On Tuesday, new Utah Men’s Basketball coach Craig Smith received his first bit of good player news, as junior forward Riley Battin pulled his name out of the NCAA Transfer Portal.

He made his intentions know on Twitter:

Battin finished the 2020-21 season scoring 6.6 points per game, as his role had slightly reduced from his sophomore season. Despite that reduced playing time and an early season slump, he was called on to play a bigger role, as he began to heat up about halfway through Pac-12 play.

With no coach in place, Battin officially entered his name into the transfer portal on March 24th as a technicality to keep his options open. Since then it’s apparent he likes the vision and enthusiasm that Smith has brought to the program.

As Smith looks to build his team, four Utes remain in the portal: Lahat Thioune, Jordan Kellier, Timmy Allen and Alfonso Plummer. Allen did it to keep his options open and Plummer did so while also declaring for the NBA Draft. Additionally, while there has been no official announcement, multiple sources have told UteNation that Mikael Jantunen is set on staying in Finland to play basketball. Whether it’s salvageable with Jantunen, is yet to be determined.

Tuesday’s welcome news comes as Smith continues to fill out his coaching staff. So far unofficially, both Eric Peterson (Utah State) and former longtime Utah assistant—who last coached at UNLV—DeMarlo Slocum are joining the staff.