It didn’t take long for new Utah men’s basketball assistant coach Loren Leath to help the Runnin’ Utes tap into his California basketball roots.
Leath was announced as an assistant coach on Craig Smith’s staff just over two weeks ago, filling one of two vacant assistant coaching positions.
This past week, Leath’s connections with a premier AAU program, the Oakland Soldiers, paid off in scholarship offers to some of the nation’s top prospects.
On what ended up being a busy Wednesday, seven up-and-coming basketball talents announced on social media they had received offers from Utah.
It was a who’s who list of California prospects in the 2025 recruiting class, and another elite one in the 2026 class.
What players announced they were offered by Utah?
Small forward AJ Dybantsa (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️), the consensus No. 1 overall prospect in the 2025 recruiting class with a 1.0000 player grade, according to the 247 Sports’ Composite rankings. Dybantsa will transfer and play at Hurricane-based Utah Prep Academy during his senior season after previously playing at Prolific Prep in Napa, California.
Power forward Tyran Stokes (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️), the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2026 recruiting class with a 0.997 player grade, according to the 247 Sports’ Composite rankings. He plays at Prolific Prep in Napa, California.
Shooting guard Jovani Ruff (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️), the No. 42 prospect nationally in the 2025 class with a 0.9830 player grade, according to the 247 Sports’ Composite rankings. He plays at Long Beach Poly in Long Beach, California.
Power forward Christopher Nwuli (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️), the No. 48 overall prospect in the 2025 class with a 0.9809 player grade, according to the 247 Sports’ Composite rankings. He plays at Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant.
Small forward Jasir Rencher (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️), the No. 110 prospect nationally in the 2025 class with a 0.9516 player grade, according to the 247 Sports’ Composite rankings. He plays at Archbishop Riordan in San Francisco.
Point guard Angelino Mark (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️), the No. 125 overall prospect in the 2025 class with a 0.9448 player grade, according to the 247 Sports’ Composite rankings. He plays at Notre Dame High in Sherman Oaks, California.
Point guard Semetri Carr (⭐️⭐️⭐️), the No. 150 prospect nationally in the 2025 class with a 0.9345 player ranking, according to the 247 Sports’ Composite rankings. He plays at The Branson School in Point Reyes Station, California.
Dybantsa, Mark, Nwuli, Carr and Stokes are currently playing for the Soldiers on Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League circuit. Ruff plays for Team Whynot in the EYBL, while Rencher is on Team Lillard in the Adidas 3SSB circuit and has played previously for the Soldiers.
Over the weekend, the Soldiers have been playing in Kansas City — on Friday, Dybantsa hit a game-winning 3-pointer from 28 feet to lift Oakland over Arizona Unity, a team highlighted by the 2026 No. 1 overall player, Brandon McCoy.
On Monday, the Soldiers, who are 13-1 in EYBL action this year, face Team Herro to end the club basketball tournament in Kansas City.
For a fan base starving for information, with five open scholarships on the 2024-25 roster, the announcements were welcome news.
One fan even conjured a clever hashtag, one that the Soldiers’ media team latched onto.
Before joining the Utes’ staff, Leath spent two years as an assistant at Sacramento State.
That followed 10 years with the Soldiers following his playing days, where Leath served as a coach from 2012-16 and vice president from 2016-22.
Players like Aaron Gordon, Stanley Johnson, Jalen Green and Ziaire Williams — all top-10 NBA draft picks — came through the Soldiers organization during Leath’s days, and now the program has several top recruits playing for it as the team competes in Nike’s EYBL division.
Each of the seven prospects Utah offered understandably have extensive offer lists. For example, Dybantsa has Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky and North Carolina, among others, fighting hard for his services, according to 247 Sports, while Stokes’ list of offers includes Alabama, Kansas, Kentucky, Texas and UCLA.
Time will tell if the Runnin’ Utes will land any of those players, or bring in more talent from the rich California basketball recruiting grounds.
But the move is an indication that Leath’s presence on Smith’s staff gives the Utes a strong connection in the California basketball circuit.