Who's in Utah basketball's 2026 recruiting class?

Runnin' Utes announced their 2026 recruiting class

The first recruiting class under Utah Runnin' Utes head coach Alex Jensen was announced during the early signing period for the 2026 class. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

A first-year head coach and a general manager with an NBA background probably wouldn't have the same connections along the high school recruiting trails compared to those of a blue-blood program.

It'll take Alex Jensen and Wes Wilcox some time before they catch up to the prestige of the other Big 12 coaching staffs they're up against on the grassroots, but if the first recruiting class Utah's brass put together is any sort of indication, their future rosters will be assembled through a variety of avenues.

From 18-year-old high schoolers to junior college standouts, Utah's 2026 class was far from monolithic.

The Runnin' Utes revealed Jensen's first recruiting class amid the early signing period for the class of 2026, with a couple of missionaries set to join the squad following a two-year gap out of high school.

"We are excited to officially welcome Styles Clemmons, Simeon Suguturaga, and Zati Loubaki to the Utah Basketball family," Jensen, previously with the Dallas Mavericks as an assistant coach, said in a statement. "Together with returning missionaries David Katoa and Jaxon Johnson, we continue to build a values-based program."

Clemmons, a 6-foot-1 guard and three-star recruit who played in the Overtime Elite League in 2024-25, previously announced his pledge to Utah in September. The Virginia Beach, Virginia, native showcased elite bounce during his time with the Georgia-based City Reapers, setting a new in-house record with a 43-inch max vertical while going through combine drills. That came after he averaged 4.8 points, 2.3 assists, 1.5 rebounds and 0.5 steals across 12 games with the team.

From Jensen's first 2026 commit to his most recent, Loubaki announced a few months after earning NJCAA tournament MVP honors that he'd enroll at Utah for the 2026-27 season. The versatile 6-foot-9 forward from Nojent Sur Oise, France, played in a division of the LNB Élite league and spent time on the youth national team for the 2022 FIBA U18 European Championships in Turkey, prior to moving to the States in 2023.

Loubaki, 21, averaged 9.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 52.8% from the floor and 31.6% from 3-point range, while helping Trinity Valley Community College capture the NJCAA Division I national championship last season.

Suguturaga, a junior at Orem High School (Utah), signed with the Runnin' Utes on Nov. 12, the first day of the early signing period. The 6-foot-4 guard helped Orem claim the 5A Region 7 championship with a 21-4 record, earning second-team all-valley honors along the way.

That trio of players joins a pair of missionaries in Johnson and Katoa, two star-studded recruits out of the 2024 class. Johnson, a product of Alta High School (Utah), became one of the state's most accomplished high school players, leading the school to the 2022-23 UHSAA 5A State Championship while taking home 5A MVP, all-state, all-region and tournament MVP honors.

Johnson previously signed with Utah in November 2023. As 247Sports' No. 2 player in the state, he picked the Runnin' Utes over offers from BYU, USC, Stanford and Nevada, among others.

Katoa, the No. 6 player in the state according to 247Sports, had offers from Utah State and Southern Utah before signing with the Runnin' Utes around the time Johnson made his pledge official. The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 13.3 points and 4.0 rebounds during his junior year at Layton High School (Utah).

The five-player class represented a glimpse of the future Jensen and Wilcox, two individuals who were in NBA positions this time a year ago, put together over the past few months, as well as remnants of former head coach Craig Smith's vision for the Runnin' Utes.

"We remain steadfast in our commitment to building a program that reflects the values and excellence of the University of Utah community," Wilcox, formerly the assistant general manager of the Sacramento Kings, said in a statement. "We are deeply grateful for the trust placed in us and fully recognize the responsibility we share in guiding the growth and development of Jaxon, David, Styles, Simeon and Zati."

Two of ESPN's top three recruiting classes for 2026 resided in Big 12 schools, with Kansas (No. 2) and Oklahoma State (No. 3) coming in near the top of the recruiting service's top 25.

Utah's 2026 recruiting class

Rankings according to 247Sports

• Styles Clemmons (three-star, No. 28 point guard)
• Zati Loubaki (JUCO; N/R)
• Simeon Suguturaga (N/R)
• Jaxon Johnson (four-star, No. 22 power forward in 2024 class)
• David Katoa (three-star, No. 43 shooting guard in 2024 class)

Where does Utah's 2026 recruiting class rank nationally?

Utah's incoming recruiting class checked in at No. 85 in the country on 247Sports. It's worth noting the recruiting service didn't include Johnson or Katoa, both of whom graduated high school in 2024.