Utes Bulletin: Things Happening In Utah Athletics (Week Of 1/16/23)
Jan 17, 2023, 10:03 AM | Updated: 4:32 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – With football on a bit of a hiatus till February’s final signing period for the 2023 class and several of the smaller sports in full-swing and having success for the Utes, we thought a one-stop-shop for little tidbits of information might be helpful for you, the fan with a Utah Bulletin.
If you missed anything from the previous week, you can review that here.
Without further ado, here is this week’s bulletin that includes ranking updates, upcoming events for the week, and important dates to keep track of among other things of interest concerning Utah Athletics for the week of 1/16/23.
Utah Athletics 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊!
🏀 @UtahMBB
🏊🏻 @UTAHswimdive
🏃♀️ @Utah_trackfield
🎾 @UteWomensTennis
🎾 @UtahTennis
🤸♀️ @UtahGymnastics
🏀 @UTAHWBB🎟️ https://t.co/pL7bwJzVjf#GoUtes #UtahAthletics pic.twitter.com/ZExazQbKWv
— Utah Athletics (@utahathletics) January 16, 2023
Utah Gymnastics
The ladies had another great week coming in first at the Rio Tinto Best of Utah Meet all while matching or improving their scores from a week ago against LSU.
The First Perfect 10
Only two meets into the season and the Red Rocks already got their first perfect 10 of the season from a beautiful Kara Eaker beam routine. Eaker ended up missing a big chunk of her freshman season last year after an injury at the Best of Utah Meet slowed her progress in 2022, but she most certainly came roaring back at the same meet in 2023 with her big score for the Utes.
— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) January 14, 2023
Grace McCallum also came close to earning a 10 herself on bars. One judge gave her the flawless score while another gave her a 9.950 bringing the score down to a 9.975.
Pac-12 Specialist of the Week
Eaker ended up earning Pac-12 Specialist of the Week honors after her perfect 10 performance from the conference. It is the first recognition from the conference for the Red Rocks so far in the young 2023 season.
Climbing The Rankings
Utah moved up in the rankings on Monday after putting up a solid 197.750 in the Best of Utah Meet going from No. 6 to No. 5.
𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗞 𝟮 ⇨ 𝗥𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱 #𝟱
Event Rankings ⤵️
Vault: 4th
Bars: 8th
Beam: 1st
Floor: 9th#trUSt pic.twitter.com/GadL2QWlTQ— Utah Gymnastics (@UtahGymnastics) January 16, 2023
Who, What, Where, When Up Next
The Red Rocks will now turn their attention this week to another big meet that should really test where they are at as a team. Utah will be flying to Norman, Oklahoma to take on the reigning National Champion and No. 1 ranked Oklahoma Sooners.
The meet will take place Sunday, January 22 at 6 p.m. MT and can be viewed on ESPN.
Utah Women’s Basketball
While we had to wait a few extra days more than anticipated to see the Utah women’s basketball team back in action at the Huntsman Center, they certainly made it worth it. The women played host to the No. 14 Arizona Wildcats, and it lived up to its “Top-15 Showdown” billing.
With just seconds remaining in the game and being down by one, Alissa Pili drew a foul for the Utes and took a trip to the line. Unphased, Pili sank her two free-throws and then hustled down the court to make sure the Wildcats had no chance to pull off a miracle inbounding and shot.
What 👏🏽 A 👏🏽 WIN 👏🏽#GoUtes #UteProud #LightTheU pic.twitter.com/edNssEOY1o
— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) January 15, 2023
Climbing The Rankings
The Utes climbed up two spots in the latest AP Top 25 Poll for their exciting win over Arizona going from No. 10 last week to No. 8 this week. This is the longest the women’s team has stayed in the Top-25 in program history.
8️⃣📈
10 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬… our longest streak in program history 🙌#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/lA2BtMyP3w
— Utah Women’s Basketball (@UTAHWBB) January 16, 2023
Who, What, Where, When Up Next
This week the women will be on the road once more heading to the Bay Area to take on the Northern California schools.
First up, Utah will face their biggest challenge of the trip going against the No. 4 ranked Stanford Cardinal (first place in the Pac-12). The game will take place Friday, January 20 at 7 p.m. MT and can be viewed on Pac-12 Networks.
The Utes will then turn their attention to Cal on Sunday, January 22 at 5 p.m. MT, also on the Pac-12 Networks.
Utah Men’s Basketball
The Runnin’ Utes will be returning home to the Huntsman Center this week after a rough three-game stretch that includes a loss to Oregon at home and two losses on the road last week to UCLA and USC.
BRANDEN CARLSON, ARE YOU KIDDING 🤯
📺 Pac-12 Network
📱 https://t.co/BqMenn4YBi #Pac12MBB | @UtahMBB pic.twitter.com/7EHVpjPt0h— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) January 15, 2023
Who, What, Where, When Up Next
Utah will be hosting the Washington schools at the Huntsman this week with hopes of getting back on track to finish out the season strong.
Washington State will roll through first on Thursday, January 19 at 7 p.m. MT with the game airing on the Pac-12 Networks.
Utah will then turn around and welcome in Washington on Saturday, January 21 at 6 p.m. MT. That game will also be aired on the Pac-12 Networks.
Utah Football
It’s still fairly quiet for the Utes when it comes to football right now, but there are a few things of interest happening.
Transfer Portal Closes This Week
The NCAA Transfer Portal will be closing up this week on Wednesday, January 18 and won’t open up again until May. Utah hasn’t seen a ton of movement on this front making it seem likely the biggest turnover we will see from the Utes will come after spring ball when the portal opens back up in May.
Final Signing Day For The 2023 Class
The Late Signing Period for college football is coming up on February 1. Utah should mostly be set for their 2023 class, but there could be a name or two that comes up on that day to round the class out.
Ute fans should pay particular attention to tight end Walker Lyons in the lead up to the final signing day for the 2023 class. Lyons was a Stanford commit but backed off of it and opened his recruiting back up till the late signing period. It is largely believed his decision will come down to Utah and National Champion Georgia.
Shoutout @Utah_Football for stopping by the house today!! Really enjoyed my time! @FWhittinghamJr @UtahCoachWhitt @coachjharding #GoUtes 🙌🏽🔴 pic.twitter.com/73wz8xjUFs
— Walker Lyons (@walkerly0ns) January 17, 2023
2024 Recruiting Gearing Up
Recruiting never ends and Utah has already begun their work for the 2024 signing class while finishing up 2023. Over the weekend the Utes hosted a “who’s who” of 2024 prospects at the football facility that included Isaac Wilson among others.
Look for some of the first 2024 commits to start trickling in as the weeks go by through spring ball.
One More Names To Watch During NFL Preparations
Safety RJ Hubert announced last week he will be pursuing a shot at the NFL. There was some speculation he may be another name coming back to the Utes for the 2023 season, but ultimately opted to move on.
View this post on Instagram
They will be joining fellow teammates Clark Phillips III, Dalton Kincaid, Mohamoud Diabate, Solomon Enis, Tavion Thomas, Gabe Reid, and Logan Kendall on the “Path to the Draft”.
2023 Pac-12 Football Schedule Release Date
The Pac-12 will finally be releasing their 2023 football schedule on Wednesday, January 18 at 11 a.m. MT. Ashley Adamson and Yogi Roth will be doing a live show on Pac-12 Network at that time to breakdown everyone’s path to the 2023 Conference Championship Game.
.@pac12 will officially release the 2023 football schedule on Wednesday, January 18 at 11 am MT on @Pac12Network. #GoUtes #UteProud
— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) January 17, 2023
Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for KSLsports.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram: @BodkinKSLsports
