and 641 career wins.
Adam Wardenburg coaches the women. Utah Tech named him head coach on April 20, 2026, the sixth in the program's NCAA era. He spent the previous two seasons as associate head coach at Air Force, which made two WNIT trips and reached the 2026 Mountain West tournament final, per his biography.
Men: Ethan Potter's fifth year
Utah Tech's men went 19-15 and 11-7 in the WAC last season and won a WAC tournament game, 80-74 over Abilene Christian, to reach the semifinals for the first time in program history before losing to California Baptist on March 13.
Fifth-year forward Ethan Potter of Layton, a Layton High School graduate who began his career at Utah Valley, is the centerpiece. Utah Tech's October 14 release says he made the First Team All-WAC and the WAC All-Tournament Team last season, averaged 16.8 points, second in the league, and a WAC-leading 7.8 rebounds, led the conference by shooting 59.8 percent from the field, and set the program's single-season scoring record with 572 points. The Big Sky named him to its preseason all-conference team, and the Blue Ribbon yearbook put him on its preseason All-Big Sky team.
The newcomers include guard Aris Rodriguez, an NJCAA Division I honorable mention All-American who averaged 19.4 points at Barton Community College, per Utah Tech's signing release, along with two Snow College transfers, St. George native Kyle Lemke and Aaron Bliss. The Big Sky's preseason polls placed Utah Tech seventh.
December 5 brings a ceremony: Utah Tech retires the jersey of Lionel Hollins at home against Idaho State, per the program's October 12 release.
Women: a new staff and a new roster
Utah Tech's women went 9-20 and 4-14 in the WAC last season and lost a WAC tournament game to UT Arlington, 77-73, on March 11. The roster turned over almost completely: none of the 12 players on last season's statistics page appears on the 2026-27 roster.
The returner with a track record is junior guard Ellie Taylor of West Jordan, a Copper Hills High School graduate, who made the WAC All-Freshman Team in 2024-25 with 10.0 points a game before missing all of last season through injury, per her biography. Among the newcomers is guard Maia Rhay, an NJCAA Second Team All-American and Region 9 North Player of the Year at Western Wyoming Community College, per Utah Tech's May 4 release. The women's schedule release lists a school-record-tying 18 home games.
Preseason dates and the opening stretch
As of October 16, the men's schedule lists two free exhibitions at Burns Arena: Utah Valley on October 17 and West Coast Baptist on October 24, both at 7 p.m. After the New Mexico opener the men host Grace University on November 4, visit Utah State on November 10, Cal on November 14 and Washington on November 19, and play South Dakota at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls on November 22. The Big Sky tournament runs March 5 to 10 in Boise.
The women list no exhibitions. After Life Pacific they host California Baptist on November 6 and Nelson University on November 11, visit Boise State on November 15 and Colorado on December 15, and play Southern Utah on January 16 in Cedar City and February 13 in St. George.
How to watch Utah Tech basketball
Utah Tech's site links ESPN+ and MW+. Most home schedule rows link live statistics, and the New Mexico opener links the Mountain West's stream. Season tickets for both programs went on sale in October through Utah Tech's ticket office. The Utah sports schedule lists every Trailblazer game day.
Key facts:
- Men's opener: at New Mexico, Mon., Nov. 2, 7 p.m., The Pit, Albuquerque; home opener vs. Grace, Nov. 4
- Women's opener: vs. Life Pacific, Mon., Nov. 2, 11 a.m. MT, Burns Arena, St. George
- Coaches: Jon Judkins (men, 22nd season, 357-244 at Utah Tech); Adam Wardenburg (women, first season)
- Conference: Big Sky, first season (joined July 1, 2026)
- 2025-26 records: men 19-15, first WAC semifinal in program history; women 9-20
- Player to know: Ethan Potter, First Team All-WAC, program-record 572 points, preseason All-Big Sky
- Women's returner: Ellie Taylor, WAC All-Freshman in 2024-25
- Big Sky debuts: Dec. 3, men vs. Weber State, women at Weber State
