It didn’t take Rylan Jones long to find his next destination, and he didn’t have to look far to find it.
Jones, the outgoing University of Utah sophomore point guard who entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on Friday afternoon, has committed to Utah State, he announced Monday afternoon.
A two-time Mr. Basketball in the state of Utah at Olympus High School, Jones is immediately eligible under the NCAA’s one-time transfer waiver, and has three years of eligibility remaining after the college sports governing body froze the eligibility clock last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With Jones off to Logan, the Aggies and Utes have essentially swapped point guards inside the last month. Utah State transfer Rollie Worster pledged to Utah on April 15, less than three weeks after former Aggies head coach Craig Smith accepted the head job at Utah on March 27.
On paper, Jones projects as new Utah State head coach Ryan Odom’s day-one starter at the point, with Alpine native and former Lone Peak High School star Steven Ashworth helping to shore up depth at the position after a productive freshman season.
Minus Jones and Pelle Larsson, whose transfer to Arizona was revealed Sunday morning, Utah has decidedly-less depth at point guard now. Worster fills one hole at the position, but beyond the 6-foot-3 freshman, Smith and his staff have work to do.
Utah unofficially has four open scholarships for the 2021-22 season.
Follow @Joshua_Newman