WBB: Southern Utah Thunderbirds 2025-26 Team Preview
If there was ever a team that embodied the phrase "It's not how you start but how you finish," a season ago it was Southern Utah...
A year ago Southern Utah didn’t record a win against a Division I opponent until January 18 in WAC play. The Thunderbirds then closed with wins in five of their last six regular season conference games to bypass a trip to St. George and earn a first round game against regular season runner-up Tarleton State.
Unfortunately, that’s where the road ended.
Southern Utah will start the season with four new starters after Daylani Ballena, Samatha Johnston, Sydney Gandy, Jaeden Brown, and Lexi Bull exhausted their eligibility.
Head Coach:
Tracy Mason (8th season)
Career Record:
95-110 overall, 64-61 conference
Last Year:
9-21 overall, 7-9 WAC (6th regular season, lost in WAC tournament quarterfinals to Tarleton State)
Newcomers:
7
Brooklyn Fely - Was twice named NWAC (junior college) Player of the Year and named a WBCA Two-Year Colleges All-American last year. Averaged 22 points with 13 rebounds a year ago with seven 30+ performances. Holds the NWAC tournament single-game scoring record with 52 points.
Joss Baker - Recorded 15 double-doubles at the high school level and finished as a back-to-back UHSAA 5A all-state selection. Averaged 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 2.5 steals per game a year ago at the HS level.
Morgan Trigueiro - Averaged 19 points per game (24 in conference play) during her lone JC campaign at College of the Sequoias, with 13 games of 20+ points. Was a 2,000 point scorer in high school and had a game with 12 made 3-pointers.
Nike Borg - Was a participant in the 2024 FIBA 3x3 tournament representing Sweden, and also played on the Swedish U16 and 18 teams. Shot just under 60 percent from the field a year ago.
Emily Scholtes - Played on the U16, U18, and U20 Victoria State teams, serving as captain of her U20 team in 2024. Comes from the NBL1, where she averaged 15 points, seven rebounds, two assists,and two steals for Nunawading Spectres.
Devyn Kiernan - A coach’s kid who was a McDonald’s All-American nominee, winning three Trinity League championships at the HS level (perhaps one of Southern California’s toughest leagues), who led Mater Dei in assist-to-turnover ratio over the last two seasons.
Vallory Kuelker - Averaged 13.4 points and five rebounds per game over her last two years of high school and was the WBAL Foothill Division MVP last season. Played with current teammate Ava Uhrich in high school.
Returners:
8
Kortney Doman - Appeared in all 30 games a season ago, scoring a season-high 13 points against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo just before Christmas.
Bella Hasan - Entered just eight games a year ago but was selected to the Indonesian National Team that participated in mid-July’s Asia Cup, averaging 3.3 points, six rebounds, and five assists per game.
Sierra Chambers - Appeared in all 30 games a year ago with a pair of double-digit performances to start the year against Utah (15 points) and Utah Tech (16 points on 5-6 3-point shooting).
Charli Kay - Entered 25 games last season with a nine-point, five-rebound, and three-block performance against Sam Houston in WAC/CUSA play, being her best.
Ashley Banks - Entered 25 games last season, shooting 53% from the field, and was second on the team in blocks.
Denver Anderson - Entered 15 games last year and was just over 52% field goal shooting in those games, with a 10-point game against Bethesda.
Olivia Malafu - Entered 18 games last year and shot just over 51%
Ava Uhrich - Entered all 30 games with 28 starts, averaging 10.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while shooting just over 47 percent. Also connected on 21 3-pointers a season ago. Had 3 20+ point games against Division I competition, with the best being a 27-point and eight rebound effort against Utah Valley in mid-February.
Outlook:
Mason will have to replace 130 starts and 148 games entered from her graduating fifth years and seniors, but still returns incoming junior Ava Uhrich, who averaged 10.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game a year ago.
Beyond her, this is a young roster, the youngest she’s had since getting to Cedar City, with just one lone senior that will need to come together very quickly.
“Those upperclassmen taught us a lot about how to win a championship, and losing them definitely hurt,s but the energy in spring and summer has been really good so far,” Uhrich said on an episode of the Straight Outta WAC podcast. “We have a lot of young players who are hungry, ready to work, and eager to bring another championship here.”
They’ll have to improve on an offense that was eighth in scoring at 60 points per game and shot just 39.4 percent from the field (27.8 percent from 3-point range), along with a defense that allowed just under 67 points per game.
Scheduling Tidbits:
A young Thunderbirds side will very quickly be challenged as they work through nine Division I opponents and a trio of non-DI games.
Two of those games are against teams that participated in the WNIT last year. Washington State visits the AFEC on November 8 to start its DI slate. New Mexico State also makes the trip to Cedar City on December 4 as part of a stretch of three out of four games at home, including two non-DI games in Noble University (NCCAA) and Benedictine University (NAIA).
They’ll finish with four straight on the road with visits to Colorado State, Boise State, and a pre-Christmas MTE at Loyola Marymount (just outside of Los Angeles), where they’ll play the hosts and Omaha.
Also in that non-conference schedule is a two-game road trip through Big Sky Country with trips to Eastern Washington and Idaho.
Southern Utah’s WAC schedule starts with a pair of in-state rivals visiting the AFEC as both Utah Tech and Utah Valley make the short trip. They’ll play CBU at home to complete a stretch of three out of four games at home to open WAC play. Their lone trip is to UT Arlington.
From mid-January to mid-February, they play five of eight away from Cedar City. That stretch includes two trips to Tarleton State, Abilene Christian, Utah Valley, and CBU.
After one last three-game homestand of UT Arlington, Tarleton State, and ACU, the TBirds finish on the road with three straight as they finish at Utah Tech, at Utah Valley, and at CBU.