The 2026–27 Utah Valley Wolverines men's basketball team represents Utah Valley University in the 2026–27 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wolverines, led by fourth-year head coach Todd Phillips, play their home games at the UCCU Center in Orem, Utah and compete as members of the Big West Conference.
This will be the Wolverines' first season in the Big West. In March 2025, the Big West Conference reportedly invited Utah Valley to join their conference beginning in 2026. UVU's Big West move was officially announced on June 4, 2025. California Baptist also joins the Big West Conference from the WAC while Sacramento State joins from the Big Sky Conference. For the 2026–27 season, the Big West competes with 12 members as UC Davis and Hawaii depart for the Mountain West Conference in 2026 while UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara depart for the West Coast Conference in 2027.
Previous season
The Wolverines finished the 2025–26 season 25–9, 14–4 in WAC play, to finish in first place in the Western Athletic Conference. As the No. 1 seed in the WAC tournament, they defeated UT Arlington in the semifinals before falling to California Baptist in the championship game 61–63. As the WAC regular season champions, Utah Valley was invited to participate in the 2026 National Invitation Tournament. The Wolverines were defeated in the first round by George Washington 78–79.
Offseason
Departures NamePositionHeightYearReason for departure†Noah TaitzG6' 4"SeniorGraduated, entered transfer portal April 17 (appears to have exhausted eligibility, will likely need a waiver for additional eligibility)Hayden WellingF6' 9"SeniorGraduatedTrevan LeonhardtG6' 4"Redshirt JuniorTransferred to NebraskaJackson HolcombeG6' 6"Redshirt JuniorTransferred to UtahTyler HendricksG6' 6"Redshirt SeniorTransferred to OklahomaAJ RiggsG6' 3"JuniorTransferred to Hawaii-HiloJoul KarramC6' 9"SeniorTransferred to Binghamton † The 2026 transfer portal window officially is from April 7–21, however, many players declared their intent to enter the transfer portal before the official open date.
Incoming transfers NamePositionHeightYearPrevious school/teamJordy BarnesG6' 4"JuniorUtah StateTanner DavisG6' 4"SophomoreUtah TechSebastian MuchitschF6' 8"JuniorBarton Community CollegeModestas BabraitisG6' 4"FreshmanJonavos Cbet (Lithuanian Basketball League)Jovan NekicF6' 10"FreshmanKK Dynamic (Serbian Basketball League)Dominick NelsonG6' 5"Fifth YearIowa State, Utah Valley, Polk State College
Incoming freshman NamePositionHeightHigh schoolHometownNotesLogan HaustveitG5' 10"Owyhee High SchoolMeridian, IDWill join team in 2028 after two-year missionMason HansenG6' 0"Springville High SchoolSpringville, UTWill join team in 2028 after two-year mission; son of former UVU and NBA player Travis HansenOmar MowafakF6' 8"Layton Christian AcademyLayton, UTDeng DengF6' 10"Juan Diego High SchoolSalt Lake City, UTJohn SouthwickG6' 3"Utah PrepRichfield, UTWill join team in 2027 after two-year mission
Secret scrimmage Prior to the start of the season, on October 3, 2026, UVU hosted the University of Idaho Vandals from the Big Sky Conference for a closed or "secret scrimmage" held at their practice facility adjacent to the UCCU Center. Limited photos and videos of the game were released through university social media channels.
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=12 style=""| Exhibition |- !colspan=12 style=""| Regular season
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Sources:
‡ Following their departures from the WAC, Utah Valley and Southern Utah signed a four-year scheduling agreement to preserve their in-state rivalry. The series was scheduled to begin in the 2026–27 season in Cedar City and features a $25,000 per-game cancellation penalty. However, due to undisclosed reasons, the series was postponed until a future year.
See also 2026–27 Utah Valley Wolverines women's basketball team
References