Carlson, Worster and Smith Headed to Sin City for Pac-12 Media Day

Carlson, Worster and Smith Headed to Sin City for Pac-12 Media Day

10/10/2023 2:57 PM | Men's Basketball

Branden Carlson and Rollie Worster to accompany head coach Craig Smith at Pac-12 Media Day on Oct. 11.

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah men's basketball student-athletes Branden Carlson and Rollie Worster will be alongside head coach Craig Smith at Pac-12 Media Day this Wednesday, Oct. 11, in a new venue at Park MGM in Las Vegas, Nev.

Utah's trio will take the main stage at 2:45 p.m. (MT) on Pac-12 Networks hosted by Guy Haberman and Don MacLean alongside Ashley Adamson. Fans can tune in all day beginning at 10 a.m. (MT) on the Pac-12 Networks, Pac-12.com or via the Pac-12 Now app. For a complete list of the main stage itinerary, click here. To view the Pac-12 Media Day Central Page, click here.

Fans can also follow along and catch behind the scenes action with Carlson, Worster and Smith on Instagram by following @utahmbb and @pac12conference.

YEAR THREE ON THE HILL
This year's Runnin' Utes features a mix of veterans and fresh faces – including four veteran transfers in Hunter Erickson (BYU/SLCC), Cole Bajema (Michigan/Washington), Deivon Smith (Mississippi State/Georgia Tech) and Lawson Lovering (Colorado). Utah also added a quartet of freshmen in Jayden Teat, Jake Wahlin, Ayomide Bamisile and Jerry Huang. In addition to the newcomers and added depth, the Utes also return a defense that was ranked 10th in defensive rebounds per game (28.03), 13th in rebounds per game (39.19), 14th in defensive field-goal percentage (.397), 19th in defensive 3-point field-goal percentage and 31st in scoring defense (63.8). Utah's group of returnees are led by All-Pac-12 player Branden Carlson, Gabe Madsen, Ben Carlson, Wilguens Jr. Exacte, Keba Keta and floor general Rollie Worster.

Meanwhile, the Utes also saw movement on its bench with the promotion of Tramel Barnes to the assistant coach role over the summer. With the new NCAA rule in place, Smith added two bench coaches in Tyler Larson and Jayden Olson while hiring Matt Lopez as his director of scouting and video operations. Larson came to SLC from the Sant Cruz Warriors after a successful professional career oversees while Olsen joined the Runnin' Utes staff from Williston State College where he served as the director of athletics. Prior to that, Olsen spent six seasons at North Dakota State– four of which as the associate head coach. Lopez joined the staff after spending the 2022-23 campaign at Arkansas and the previous two seasons at South Dakota.

NOTES ON BRANDEN CARLSON
After testing the NBA waters, Utah native Branden Carlson returned for his fifth year with the Runnin' Utes. Carlson was recently named to the Pac-12 Preseason Media All-Conference First-Team ahead of media day. The 2022-23 First-Team All-Pac-12 Player averaged 16.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks last season while shooting a .496 clip from the field and .331 clip from beyond the arc. The 7-0 center closed out last season with 1,279 career points – which ties him with Alex Jensen for 24th on the all-time scoring list at Utah. He's also 18 offensive rebounds shy of cracking the top-10 and just 20 rebound shy of cracking the top-10 in defensive rebounds. His 187 career blocks also saw him finish last season third all-time and needs 19 more to pass Luke Nevill (205) for second and 33 to overtake David Foster (219) for the program record. With 110 career games played, Carlson will have an opportunity to crack the top-10 and possibly take over as the program leader should he surpass the 134 career games played by Andre Miller (1995-99) and Drew Hansen (1994-98).

NOTES ON ROLLIE WORSTER
Rollie Worster had a solid second season on the floor for the Runnin' Utes, recording a team-high 149 assists for the Utes – the most since Justin Bibbins dished out 163 in 2017-18. His 149 dimes last season was also good for fifth in the Pac-12. Worster was also 1-of-16 players in the country last season to dish out at least 145 assists while also averaging at least 8.5 points and 5.0 rebounds. The Missoula, Mont., product nearly had a triple-double in Utah's upset over No. 4 Arizona at home last season, scoring 12 points with 11 rebounds and nine assists. Utah's floor general nearly had a triple-double two other times, the first came against Washington at home when he scored 11 points with 10 assist and was just one rebound shy. The second came against Stanford when Worster had 10 points and 10 assists with seven boards. With his 149 assists last season, Worster brings his Utah total to 245 and is now just 117 dimes shy of cracking the top-10 to tie Luka Drca (362, 2006-10).

SEASON TICKETS
Fans can purchase season tickets now and secure their seats ahead of the 2023-24 season online at UtahTickets.com/basketball, reaching out to their ticket representative or by calling the Utah Ticket Office at 801-581-8849.

UP NEXT
The Runnin' Utes will suit up for the first time in 2023-24 on Wednesday, Nov. 1, when it hosts Westminster for an exhibition game inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Utah will then officially open its season on Monday, Nov. 6, against Eastern Washington at 7:30 p.m. (MT) on Pac-12 Networks.

For the latest news and information on the Runnin' Utes men's basketball program, fans can stay connected online at www.UtahUtes.com and on social media by following @UtahMBB on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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