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SALT LAKE CITY — Before Utah lost its first-round matchup of the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas a week ago, change in the offseason was certain.
The makeup of the roster was going to change — not just because of the seniors leaving the program. Frankly, another losing season wasn't going to cut it under Craig Smith's tenure as head coach and Utah could stay put with its current roster.
Queue the transfer portal as Smith looks to improve his talent.
On Tuesday, Smith's job got a little more difficult as long-time assistant coach Eric Peterson will be named head coach at South Dakota, the Summit League Conference school announced. A press conference officially announcing Peterson as head coach will take place Wednesday at 11 a.m.
Peterson, who was one of Smith's best recruiters over the years and was instrumental to Smith's success over the years, served as his assistant when Smith was head coach at South Dakota from 2014-18. He later followed Smith to both Utah State and Utah before his promotion Tuesday.
Beyond Peterson accepting a head coaching position, Utah also had Riley Battin enter the transfer portal Tuesday. Battin entered his name into the transfer portal last season after then-head coach Larry Krystkowiak was fired from the program, but Smith brought him back to help stabilize an ever-changing roster.
Battin, who was once a starter under Krystkowiak's tenure, had his minutes decrease as the season progressed under Smith. The senior, who will look to utilize his extra year of eligibility due to COVID, averaged only 17.1 minutes per game this season, which was the least of any season in his four years at Utah.
The Oak Park, California, native averaged 4.4 points and 3.1 rebounds this season for the Utes. Battin is likely the first of several transfers out of the program.
Earlier this week, senior Marco Anthony, who had been considering whether to use his free COVID season, announced he would be returning for another year with the Utes. Anthony said in an Instagram post: "yeah.. my college career not ending like this." He'd previously sent a vague tweet about coming back another season a day after Utah's exit in the Pac-12 Tournament.
Anthony was one of Utah's best defenders on the floor and was used to lock up opposing teams' best offensive threat. The senior, who could play positions one through five, finished the season by averaging 9.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
