Utah basketball joins mix for 4-star recruit in 2027 class

Recruiting may be a year-round endeavor, but with its season officially wrapped up, the Utah men's basketball coaching staff can now turn its full attention to the recruiting trails.

The prospect Alex Jensen and company have their collective eyes on at the moment appears to be 2027 recruit and Georgia native, Chase Lumpkin.

The highly-touted guard from McEachern High School recently shared via his social media account that he's received an offer from Utah, which joined a crowded list of power conference programs interested in Lumpkin's skillset.

In addition to holding offers from Alabama, Auburn, Louisville and Tennessee, among others, Lumpkin has the attention of Kentucky, which hosted him on an unofficial visit this past December, and has checked out Georgia and Georgia Tech's campuses after receiving offers from both schools.

Lumpkin has garnered all this attention from schools on each coast as a four-star, the No. 5 shooting guard and the No. 60 overall recruit in the 2027 class, according to 247Sports' player rankings.

Needless to say, landing the rising senior's signature on signing day would be a massive win for Jensen and company. If this past season indicated anything, it's that guard play is a key component of the Utes' offensive game plan. Terrence Brown's ability to score and Don McHenry's outside shooting and role as a pressure release were essentially the lifeblood for Utah throughout its 2025-26 season.

The Utes would probably prefer to be a little bit more balanced moving forward, but such roster tweaks wouldn't de-emphasize the importance of having an elite ballhandler running the show. And with McHenry departing and Brown entering his final year of eligibility, Utah will likely spend considerable time and effort finding its next backcourt combination for the future.

Time will tell whether the Utes' top-ranked point guard recruit in their 2026 recruiting class, Styles Clemmons, develops into the floor general Jensen and company are hoping to have orchestrate their offense in the future. The Overtime Elite product arrives to Utah as a three-star and the No. 27-ranked point guard in the country.

The Utes will likely remain active in the 2027 guard class either way. In addition to Lumpkin, Utah is vying to land four-star prospect Antonio Pemberton, who checks in on 247Sports as the No. 10 point guard prospect in the 2027 class. The Brewster Academy (New Hampshire) standout completed an official visit with Utah in the fall and has kept an open line of communication with assistant coach Raphael Chillious, who's also responsible for leading the recruiting effort for Lumpkin.

Very Blessed to receive an offer from the University of Utah! Thank you for the opportunity!🙏🏽 @CoachChills pic.twitter.com/2nU402LnAJ
— Chase Lumpkin (@ChaseLumpkin1) March 20, 2026