Former Utah guard Jacob Patrick makes transfer portal decision

Jacob Patrick, a 6-foot-6 sharpshooter who spent this past season at Utah, will continue his college basketball career at Southern Methodist.

Reports from multiple outlets Wednesday indicated Patrick had signed with SMU, becoming the seventh player to chose Andy Enfield and the Mustangs out of the portal this offseason. Patrick initially entered the portal April 10, three days after it opened.

Patrick, a native of Ludwigsburg, Germany, appeared in 10 games and averaged 7.2 points while knocking down an efficient 46.5% of his 3-point attempts. He logged over 20 minutes per appearance and even made one start, but an injury in December derailed his one and only season with Alex Jensen's squad.

Prior to Utah, Patrick played four seasons for German pro club MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg of the Basketball Bundesliga. He also competed in several FIBA European Championship tournaments with his home country.

Though it was his first season of college hoops, Patrick was officially listed as a junior on Utah's 2025-26 roster, which would make the 2026-27 campaign his senior year.

Utah's Mass Exodus Following 2025-26 Season

Patrick was one of 11 players from the Utes' 2025-26 roster to enter the portal when it opened in April. Three of those portal entrants have yet to find a home, as Patrick became the fifth former Utah player to commit to a power conference school (including two who will remain in the Big 12).

In totality, the eight players committed to different schools accounted for about 65.7% of Utah's scoring output from the 2025-26 campaign. Terrence Brown, who signed to North Carolina in late April, led the charge with 636 points across 32 games played (19.9 points per contest).

The mass exodus followed a dissapointing debut season for Jensen and company. Utah went 2-16 in Big 12 play and finished 10-22 overall, extending the program's NCAA Tournament drought to over a decade.

With essentially a clean slate to work with, Jensen and his staff brought in a four-man transfer class and a recruiting class enriched with international flavor to lay a solid foundation for the 2026-27 season. Utah reeled in 6-foot-7 guard Jackson Holcombe (16.7 ppg at Utah Valley); 6-foot-4 guard Taison Chatman (4.3 ppg at Ohio State); 6-foot-1 guard TJ Burch (Horizona League Defensive Player of the Year at Wright State); and 6-foot-8 center Malek Gomma (8 ppg at Weber State) in the portal. The Utes also reeled in a 2026 class headlined by stud Israeli guard and NBA prospect, Noam Yaacov.

SMU has signed Utah guard transfer Jacob Patrick, @chris_hummer and I have learned.

Connected on 46.5 percent of his three-point attempts at Utah last season. pic.twitter.com/UwvPYUR1xx
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) May 20, 2026

Add us as a preferred source on Google