Gavin Petersen is an honest man.
And, after No. 6-seeded Utah was upset 75-64 by No. 14 Texas Tech in the second round of the Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship on Thursday, the Utes' head coach admitted he’ll have to change his approach to recruiting in the Big 12 this offseason.
“I think their athleticism is something that we don’t see all the time,” Petersen said. “I think in this league that’s something we are getting more accustomed to than in the Pac-12. It was a little more the skill and the finesse that stood out more than the physicality and athleticism in this league.
“So we just got to embrace that and be able to work in the offseason and get even better in the recruiting area as well to fit in a little more smoothly into our new setting here in the Big 12.”
This season, Utah finished 13-5 in the conference. Each of the Utes' regular-season losses in the Big 12 came at the hands of AP Top 25 ranked opponents.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU Cougars guard Kemery Congdon (15) and Utah Utes guard Gianna Kneepkens (5) as Utah hosts BYU, NCAA basketball in Salt Lake City on Saturday, March 1, 2025.
Utah’s upcoming high school recruiting class is headlined by five-star Leonna Sneed, four-star Avery Hjelmstad and Ella Todd. The Utes are also still awaiting the decision of star guard Gianna Kneepkens as well.
But work in the transfer portal will be a top priority for Utah this offseason. It will just have to wait while Utah prepares to make a run in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
“I’m looking forward to an offseason [that] we can build on and we can hit the recruiting trail,” Petersen said. “We have a great recruiting class coming in. So getting that runway to prepare and plan for next season, I’m looking forward to it. But at the same time, I’m really going to focus in on trying to coach this team for more than just one more game, because it’s a special group.
“A lot is owed to this senior class and (Kneepkens). They’ve put Utah basketball on the map and they’ve made it what it is. So I want to go out and enjoy this team for as long as I possibly can.”
The Utes are projected to be an eight-seed in the NCAA Tournament, according to ESPN’s latest bracketology analysis.