Utah basketball adds accomplished mid-major guard via transfer portal

Alex Jensen and the Utah men's basketball staff continued to renovate the roster over the weekend, with Wright State transfer TJ Burch being the latest addition to the 2026-27 squad.

Shortly after checking out the campus in Salt Lake City while on an official visit, Burch committed to the Runnin' Utes for what will be his junior season, according to his X account.

The 6-foot-1 Dallas native became the fourth transfer portal addition of the 2026 cycle for Utah, which also acquired Jackson Holcombe (Utah Valley), Taison Chatman (Ohio State) and Malek Gomma (Weber State) in the days leading up to Burch's commitment.

The newest member of Utah's roster has an opportunity to prove himself as the team's most important addition. Burch is coming off a season in which he put up 12.4 points, 3.6 assists, 2.4 rebounds and a Horizon League-best 2.6 steals per game, earning all-conference and league defensive player of the year honors as a result.

Meanwhile, the Utes struggled on the defensive end of the floor, allowing 79.1 points per contest (No. 316 in the country) and forcing just 9.1 turnovers on average (No. 355). Their lack of toughness on that end, as well as their rebounding woes, were major reasons why they went 10-22 overall and 2-16 in Big 12 play in Jensen's first season at the helm.

That being said, adding a guard with Burch's defensive prowess should prove to be a big-time move for Jensen and the Utah staff. On top of finishing with the third-most steals in the country, Burch boasted the highest defensive rating in the Horizon (102.6) and the best defensive box plus/minus (2.7) of any Horizon player in 2025-26.

Burch also arrives to Utah as the only player on the roster to score a point in the 2026 NCAA Tournament. In what turned out to be his final game in a Raiders uniform, Burch tallied 15 points, six assists, five steals and two rebounds in Wright State's 82-73 loss to Virginia in the first round. It was the school's first tournament appearance since the 2021-22 campaign.

In fact, Chatman and 6-foot-9 forward Babacar Faye, who didn't suit up last season due to injury, are the only other Utes players with any sort of NCAA Tournament experience.

Burch joins a backcourt room that currently consists of returners Lucas Langarita and Obomate Abbey, as well as Chatman and Holcombe. With Terrence Brown fielding interest from big-time brands in the portal and Don McHenry departing due to his eligibility being expired, Utah will go into the 2026-27 season with a new starting backcourt.

They den let me get my foot n door @UtahMBB pic.twitter.com/EBQYSij9Ry
— TJ burch (@Thatstj__) April 19, 2026

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