Utah basketball player Lani White grew up watching TV shows like “NCIS,” “How to Get Away with Murder,” and “Judge Judy” with her mother.
That’s one reason she chose to major in sociology and criminology.
But the Utes’ leading scorer is working hard away from the court because of real issues she said have shaped her views of the criminal justice system.
Behind the scenes — in between averaging 15.6 points per game as one of the Utes’ veteran leaders — White has been working and studying for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) to potentially pursue a law degree after she is done playing basketball.
“I think our criminal justice system changes, but history always repeats itself,” White said. “I’d really like to be the change for those and speak for those who look like myself.”
While White was in high school in 2020, schools were shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic and she watched as the world protested the death of George Floyd, a Black man killed by a police officer in Minnesota.
“I think that really impacted my decision to become a lawyer, watching how the whole system went about it,” White said. “A lot of voices weren’t heard, but they were loud. So I think that was really my selling point.”
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah guard Lani White (0) as BYU hosts Utah, NCAA basketball in Provo on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026.
White said she wants to provide representation for women of color and help address systemic issues.
According to the American Bar Association, more than 58% of lawyers in the United States are men, and 78% of all lawyers are white.
White said she has been motivated by “not seeing many women in that force, but also seeing so many people silenced in times of need.”
The basketball season is busy for White. She has mentored five-star freshman LA Sneed, who has gradually found her footing as one of Utah’s playmakers throughout the season. And she has helped the Utes to an 18-11 record with one more game to play at the Huntsman Center on Saturday.
White has also been studying for the LSAT alongside Utah senior forward Sam Crispe, who already took the exam.
So how does White manage?
“I’m not going to lie, it is a process,” White said. “Luckily, I have a great program that helps me study for it.”
Utah head coach Gavin Petersen once thought he was going to become an agent for the FBI or the Drug Enforcement Agency when he was in college after earning a bachelor’s degree in justice administration at Hawaii Pacific University.
He understands the demands that come with those classes.
“I honestly took a lot of law classes in college and loved them, and so I can see the demands and the workload that they have to take on,” Petersen said. “I’m blown away at just their ability to be great student athletes, and I just admire how they go about their day-to-day academic life, their basketball life, and then their social life.
“It’s great to have people in your program that keep the main thing the main thing.”
White hopes to extend her basketball career if there are professional opportunities next season.
“If the ball keeps bouncing, then I’m gonna keep running with it after college,” she said. “That’d be nice, but if not, I have huge aspirations to become a lawyer.”
She recently has joked with her mom, too, about what the future holds. Maybe instead of coming to watch her play in the Jon M. Huntsman Center, White’s mother will come sit in on her court cases.
White doesn’t know what type of law she wants to practice yet. But she does have a few law schools in mind.
“Well, hopefully the U., obviously — once a Ute, always a Ute — but I’d like to go back home as well somewhere, maybe San Diego State,” White said.
And she said her time on the basketball court has helped her prepare for the courtroom one day.
“I know that the legal system is not always accessible to everyone, so hopefully, I’d like to help those who may need the help a little bit more and give diligent work as always,” White said.
“I mean, it’s no different than basketball, like having to put your work ahead of you and grind toward it.”