As the calendar turns over into July, Alex Jensen’s program has received another commitment for his first season leading University of Utah men’s basketball.
On Wednesday, On3’s Joe Tipton first reported — and others followed — that juco big man Joshua Hayes has committed to the Runnin’ Utes.
Who is Joshua Hayes?
Hayes is a 6-foot-10, 220-pound power forward/center who played the 2024-25 season at Northwest Florida State College.
During his lone season playing for the Raiders, Hayes averaged 9.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game while shooting 57.8% from the field and 47.4% from 3, going 9 of 19 from long range.
He earned second-team all-conference honors at Northwest Florida State.
Prior to playing at the junior college school, Hayes played in seven games at the Division I level as a freshman in 2023-24 for Appalachian State of the Sun Belt Conference.
In those limited opportunities, he averaged 1.7 points, 1.3 rebounds and 4.6 minutes per game for the Mountaineers.
Hayes was not rated as a recruit coming out of high school. He held scholarship offers from Appalachian State and Jacksonville at the D-I level.
How is Utah basketball’s 2025-26 roster shaping up?
At 6-foot-10, Hayes will be the tallest player on Utah’s team next season and will add depth to the frontcourt.
Hayes is the latest offseason addition for Utah, joining a group that also includes Terrence Brown, Babacar Faye, Jahki Howard, Don McHenry, Elijah “Choppa” Moore, James Okonkwo, Seydou Traore, Jacob Patrick and Kendyl Sanders.
While Finnish point guard Elmeri Abbey isn’t officially on the roster, KSL Sports’ Steve Bartle reported he is currently fulfilling mandatory service for the Finnish Army and will join the program later this summer.
That group of newcomers joins three holdovers from last season in Keanu Dawes, Ibi Traore and Jerry Huang.