WBB: Utah Valley University Wolverines Preview
Utah Valley had their best year in Division I history. With a lot of that roster back, What do the Wolverines do for an encore?
The bottom fell out for Utah Valley after reaching back-to-back WAC tournament semifinals in 2021 and 2022, and earning a 2021 NCAA tournament berth when transitioning CBU won the conference tournament.
Utah Valley went from 16 wins in 2021-2022 to six (just three in WAC play) a year later. But instead of running, head coach Dan Nielson and his team embraced the challenge…last year reaping rewards in the form of a WNIT berth and first round win.
Teams who participate in the WNIT usually follow that up with solid next campaigns.
How do the Wolverines follow up that success before moving to the Big West next July?
Head Coach:
Dan Nielson (7th season)
Last Year:
19-13 overall, 9-7 (T4, defeated ACU in WAC tournament quarterfinals but lost to GCU in semifinal play…reached 2nd round of the WNIT, defeating Air Force but losing to Washington State)
Career:
76-94 overall, 46-55 WAC
Returners:
8
Kylee Mabry- Last year’s WAC Co-Sixth Woman of the Year award winner will likely be asked to step into a starting role this year after the Wolverines graduated nearly 60 starts between Tahlia White and Ally Criddle. Scored a career-high 21 points in the December matchup against Air Force.
Amanda Barcello- Caught fire from mid-January to year’s end scoring in double-digits eight times. Set a new career-high in scoring with 24 points against ACU in the WAC tournament win. Was perfect from the floor (7-7 FG’s & 6-6 3-pointers) in a February 19 win against Utah Tech.
KJ Carlyle- Entered 12 games a season ago with a 21 point and 11 rebound performance against Park (AZ) but only scored six points and played 28 minutes after that.
Cambree Blackham- Blackham appeared in all 32 games, earning an all-WAC Freshman Team selection. Her best performance was in a mid-January win against UT Arlington where she scored 23 points on 5-7 shooting from beyond the arc.
Saige Gibb- Had the game-winning 3-point play in a November non-conference win at Kennesaw State during a WAC/CUSA Challenge matchup.
Halle Nelson- From February 1 to season’s end was in double-digit scoring seven times including a career-high 22 points in a March 8 win over Tarleton State.
Tessa Chaney- Finished the season with a 10 point performance in the WNIT loss against Washington State but before that hadn’t reach that mark since Thanksgiving Break.
Gracie Sorenson- Had a lone double-double of 14 points and 14 rebounds against Bethesda just before Thanksgiving. Saw double-digit minutes just three times after that.
Newcomers:
4
Anna Shreeve- Was part of three league championship teams and a CIF Southern Section semifinal appearance while at San Juan Hills High School. Averaged 19.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 4.1 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game as a senior.
Kaylee Headrick- Spent last season at Colorado State, making four starts out of her 27 games played with a season-high nine points against UNM. Was the 2023-2024 NJCAA Region 18 Player of the Year while at College of Southern Idaho.
Evie Leeson- Redshirted while at GNAC champion Alaska-Anchorage. Was Defensive Player of the Tournament during the 2024 U20 Footlocker National Championships.
Naia Tanuvasa- Spent a season at BYU before coming to Utah Valley, appearing in 10 games. Was part of three UHSAA State Championships at Lone Peak HS and a first-team selection as a senior after averaging 14.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.7 steals per game. Also name the region’s MVP as a senior.
Key Losses:
Tahlia White: 12.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 2.2 assists per game (all-WAC Defensive Team selection)
Danja Stafford-Collins: 8.4 points & 9.0 rebounds per game (led the WAC in rebounding)
Ally Criddle: 5.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists per game (sixth in the WAC)
Outlook:
There’s no doubt that the Wolverines graduated a bunch from last year’s WNIT team but they’ll still return enough to be competitive in the WAC.
I think the Wolverines biggest question will be who fills the shoes of Ally Criddle at point guard?
Criddle’s younger sister Cambree Blackham was third on the team in assists a season ago while appearing in all 32 games.
Kylee Mabry was last year’s Co-WAC Sixth Woman of the Year and both had nearly 1:1 assist to turnover ratios.
Also a storyline will be who picks up the rebounding with Stafford-Collins’ graduation?
Halle Nelson was second on the team in rebounding at nearly seven a game but nobody else averaged more than 3.8.
Like last season, expect the Wolverines to possess one of the conference’s toughest defenses behind a vaunted 1-3-1 trap that is tough enough to prepare for, especially as the second game of a week.
Utah Valley was eighth in turnovers forced at 24.57 per game and sixth in steals per game at 12.9 while allowing teams to shoot just over 39 percent from the field.
Scheduling Tidbits:
Utah Valley starts with three straight on the road at Cal State Bakersfield, Loyola Marymount, and Utah.
The home opener is on November 14 against Pepperdine. It begins a three game homestand which also includes visits from Benedictine and in-state rival Weber State.
They’ll make a pre-Thanksgiving trip to Nevada before closing with three of four at home. Visiting the UCCU Center will be Air Force, La Sierra and Idaho State sandwiched around a trip to former WAC member UMKC.
Noticeably absent from this year’s schedule is any kind of an MTE or tournament.
“Part of it was not knowing how many games we needed in terms of what the WAC was gonna do in terms of scheduling,” Wolverines coach Dan Nielson said on the Straight Outta WAC podcast. “In a lot of case MTE’s just mean you’re a guaranteed win for a power conference team. If I’m going to go to an MTE it has to be a competitive one that will replicate the conference tournament. That being said I feel like we upgraded with a pair of WCC games and a visit to Utah.”
The Wolverines will open with four of their first six games in WAC play away from Orem. That includes trips to CBU, Southern Utah, Utah Tech, and UT Arlington.
They’ll play Southern Utah twice in 14 days to start conference play. That second game starts a three-game homestand where Utah Valley also welcomes CBU and Tarleton State to the UCCU Center.
To close regular season play they’ll have three of five at home, which includes matchups against both in-state rivals on the final week of play.