A LETTER FROM HARLAN
Crimson Club Members,
On behalf of the Utah Athletics Family, I want to extend my sincere gratitude for your tremendous support during the previous academic year. Our donors continue to play a pivotal role in the success of our student-athletes, coaches and staff. In 2022-23, Utah Athletics once again demonstrated excellence in the classroom, competition and community. Utah student-athletes produced the third-highest full-year GPA in department history and our graduation rate (93%) is tied for the fourth-highest figure among Power Five public institutions and sixth-highest among all institutions at the Power Five level. Our teams won 10 total conference championships and we finished 28th in the LEARFIELD Director’s Cup standings, our highest position since the program began in 1993. Our student-athletes continue to post collective grade-point averages among the highest in department history and logged nearly 1,400 hours of community service in the past year.
Your investment in scholarships, facilities and programs directly contribute to these achievements.
The support you provide is a source of stability for our staff, coaches and, most importantly, student-athletes. We continue to work every day to build a culture of excellence to position our student-athletes for success in the classroom, competition and community. Please know that whether you donate to scholarships, a facility project, or a program, your investment supports these goals. I look forward to seeing you at events throughout the 2023-24 year to cheer on our student-athletes together. In the meantime, thank you for everything you do!
Go Utes!
Mark Harlan Director of Athletics
THE YEAR OF THE
In 2022-23, Utah Athletics enjoyed its most successful year in the classroom, competition and our community since joining the Pac-12 Conference. Skiing won its fourth-consecutive NCAA Championship, football played in its second-straight Rose Bowl, gymnastics placed third at nationals, softball played in the Women’s College World Series, cross country placed 12th at the NCAA Championships, women’s basketball advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16, men’s tennis made the NCAA second round and lacrosse earned its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth. Football, women’s basketball, gymnastics, men’s tennis and softball were all crowned Pac-12 champions, while skiing won the RMISA Championship and lacrosse claimed the ASUN Championship. All of that led to an all-time record finish of 28th in the LEARFIELD Director’s Cup. Academically, Utah’s student-athletes recorded their third-highest combined fall-spring grade-point average on record with a 3.355. The Utes’ 93-percent score in the most recent NCAA GSR report marked its fifth consecutive year at 93-percent or higher, and tied for the fourth-highest figure among Power 5 public institutions.
Ute student-athletes have logged 1500 hours of community service over the past 12 months.
3 Conference Athlete/Player of the Year Awards 2022-23 BY THE NUMBERS 3 RD Ranking of Utah’s 3.355 academic year GPA all-time 4 Teams finishing in the top 10 in the nation 5 Conference Coach of the Year Awards 6 NCAA individual champions 109 Student-Athletes who participated in University Commencement in May
6 Conference individual championships 8 Programs that earned NCAA post-season or bowl game berths. 10 Conference regular-season and post-season titles claimed by seven teams
10 28 TH Finish in the
Teams ranked in the Top 25
LEARFIELD Director’s Cup, the highest ever
BACK-TO-BACK 2021 & 2022
PAC-12 CHAMPIONS Utah football continued it’s reign as the Pac-12 Conference Champions and played in the Rose Bowl for the second-straight season.
GYMNASTICS Placed third at the NCAA Championships for the third-consecutive year after winning its third-straight Pac-12 Championship and fourth conference regular-season title.
SOFTBALL Advanced to the NCAA College World Series for the first time since 1994 and won the first-ever Pac-12 Conference Tournament.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Won its first-ever Pac-12 Conference regular-season title and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time since 2006.
MEN’S TENNIS Captured its first Pac-12 Conference title by claiming the regular-season crown and made its second-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament second round.
16
Captured its 16th national title in 2023 by winning the NCAA Championships for the fourth consecutive year. UTAH SKIING
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4th CONSECUTIVE TITLE
19, 21, 22, 23
UTAH LACROSSE Earned its first NCAA Tournament bid after winning the ASUN Tournament and claiming its second-straight ASUN regular-season title.
CROSS COUNTRY Placed 12th at the NCAA Championships for its best finish in school history after coming in as the runner-up at the Pac-12 Championships. TRACK & FIELD Placed 21st at the NCAA Indoor Championships and tied for 15th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
MAILE O’KEEFE GYMNASTICS
SKIING NOVIE M c CABE
MADISON HOFFMAN SKIING
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Madison Hoffman, Skiing
Women’s Slalom Women’s Giant Slalom Women’s 5K Freestyle Women’s 20K Classic
Novie McCabe, Skiing
Maile O’Keefe, Gymnastics All-Around Beam NATIONAL AWARD FINALISTS
Clark Phillips III, Football
Jim Thorpe Award
Kyle Whittingham, Football
Dodd Trophy Coach of the Year
Alissa Pili, Women’s Basketball
Naismith Player of the Year
Lynne Roberts, Women’s Basketball Naismith Coach of the Year
Maile O’Keefe, Gymnastics
AAI Award
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LEARFIELD CUP RECORD FINISH
Utah Athletics had its highest finish ever in the LEARFIELD Director’s Cup for 2022-23, coming in 28th with 741.0 points. Its previous best ranking was 37th in 1997-98.
CONFERENCE COACH OF THE YEAR
JJ Johnson
RMISA Alpine RMISA Nordic
Miles Havlick Lynne Roberts
Pac-12 Women’s Basketball
Andrew McMinn Roeland Brateanu
ASUN Lacrosse
Pac-12 Men’s Tennis
CONFERENCE INDIVIDUAL TITLES
Novie McCabe, Skiing
RMISA Women’s 5K Freestyle RMISA Women’s 20K Classic
Wilhelm Normannseth, Skiing Abby Brenner, Gymnastics Emily Venters, Track & Field Simone Plourde, Track & Field
RMISA Men’s Slalom
Pac-12 Vault
Pac-12 Outdoor 10,000 meters Pac-12 Outdoor 1,500 meters
CONFERENCE STUDENT-ATHLETE AWARDS
Emily Venters, Cross-Country Clark Phillips III, CB, Football Lander Barton, LB, Football Alissa Pili, Women’s Basketball Wilhelm Normannseth, Men’s Skiing
Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year AP Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Pac-12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year Pac-12 Player of the Year; coaches vote
RMISA MVP - Slalom
Gustav Vøllo, Men’s Skiing Luke Jager, Men’s Skiing
RMISA MVP - Giant Slalom RMISA MVP - Classic RMISA MVP - Freestyle
Novie McCabe, Women’s Skiing Maile O’Keefe, Gymnastics
Pac-12 Specialist of the Year ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year ASUN Freshman of the Year
Tyler Bradbury, Lacrosse Ryan Stines, Lacrosse
ALL-AMERICANS
• Clark Phillips, CB, Football (Unanimous First Team: AFCA, AP, FWAA, Walter Camp, Sporting News) • Dalton Kincaid, TE, Football (Third Team AP)
• Lander Barton, LB, Football (Freshman All-America Second Team) • Simote Pepa, DT, Football (Freshman All-America Honorable Mention) • Madelyn Robinson, Volleyball (Honorable Mention AVCA) • Emily Venters, Cross Country (12th-place at NCAA Championships)
CLARK PHILLIPS
• Emily Venters, Indoor Track & Field (USTFCCCA First Team; 5th place 5000m) • Emily Venters, Outdoor Track & Field (USTFCCCA First Team; 2nd place 10000m) • Emily Venters, Outdoor Track & Field (USTFCCCA First Team; 3rd place 5000m) • Simone Plourde, Indoor Track & Field (USTFCCCA First Team, 4th place, 3000m) • Simone Plourde, Outdoor Track & Field (USTFCCCA First Team, 7th place, 5000m) • Simone Plourde, Outdoor Track & Field (USTFCCCA Second Team, 1500m) • Dinedye Denis, Outdoor Track & Field (USTFCCCA Honorable Mention, 400m Hurdles)
EMILY VENTERS
• Novie McCabe, Women’s Nordic Skiing (20K Classic, First Team) • Novie McCabe, Women’s Nordic Skiing (5K Freestyle, First Team)
• Sophia Laukli, Women’s Nordic Skiing (20K Classic, First Team, 3rd place) • Sophia Laukli, Women’s Nordic Skiing (5K Freestyle, First Team, 4th place) • Sydney Palmer-Leger, Women’s Nordic Skiing (20K Classic, First Team, 5th place) • Madison Hoffman, Women’s Alpine Skiing (Giant Slalom, First Team) • Madison Hoffman, Women’s Alpine Skiing (Slalom, First Team)
SIMONE PLOURDE
SYDNEY PALMER-LEGER
NOVIE MCCABE
MADISON HOFFMAN
• Katie Parker, Women’s Alpine Skiing (Giant Slalom, Second Team, 10th place) • Samuel Hendry, Men’s Nordic Skiing (20K Classic, First Team, 4th place) • Luke Jager, Men’s Nordic Skiing (10K Freestyle, Second Team, 6th place) • Walker Hall, Men’s Nordic Skiing (10K Freestyle, Second Team, 8th place) • Gustav Vøllo, Men’s Alpine Skiing (Giant Slalom, Second Team, 7th place) • Wilhelm Normannseth, Men’s Alpine Skiing (Slalom, First Team, 2nd place)
SAMUEL HENDRY
• Alissa Pili, Women’s Basketball (WBCA; Second-team AP & USBWA) • Andrei Ungur, Men’s Swimming (100 Back, First Team, 5th place) • Holly Waxman, Women’s Diving (1m, Second Team, 15th place) • Maile O’Keefe, Gymnastics (NCAA First Team all-around) • Maile O’Keefe, Gymnastics (NCAA First Team, bars) • Maile O’Keefe, Gymnastics (NCAA First Team, beam; WCGA first-team regular season beam) • Maile O’Keefe, Gymnastics (NCAA First Team, floor) • Cristal Isa, Gymnastics (NCAA First Team on beam, second-team on bars; WCGA second-team regular season on beam) ALISSA PILI
• Grace McCallum, Gymnastics (NCAA First Team on bars) • Abby Brenner, Gymnastics (NCAA Second Team on bars) • Makenna Smith, Gymnastics (NCAA First Team on vault)
• Kara Eaker, Gymnastics (WCGA First Team regular season on beam) • Jaedyn Rucker, Gymnastics (WCGA Second Team regular season on vault) • Mariah Lopez, P, Softball (NFCA Third Team) • Ellessa Bonstrom, IF, Softball (D1Softball Second Team)
MARIAH LOPEZ
GRACE MCCALLUM
CRISTAL ISA
MAILE O’KEEFE
ACADEMIC AWARDS
• Luke McDivitt, Men’s Swimming & Diving (CSC Academic All-America 2nd Team; CSC Academic All-District) • R.J. Hubert, Football (CSC Academic All-America 2nd Team; CSC Academic All-District) • Samuel Hendry, Men’s Skiing (CSC Academic All-America 1st team; CSC Academic All-District) • Tyler Bradbury, Lacrosse (CSC Academic All-America; CSC Academic All-District) • Novie McCabe, Women’s Skiing (CSC Academic All-America; CSC Academic All-District) • Madison Hoffman, Women’s Skiing (CSC Academic All-America; CSC Academic All-District) • Abby Paulson, Gymnastics (CSC Academic All-America; CSC Academic All-District) • Men’s & Women’s Swimming & Diving (CSCAA Scholar All-America Team)
• Bryson Barnes, Football (CSC Academic All-District) • Connor O’Toole, Football (CSC Academic All-District) • Karene Reid, Football (CSC Academic All-District) • Courtney Brown, Soccer (CSC Academic All-District) • Kaitlyn Conley, Soccer (CSC Academic All-District) • Haley Farrar, Soccer (CSC Academic All-District) • Kylee Geis, Soccer (CSC Academic All-District) • Maryn Granger, Soccer (CSC Academic All-District) • Kamry Bailey, Volleyball (CSC Academic All-District) • Allie Olsen, Volleyball (CSC Academic All-District) • Emily Smith, Volleyball (CSC Academic All-District) • Amelia Van Der Werff, Volleyball (CSC Academic All-District) • Noah Carlson, Men’s Swimming & Diving (CSC Academic All-District) • Parker McOmber, Men’s Swimming & Diving (CSC Academic All-District) • Preston Planells, Men’s Swimming & Diving (CSC Academic All-District) • Katie Hale, Women’s Swimming & Diving (CSC Academic All-District) • Kayla Miller, Women’s Swimming & Diving (CSC Academic All-District)
• Lexi Mills, Women’s Swimming & Diving (CSC Academic All-District) • Charity Pittard, Women’s Swimming & Diving (CSC Academic All-District) • Kennady McQueen, Women’s Basketball (CSC Academic All-District) • Jenna Johnson, Women’s Basketball (CSC Academic All-District) • Gianna Kneepkens, Women’s Basketball (CSC Academic All-District) • Luke Jager, Men’s Skiing (CSC Academic All-District) • Wilhelm Normannseth, Men’s Skiing (CSC Academic All-District)
• Maile O’Keefe, Gymnastics (CSC Academic All-District) • Haley Denning, Softball (CSC Academic All-District) • Jordyn Gasper, Softball (CSC Academic All-District) • Kendall Lundberg, Softball (CSC Academic All-District) • Dakota Duffalo, Baseball (CSC Academic All-District) • Jaden Harris, Baseball (CSC Academic All-District) • Randon Hostert, Baseball (CSC Academic All-District) • Blake Whiting, Baseball (CSC Academic All-District)
• Anastasia Goncharova, Women’s Tennis (CSC Academic All-District) • Samantha Horwood, Women’s Tennis (CSC Academic All-District) • Grace Andrews, Beach Volleyball (CSC Academic All-District) • Madison Tattini, Women’s Tennis (CSC Academic All-District) • Keelah Barger, Cross Country/Track & Field (CSC Academic All-District) • Lauren Peterson, Cross Country/Track & Field (CSC Academic All-District) • Simone Plourde, Cross Country/Track & Field (CSC Academic All-District) • Emily Venters, Cross Country/Track & Field (CSC Academic All-District) • Rachel Whipple, Cross Country/Track & Field (CSC Academic All-District)
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE Utah Athletics strives for excellence in the classroom, competition and our community. In addition to a record-setting year in athletic competition, our nearly 600 student-athletes continued to demonstrate the culture of excellence that has become a hallmark of the Utes’ athletics programs. “When we talk about a culture of excellence, we apply that standard to every facet of our athletics department, and our student-athletes continue to raise the bar on those expectations. We are constantly inspired by their commitment to compete for championships, represent the university in the community, and most of all to excel in their academic endeavors and graduate. Every meaningful metric demonstrates their success, and we could not be prouder to celebrate their achievements.” - Mark Harlan GRADUATION SUCCESS RATE Ninety-three percent of student-athletes at the U graduated within six years of enrolling, according to the latest NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GRS) released in November. This marks the fifth consecutive year that Utah’s score has met or exceeded the 93-percent benchmark. • Utah’s 93 percent rate is tied for the fourth-highest figure among Power Five public institutions and is tied for the sixth-highest score among all institutions at the Power Five level.
• Utah’s overall GSR is tied for second in the Pac-12 Conference behind Stanford, which came in at 96 percent.
• Ten programs achieved a perfect (100%) GSR score: Baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, gymnastics, lacrosse, men’s skiing, women’s skiing, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and volleyball.
ACADEMIC PROGRESS RATE Utah student-athletes performed among the best in the nation in both the single-year and multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) for 2021-22. The APR accounts for eligibility, retention and graduation of all student-athletes on scholarship, and provides a measure of each team’s academic performance. • Three sports tied for best in the Pac-12 with perfect scores of 1000: soccer, women’s swimming and diving and beach volleyball. Football a multi-year score of .988, ranking No. 1 in the Pac-12. • Four of the Utes’ sport programs earned perfect multi-year marks of 1000: men’s skiing, women’s soccer, women’s swimming and diving and beach volleyball. • Twelve teams earned perfect 1000 single-year scores for the 2021-22 report: women’s basketball, cross-country, men’s golf, gymnastics, women’s skiing, men’s skiing, soccer, women’s swimming and diving, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, track & field and beach volleyball. DEPARTMENTAL GPA Utah student-athletes produced the third-highest full-year GPA on record with a 3.355 for 2022-23. • The Spring 2023 GPA of 3.384 is the fourth-highest semester grade-point average with every team earning a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
• The Fall 2022 GPA of 3.328 ranks sixth all-time.
• Utah has now achieved 34 consecutive semesters with a departmental GPA of 3.00 or higher.
• The past seven semesters have seen Utah’s student-athletes post the seven best GPAs in department history.
COMMENCEMENT Congratulations to the 109 student-athletes who took part in the University of Utah’s 154th general commencement in May, honoring those who earned degrees from the Fall 2022, and Spring and Summer 2023 semesters.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
• Ute student-athletes have logged nearly 1,500 hours of community service over the past year.
• Through the Ute Academy Leadership Program, 21 student-athletes participated in a nine-week leadership program, which ended in a 7-day service expedition in the village of Sumaco, Ecuador. • Numerous programs took part in the Bennion Center’s Legacy of Lowell event, a clothing drive for the LGBTQ Youth Resource Center, making blankets for a children’s hospital, supplying teddy bears and cards for children at a Valentine’s Day dinner, volunteering at elementary schools, and the department’s annual Truck-or-Treat event. • Women’s basketball helped raise money for various charities from three-pointers made at Pac-12 Conference home games.
• Women’s volleyball participated in this year’s Ute Tribe Storytelling Camp and joined the kids for an evening hike.
• Women’s gymnastics and swimming & diving student-athletes participated in the annual campus Imagine U Day event, taking part in activities with middle school kids from across the Salt Lake Valley. • Men’s lacrosse made donations to the Utah Food Bank, created hygiene kits for for the Rescue Mission of Salt Lake and volunteered at the Hope Lodge Bingo Night.
TOM HANSEN MEDAL
Softball player Ellessa Bonstrom and football’s Dalton Kincaid were Utah’s recipients of the 2022-23 Tom Hansen Pac-12 Conference Medal. The Conference Medal is awarded annually to each member institution’s outstanding senior male and female student-athlete based on the exhibition of the greatest combination of performance and achievement in scholarship, athletics and leadership. Bonstrom wrapped up her degree in information systems in 2022 and was a NFCA All-American and a two-time NFCA All-Pacific Region honoree. Kincaid earned his degree in business administration in 2023 after being picked in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills. He was named All-American by three different organizations in 2022.
BUILDING CHAMPIONS. IMPACTING GENERATIONS. WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! IN 2022-23, OUR CRIMSON CLUB MEMBERSHIP HAS MADE A TREMENDOUS IMPACT ON OUR UTE STUDENT-ATHLETES.
10,500+ RECORD NUMBER OF MEMBERS 430 STUDENT-ATHLETES RECEIVING FULL OR PARTIAL SCHOLARSHIP AID
$47.2+ Million ALL-TIME HIGH IN DONOR CONTRIBUTIONS 321 SCHOLARSHIP CIRCLE MEMBERS
CROSS COUNTRY ■ Placed 12th at the NCAA Championships for the highest finish in program history.
■ All-American Emily Venters had Utah’s best finish at nationals all-time by placing 12th.
■ Ranked No. 7 nationally by the USTFCCCA entering the NCAA Championships. Had its highest NCAA Regional finish by placing second to secure its first-ever automatic bid to nationals. ■ Runner-up at the Pac-12 Conference Championships after tying for first in scoring and then officially being awarded second place with the tie-breaker. ■ Emily Venters became the second Utah runner to earn back-to-back first-team All-Pac-12 honors and was joined on the All-Pac-12 list by Simone Plourde.
■ Emily Venters, Simone Plourde and Keelah Barger earned All-Region honors at the NCAA Mountain Regionals.
SOCCER ■ Continued to make strides in year two under Hideki Nakada with a 6-7-6 overall mark and a 2-5-4 record in the Pac-12 Conference.
■ Recorded league wins over Arizona and Oregon State. Had six victories and two ties in home games at Ute Field.
■ Thirteen Utes contributed goals last year. Rising senior forward Taliana Kaufusi paced the attack with six goals and 12 points. Midfielder Courtney Brown, who returns, and midfielder/forward Madeline Vergura both had nine points with three goals and three assists. ■ Evie Vitali and Kasey Wardle both spent time as the starting goalkeeper and return this fall. Wardle allowed only four goals in seven appearances with a 0.70 goals-against average, the best mark by a Ute since 2016.
FOOTBALL ■ Went 10-4 overall and 7-2 in conference play to advance to the Pac-12 Championship game for the fourth time since 2018. ■ Won its second consecutive Pac-12 title with 47-24 triumph over No. 4 USC, earning a Rose Bowl berth for the second year in a row and the program’s fourth appearance in a New Year Six bowl game.
■ Finished No. 8 in final CFP rankings, No. 10 in the Associated Press Top 25 and 11th in AFCA Coaches Poll.
■ Head Coach Kyle Whittingham was a Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year finalist.
■ Cornerback Clark Phillips III earned unanimous All-America honors, becoming the fourth Ute overall to do so and the first defensive player. He was named the AP Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, a finalist for the Thorpe Award, semifinalist for the Bednarik Award. He recorded nine career interceptions that included a school-record-tying four pick-sixes. ■ Tight end Dalton Kincaid was an Associated Press third team All-American and a John Mackey Award semifinalist. He put up a team-high 70 receptions and led all FBS tight ends with 890 receiving yards and 74.2 receiving yards per game during the regular season. His eight touchdowns ranked second among FBS tight ends.
■ Offensive linemen Braeden Daniels and Sataoa Laumea joined Phillips and Kincaid on the All-Pac-12 first team.
■ Defensive tackle Junior Tafuna and linebacker Karene Reid both earned second team All-Pac-12 honors and return in 2023.
■ Lander Barton named Pac-12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year.
■ Three Utes were taken in the 2023 NFL Draft, led by tight end Dalton Kincaid,who was taken as the No. 25 overall pick in the first round. He became Utah’s 10th first round selection in program history. Defensive back Clark Phillips III and offensive lineman Braeden Daniels were both fourth round selections.
VOLLEYBALL ■ Ranked in the AVCA Top 25 early in the season, setting a program record with 45 consecutive weeks in the national rankings from 2019-22.
■ Finished the year 15-16 overall and 8-12 in the Pac-12 Conference.
■ Senior Madelyn Robinson was an honorable mention AVCA All-American. It was the seventh consecutive season that a Ute has landed All-America honors and Robinson became the 15th AVCA All-American in school history. ■ Robinson also earned All-Pacific South Region and first team All-Pac-12 Conference honors for the second year in a row. In her final year with the Utes, Robinson finished 11th in the nation with 4.51 kills per set and led the Utes in kills in all but two of the matches in which she appeared. ■ KJ Burgess was named the AVCA Pacific South Region’s Freshman of the Year and made the All-Pac-12 Freshman Team. Burgess led all Pac-12 freshmen with a .376 hitting percentage and 1.20 blocks per set. She ranked in the top-six nationally among freshmen and in the top five in the Pac-12 overall in both categories.
MEN’S SWIM & DIVE ■ Andre Ungur was a first team All-American after taking fifth at the NCAA Championships in the 100 back. He also qualified for nationals in the 50 free and the 200 backstroke. Ungur earned a medal in the 100 back at the Pac-12 Championships, breaking his own program record. Unger has been a three-time All-American. ■ Jaek Horner put the finishing touches on his fantastic year by earning his highest finish at the NCAA Championships, taking 35th in the 200 breaststroke. Horner also qualified for NCAAs 100 breaststroke and the 200 individual medley. Horner broke program records in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. ■ Luke McDivitt placed 29th on platform at the NCAA Championships. He also qualified for nationals in the 1 meter and 3 meter events. McDivitt placed third in the men’s platform at the Pac-12 Championships. McDivitt was an All-American on the platform in 2020 and 2021. ■ Freshman Elias Petersen qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 1 meter and the 3 meter. He earned a pair of Pac-12 Championships medals and Utah’s best-ever score in the 1 meter.
WOMEN’S SWIM & DIVE ■ Holly Waxman won the bronze medal in the 1 meter at the Pac-12 Championships and was fourth in the platform. She grabbed 15th in the 1 meter to become a second team All-American and 26th in the platform at NCAAs, marking back-to-back seasons in which Waxman finished inside the top 40 at the NCAA Championships in two different competitions. Waxman will head into her third season as Ute owning the No. 2 scores in school history in both the 1 meter and 3 meter. ■ Kathryn Grant had one of the strongest showings ever for a Utah freshman on the platform at nationals, finishing 21st, while also placing 25th in the 1 meter. Grant sits in fourth in school history in both 3 meter and platform rankings.
■ Cameron Daniell claimed a spot in the program’s top 10 rankings in the 1650 free at the Pac-12 Championships, earning a 12th-place finish.
■ Norah Hay claimed sixth all-time in Ute history in the 100 backstroke by placing 15th at Pac-12s.
MEN’S BASKETBALL ■ Finished 17-15 on the season and 10-10 in the Pac-12 Conference, making a six-win improvement overall and in league play from the previous year. It was also the most wins since 2018-19 and as head coach Craig Smith heads into his third season.
■ Ranked 14th in field goal percentage defense (39.7) and 19th in three-point percentage defense (30.2).
■ Center Branden Carlson, who has elected to come back for his super senior season, was named first team All-Pac-12 and NABC All-District. Carlson averaging 16.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.0 blocks.
■ Branden Carlson is tied for 24th in career scoring at Utah with 1,279 points and ranks third with 187 blocked shots.
■ Gabe Madsen was the team’s second-leading scorer at 11.6 points per game and shot a team-best 36.9 percent from three-point range. ■ Rollie Worster paced the Runnin’ Utes with 4.9 assists per game while also contributing 8.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
SKIING ■ Captured its 16th national championship all-time as well as the program’s fourth consecutive title and fifth in the last six meets.
■ First program to win four straight titles since the NCAA combined the men’s and women’s championship.
■ Madison Hoffman took both the women’s NCAA slalom and giant slalom titles, becoming the first Utah skier since 1990 to win both alpine championships.
■ Novie McCabe was the NCAA champion in the women’s 5K freestyle and 20K classic, giving her three career national titles.
■ Wilhelm Normannseth was the NCAA men’s runner-up in the slalom.
■ Five alpine All-America awards at the 2023 NCAA Championships. In addition to first team honors for Madison Hoffman and Wilhelm Normannseth, Katie Parker and Gustav Vøllo made the second team. ■ Six Nordic All-American awards included two each for Sophia Laukli and Novie McCabe with Samuel Hendry and Sydney Palmer-Leger claiming one. ■ Won every meet on the schedule and took both the RMISA regular season and post-season championships with 18 All-RMISA individual awards.
■ Luke Jager in the classic and Novie McCabe in the freestyle were named MVPs of the RMISA.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ■ Reached the Sweet 16 of NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 regional seed, the highest in program history
■ Made its third trip to Sweet 16 all-time and first since 2005-06 while tying for second-most wins in program history with 27.
■ Hosted the NCAA Tournament first and second rounds, getting wins over No. 15 seed Gardner-Webb and No. 10 seed Princeton.
■ Tournament run came to an end with a narrow defeat to eventual national champion LSU in Sweet 16.
■ Spent 13 weeks ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press Poll and 19 consecutive weeks ranked in the poll overall, more than doubling the program record.
■ Ascended to ranking of No. 3 in AP poll on March 1, the highest in program history.
■ Junior Alissa Pili earned All-America honors from the WBCA, AP (second-team) and USBWA (second-team). She led the team with 20.7 points per game, which ranked first in the Pac-12 and 16th nationally, and shot 59.0 percent from the field, which ranked first in the Pac-12 and 14th nationally.
■ Alissa Pili was one of four finalists for the Naismith Player of the Year Award.
■ Head Coach Lynne Roberts was one of four finalists for the Naismith Coach of the Year.
GYMNASTICS ■ Third-place finish at NCAA Championships for third year in a row. Won its semifinal session with the highest score at nationals in school history with a 198.225. Remains the only team to qualify for the national championships all 47 years. ■ Captured the Pac-12 Conference Championship, becoming the only team in league history since 2012 to win three-consecutive championship meets. The Red Rocks also claimed a share of their fourth consecutive Pac-12 regular-season title. ■ Maile O’Keefe earned the first NCAA all-around title by a Red Rock since 1999 and the first beam title by a Ute since 2007 with a perfect 10.0. O’Keefe holds four NCAA individual titles, which ranks second in program history, heading into her super senior season. ■ Grace McCallum and Maile O’Keefe were the NCAA runners-up on bars (9.95) and Cristal Isa was the runner-up on beam (9.9625). ■ Five NCAA All-Americans with Maile O’Keefe earning first-team honors on bars and floor in addition to bars and the all-around. Cristal Isa made the first team on beam and second-team on bars. Grace McCallum was first team on bars and Makenna Smith was first team on vault.
■ Abby Brenner, who was the Pac-12 Conference champion on vault, was a second team All-American on bars.
MEN’S TENNIS ■ Placed 12th at the NCAA Championships for the highest finish in program history.
■ All-American Emily Venters had Utah’s best finish at nationals all-time by placing 12th.
■ Ranked No. 7 nationally by the USTFCCCA entering the NCAA Championships. Had its highest NCAA Regional finish by placing second to secure its first-ever automatic bid to nationals. ■ Runner-up at the Pac-12 Conference Championships after tying for first in scoring and then officially being awarded second place with the tie-breaker. ■ Emily Venters became the second Utah runner to earn back-to-back first-team All-Pac-12 honors and was joined on the All-Pac-12 list by Simone Plourde.
■ Emily Venters, Simone Plourde and Keelah Barger earned All-Region honors at the NCAA Mountain Regionals.
WOMEN’S TENNIS ■ Compiled a 13-11 overall record and the most Pac-12 wins since 2015 under head coach Ric Mortera.
■ Marcela Lopez was named the ITA Mountain Region Rookie of the Year. During the spring season, Lopez posted a 15-5 singles record and a 14-7 mark in doubles play. ■ Five individuals in the ITA Mountain Region Top 20, led by Kaila Barksdale, who was No. 6. Senior Madison Tattini came in at No. 11 while Marcela Lopez found a spot at No. 13. Anastasia Goncharova was No. 15 and Katya Townsend was No. 16. ■ The doubles team of Anastasia Goncharova and Madison Tattini ended the season ranked at No. 2 after spotting an 8-7 mark at the top of the lineup. Kaila Barksdale and Marcela Lopez were
LACROSSE
■ Undefeated regular season in the ASUN and won the conference tournament, earning the program its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth. Utah’s 12 victories are the most in school history. ■ One of the best offensive attacks in the nation, ranking second in assists per game (9.27), points per game (26.33) and scoring offense (17.07) entering the NCAAs. Also third in ground balls per game (38.20) and fourth in scoring margin (+4.73).
■ Head Coach Andrew McMinn repeated as ASUN Coach of the Year.
■ Ryan Stines was named ASUN Freshman of the Year.
■ Junior defender Joey Boylston made the ASUN first team a second-consecutive year, recording 52 ground balls and a team-high 22 caused turnovers. ■ Senior defender Samuel Cambere repeated as first team All-ASUN selection, putting up 13 points on nine assists and four goals.
■ Junior Tyler Bradbury was first team all-league while setting school records with 55 points and 23 assists.
■ Junior Jordan Hyde ranked 13th nationally and first in the ASUN with 3.13 goals per game, also ranking fourth in the country and first in the league with a .495 shot percentage (.495).
BEACH VOLLEYBALL ■ Second season with a fully beach-recruited roster and finished with 11 wins, which included two Pac-12 victories against Oregon.
■ Picked up its first win at the Pac-12 Championships since 2018, defeating Oregon in the opening round.
■ Sophomore Amaya Messier and freshman Katie McAlister held down the top spot for the Utes in all but two matches and earned 13 wins on court one, which is the most wins on the team as a pair.
■ Sophomores Kylie Pitzak and Sydney Jacinto tied for the second-most wins on the team as a pair, collecting 11 victories.
GOLF ■ Javier Barcos was named to the All-Pac-12 second team. Barcos posted a pair of top five finishes, including his first tournament victory at the Oregon State Invitational, and crafted a team-best stroke average of 71.4. He had the second-highest finish ever by a Ute at the Pac-12 Championships by coming in 8-under to take fourth, coming in ahead of 11 players ranked in the top 100 nationally. He also qualified for NCAA Regionals. • Braxton Watts had the second-most rounds behind Barcos with 32. He had one top 10 finish and three placings in the top 20 in 11 events, finishing with a 74.4 stroke average. • Go Nakatsukasa finished with Utah’s second-best stroke average of 73.0 in 18 rounds. Hunter Howe played in 25 rounds in eight events with a pair of top 20 finishes. He had a 74.3 stroke average.
TRACK & FIELD ■ Finished 15th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and placed 21st at the NCAA Indoor Championships, both tops in program history. ■ Distance runners Emily Venters and Simone Plourde became the seventh and eighth athletes in the program’s history to earn multiple All-America awards. Venters earned four of her five career All-America awards this past year in cross country and track. ■ Emily Venters became the highest NCAA finisher in program history as was the runner-up in the 10,000 meters. Emily Venters took third and Simone Plourde placed seventh in the 5,000 at the outdoor championships, both garnering first team All-America honors. Plourde also qualified for NCAAs in the 1,500 meters. ■ Dinedye Denis qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 400-meter hurdles and was an honorable mention All-American. ■ Simone Plourde captured the 1,500 meters and Emily Venters won the 10,000 meters and to give the Women of Utah their first-ever Pac-12 Conference track & field titles. Utah scored its most points at a Pac-12 Championship meet with 45, recording its highest team finish of ninth.
■ During the indoor season, Simone Plourde finished fourth in the 3,000 and Emily Venters placed fifth in the 5,000.
BASEBALL ■ Left-handed pitcher Micah Ashman was tabbed All-Pac-12. The rising junior from Sandy had nine saves to finish the regular season ranked second in the Pac-12 and 24th nationally. Ashman’s nine saves were the most by a Utah pitcher since 2016. He finished the year with a 3.63 ERA in 34.2 innings pitched, 38 strikeouts and just five walks over 23 relief appearances. • First baseman Jayden Kiernan became Utah’s first .400 hitter in a full season in the Pac-12 era. He finished the regular season 23rd in the country with a .402 average and was edged by just two points for the league batting title. Kiernan belted a team-leading 74 hits to rank top-five in the Pac-12. He contributed 11 doubles, five home runs and 32 RBI. • Outfielder TJ Clarkson and right-handed pitcher Zac McCleve were placed on the honorable mention team. Clarkson reset career-highs in every major offensive category including a .301 batting average, .628 slugging, .464 on-base percentage, 18 doubles, 14 home runs and 45 RBI. McCleve, from West Valley City, capped off a career that saw the submariner make a program-record 107 appearances.
SOFTBALL ■ Earned a ticket to the Women’s College World Series for the first time since 1994 for the sixth time in school history. Final ranking in the top eight by all four national polls. ■ Finished the season with a 42-16 record for the most wins since 2000 and their .724 winning percentage was the program’s highest since 1994. Achieved the highest conference win total at 15-9 since they joined the Pac-12. ■ Post-season run included winning the first-ever Pac-12 Conference Tournament, taking down No. 2 UCLA in the final. The Utes also won the NCAA Regional and Super Regional rounds in Salt Lake City. ■ Senior infielder Ellessa Bonstrom was named a second team All-American by D1Softball.com. Bonstrom carved out spots in the Pac-12’s top 10 in runs, doubles, homers, RBIs, walks, stolen bases, on-base percentage and slugging. ■ Junior pitcher Mariah Lopez was named a third team All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Lopez was also the Pac-12 Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Her 23 victories were second in the Pac-12 and she was second in the league in complete games and strikeouts. ■ Record eight players made the All-Pac-12 team and were selected to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Pacific Region squad.
CONSILDATED BUDGET
3.44%
NCAA - $3,338,798
8.32%
UNIVERSITY SUPPORT - $8,072,357
11.25%
TICKET SALES - $10,915,000
11.53%
PAC-12 CONFERENCE - $11,187,833
24.11%
DONATIONS - $23,391,361
42.15%
OTHER - $40,890,045
TOTAL - 97,000,000
1.06%
6.26%
DEBT SERVICE - $6,078,015
11.83%
STUDENT-ATHLETE AID - $11,481,276
36.24%
OPERATIONS - $35,156,839
0.33%
46.47%
SALARIES - $45,079,264
1.61%
0.97%
TOTAL - 97,000,000
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