Utah basketball announces Jahki Howard is leaving the program

Former Auburn transfer arrived to Salt Lake City in April

Utah Runnin' Utes head coach Alex Jensen. | Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jahki Howard is leaving the Utah men's basketball program to attend to family matters, the school announced Friday night.

Howard, who transferred from Auburn ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, appeared in six games and averaged 1.3 points and 1.5 rebounds for the Runnin' Utes (8-9, 0-4 Big 12).

"We appreciate Jahki's contributions to our program and wish him well moving forward," said Utah head coach Alex Jensen in a news release.

A four-star and top-30 forward in the transfer portal, Howard was viewed as a big addition to Utah's roster when he committed to Jensen and company in April. The Overtime Elite product was coming off a freshman season in which he put up 4.2 points and 1.1 rebounds per game across 21 appearances for Bruce Pearl and the Tigers, showcasing his elite athleticism and bounce on both ends of the floor in the process.

Howard never quite took off at Utah, though. The 6-foot-7 forward logged 10 or more minutes just twice, made two field goals on the season and never established himself in Jensen's rotation.

For Utah, Howard's departure was announced less than 24 hours before TCU (11-6, 1-3 Big 12) was scheduled to visit the Jon M. Huntsman Center for a noon tipoff between the Big 12 schools. The Runnin' Utes were looking to snap a five-game losing streak while the Horned Frogs sought to get back on track after dropping three straight in league play.

Utah was coming off an 88-74 loss to Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas, on Wednesday. The Runnin' Utes kept pace with the Red Raiders from behind knock, knocking down 12 to their 13, but couldn't handle JT Toppin in the paint, giving up 31 points to the reigning Big 12 Player of the Year as Texas Tech shot 23-of-39 from 2-point range.

Keanue Dawes and Don McHenry led Utah with 18 points apiece. Those two combined for seven of their team's 12 makes from behind the arc, while Terrence Brown chipped in 17 on 6-of-13 shooting.

A native of Boston, Howard previously played in the Atlanta-based Overtime Elite league. While suiting up for City Reapers, he put up 15.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game, earning All-OTE second team honors in the process.

Howard was the No. 6-ranked recruit in the state of Georgia and No. 93 nationally in the 2024 class according to 247Sports.