SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – New University of Utah head men’s basketball coach Craig Smith received some big news as Riley Battin will return to the program.

Riley Battin put his name into the NCAA Transfer Portal on March 24, just days before Craig Smith was hired as the next Utah basketball head coach. Battin was recruited by Larry Krystkowiak, who was fired on March 16 after 10 seasons at the helm. Always known as a coachable player that works hard and is as competitive as they come, Battin will be a massive addition to the team as Smith begins his tenure with the Runnin’ Utes.

Battin – who was a captain last season – announced his decision to pull his name from the portal and return to Utah on Tuesday afternoon. He tweeted “Utah, let’s run it back!”

UTAH, let’s run it back! @UtahMBB pic.twitter.com/yTtTCYAyns

— Riley Battin (@battin_riley) March 31, 2021

Battin started his career at Utah in 2018-19 where he started in 21 of the 31 games he played as a true freshman. He averaged 6.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. During the 2019-20 season as a sophomore, Battin started in 28 of the 31 games played, posting averages of 7.8 points and 4.6 rebounds.

This past season, Battin’s role was primarily off the bench, starting in 9 of the 25 games. He averaged 6.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest.

Coming out of high school in Oak Park, California, Battin was a three-star prospect in the 2018 class. He was the No. 22 ranked recruit in the state of California. He received offers from Davidson, Ohio State, Vanderbilt, American, Bucknell, Cal Poly, Clemson, Colorado, Georgia Tech, Loyola Marymount, Northwestern, Portland, San Francisco, San Jose State, UC Santa Barbara, Utah State, Washington State and Yale.

Four Utah players remain in the portal, with one going in after Smith was hired. Timmy Allen, Lahat Thioune and Jordan Kellier put their names in before Craig Smith was hired. Alfonso Plummer entered the portal after Smith was put in as head coach.

Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for KSLSports.com and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports. You can download and listen to the podcast, here.