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  "path": "/sports/2026/06/02/utah-utes-spring-sports-recap/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-02T18:56:48.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.deseret.com",
  "tags": [
    "state-of-the-art ballpark",
    "‘It’s first class’: It’s time to play ball at Utah baseball’s new ballpark",
    "Utes made progress in second Big 12 season. Can they win in first-ever Big 12 tournament appearance?",
    "fell 9-5 to Kansas State",
    "‘Our program is really rolling right now’: Utes send 8 to NCAA track regionals, led by 4x100 relay team",
    "returned to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 14 years",
    "‘A special group’: Utah women’s tennis team returns to NCAA Tournament for first time in 14 years",
    "After advancing to third-straight NCAA regional, can Utes make it back to the championships?"
  ],
  "textContent": "Utah wrapped up the 2025-26 sport calendar with success in multiple spring sports.\n\nWomen’s tennis went to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 14 years, track and field sent eight athletes to NCAA regionals and two to the NCAA championships and the men’s golf team made the NCAA regionals for the third-straight time.\n\nThough baseball and softball missed out on NCAA tournaments, both teams showed progress.\n\nHere’s a recap of how the Utes performed in spring sports.\n\n### Baseball\n\nAfter years of waiting for an on-campus home, the University of Utah unveiled its state-of-the-art ballpark on Guardsman Way this spring. The 3,000-seat Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark gives the Utes everything they need in one place, from a team lounge to a weight room and indoor batting and pitching cages.\n\n‘It’s first class’: It’s time to play ball at Utah baseball’s new ballpark\n\nBefore, the Utes were split into three areas — the HPER complex by the Huntsman Center, the practice field on Guardsman Way and Smith’s Ballpark, where they played their games.\n\nNow, it’s all under one roof.\n\nWhile that obviously benefits the team, there was new energy from the fans as well. Everyone has a great view in the 3,000-seat ballpark, which creates a much more intimate environment than the 15,500-seat Smith’s Ballpark.\n\nOn the field, the Utes showed progress in their second season in the Big 12, finishing the regular season with a 26-24 record and improving by four games to go 12-18 in Big 12 play.\n\nThe Utes’ bats led them the majority of the season, scoring 7.3 runs per game. Jake Long (.369 batting average, 76 hits, 56 RBI and 11 home runs), Jet Gilliam (.368, 68 hits, 36 RBI, six HR) and Cameron Gurney (.356, 68 hits, 48 RBI and seven HR) brought the firepower on offense.\n\nUtes made progress in second Big 12 season. Can they win in first-ever Big 12 tournament appearance?\n\nOn the mound, the Utes need to improve if they want to continue to progress next season. Utah had an ERA of 6.65, second-worst in the league, and ranked last in the Big 12 in strikeouts.\n\nUtah did make its first-ever Big 12 baseball tournament, but fell 9-5 to Kansas State in the first round after giving up four runs in the eighth inning.\n\nOverall, Utah’s baseball program has real momentum after opening a new stadium and improving its record. Can it take the next step as a program in 2027?\n\n### Track and field\n\nFor the fifth-consecutive time, the Utah track and field team sent at least eight athletes to the NCAA regionals, including the 4x100 relay team for the second time in school history.\n\nTwo Utes punched their ticket to the NCAA championships — Chelsea Amoah in the 200-meter dash and Mackenzie Rogers in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.\n\n‘Our program is really rolling right now’: Utes send 8 to NCAA track regionals, led by 4x100 relay team\n\nAmoah ran a time of 22.85 seconds to earn her trip to the NCAA championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, while Rogers’ time of 10:08.03 was good for a trip to the championships.\n\nIt’s the fifth-straight year the Utes have sent multiple athletes to the NCAA championships, which start on Wednesday, June 10.\n\n### Women’s tennis\n\nThe Utah women’s tennis team returned to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 14 years after posting a winning record (8-5) for the first time ever as a member of a power conference.\n\nUtah went 15-9 and had an ITA team ranking of 38, punching its ticket to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2012. The Utes went on a nine-match winning streak in March that bolstered their résumé.\n\n‘A special group’: Utah women’s tennis team returns to NCAA Tournament for first time in 14 years\n\nNo. 1 singles player Emma Kamper led the way with a record 16-3, while Sara Akid tallied a 14-3 mark, Kaila Barksdale went 12-2, Emmie Moore went 13-8 and Emma Valletta went 11-8.\n\nThough the Utes lost 4-1 to Cal in the first round of the NCAA tournament, it was the most successful season in over a decade for the women’s tennis team.\n\n### Softball\n\nUtah softball had a rare losing season in 2025, finishing the year with a 13-40 record and just a 5-19 mark in Big 12 play.\n\nIn 2026, the Utes rebounded to a 35-20-1 record — a huge improvement — but a 10-13-1 mark in conference play, combined with a 7-0 loss to No. 2 seed Oklahoma State in the Big 12 tournament, meant that Utah was on the outside looking in come NCAA tournament time.\n\nStill, the Utes made huge strides from a season ago and are set up well for next year with a young team.\n\nFreshman Mia Gomez led Utah with a .383 batting average, 64 hits, 13 doubles, 11 home runs and 41 RBI. Sophomore Kennedy Proctor wasn’t far behind with a .338 batting average, 54 hits, 13 doubles, 14 home runs and 41 RBI. Freshman Danika Wilson added 48 hits, six doubles, eight home runs and 41 RBI.\n\nThe Utes 336 total runs ranked eighth in the Big 12\n\nIn the circle, Utah was among the best in the conference with an ERA of 2.81, led by sophomore Hailey Maestretti, who had an ERA of 2.53 and struck out 82. Junior Shelby Jones, the team’s other starter, had an ERA of 2.55 and struck out 92.\n\nGomez was named a freshman All-American by D1Softball and also made the All-Big 12 second team. Maestretti also was named to the All-Big 12 second team\n\nIf the Utes can improve on offense as a team next season, they could make some noise in the Big 12.\n\n### Golf\n\nIn the fall, Utah’s golf team made program history with a No. 1 ranking in October, led by Gabriel Palacios, who also ranked No. 1 in the nation individually.\n\nIn the spring season, the Utes slipped from their fall performance, but still punched their ticket to the NCAA regionals for the third-consecutive time.\n\nAfter advancing to third-straight NCAA regional, can Utes make it back to the championships?\n\nSergio Jimenez (No. 63), Gabriel Palacios (No. 150) and Brandon Robison (No. 169 in the nation) all ranked in the top 200 nationally and the Utes posted three top-five finishes, including a first-place finish in March’s Schenkel Invitational in which they posted a 21-under, in the fall season.\n\nAt the Columbus regional, Utah overcame 16-over and 19-over performances in the first two rounds with a 2-over total in round three, but was the first team to miss the cut with a 37-over total score.\n\n### Lacrosse\n\nUtah missed out on the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year, falling 13-12 to Air Force in the ASUN semifinals.\n\nThe Utes improved their record from 6-9 to 9-5, but missed the cut for NCAA tournament.\n\nLuke McNamara led Utah with 66 points, including 60 goals, while Ryan Stines added 64 points (39 goals, 25 assists) and Zachary White contributed 52 points (18 goals, 34 assists).\n\nMcNamara led the nation in goals per game with 4.29 and the Utes were top in the country in goals per game as a team with 15.64, but No. 16 in the country in goals allowed per game with 9.93.\n\n### Men’s tennis\n\nIt was a down year for men’s tennis after a 14-10 season in 2025.\n\nThe Utes went 7-16 and just 2-6 in Big 12 play, losing in the first round of the Big 12 tournament to Baylor.\n\nDante Teramo was the Utes’ No. 1 player with a record of 7-12, while Emmett Potter went 9-9 as the No. 2 player.",
  "title": "Taking stock of how Utes’ spring sports teams fared in 2026"
}