As Utah Valley gets set for its sixth season under head coach Dan Nielson, there is a lot of optimism in the air for this year’s team.
“The positive to this year’s team is the continuity, ” Nielson said. “they are driven by wanting to take that next step, and I think having a lot of those older players is a positive.”
While only losing two key transfers from last year’s squad in Kaylee Byon and Eleyana Tafisi, Utah Valley has plenty of key players who are returning to play here at UVU.
Kylee Mabry, Tahlia White, and Ally Criddle who were Utah Valley’s main source of production offensively, will all be returning for another year at UVU.
“Last year we needed to build a base on where we were at the year previous, and in doing so, we were able to maintain a lot of those key pieces from that group,” Nielson said.
Mabry, who averaged eight points and 24.8 minutes per game, was a key scorer for the Wolverines. White found her rhythm toward the end of the season, leading the team with 27 three-pointers. While Criddle proved to be a reliable player for UVU, starting 28 of 29 games.
Utah Valley was also able to bring in other key additions to the team including new assistant coach and former standout player at BYU from 2017-22, Paisley Johnson-Harding.
“Her personality in recruiting I knew would be really good for us,” Nielson said. “she’s been a huge addition for us already and we’re excited to have her here.”
In the offseason, Utah Valley was able to reel in more recruits, as well as additions from the transfer portal.
Including, Gracie Sorenson, a 6-foot-4 center who spent her first two seasons of college ball at Eastern Arizona College in Thatcher, Arizona.
Aspen Caldwell, a transfer from Idaho University also broke the scoring record at Thunder Ridge High School scoring over 1,500 points.
Danja Stafford Collins, a 6-foot-1 forward who attended Eastern Arizona College out of high school, where she was an NJCAA All-American after leading the nation with 15.7 rebounds per game to go along with 17.2 points per game in 2019.
“I definitely think we can make that next jump forward with the team we have this year,” Nielson said. “I think we are capable of making our way back to the top group in the WAC.”
Utah Valley, who was predicted to finish eighth in the WAC preseason polls, has a lot to prove and fortunately has a great team to do just that.
Utah Valley will host Kansas City in its season opener on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. MT
It will be streamed and can be watched live on ESPN+.
