MFresh off of their NIT Final Four appearance, the Runnin’ Utes have begun to attack the NCAA transfer portal. On Sunday, their efforts paid off with the addition of forward Keanu Dawes.

The former Rice Owl grew up in Utah, but finished his prep career at Stratford HS in Houston.

He was a Rivals four-star recruit in 2023, ranked as the No. 115 player in the country. Out of high school, Dawes had offers from Utah, Rice, Houston, Texas, Texas Tech, Tennessee, and BYU, to name a few.

What Utah is getting

In his one year with Rice, he averaged 6.6 points per game and 4.1 rebounds in just under 24 minutes per game. He shot 40% from the field and 28.8% from long distance.

He now heads to the Utes where big-man coach Chris Burgess has done wonders with the Utah big men on the roster. Dawes is a stretch-big that gets out and runs the floor. He is also effective in the blocks. He’s a better shooter than his three-point percentage indicates.

Dawes will have immediate rotation minutes, and he should be a favorite to start heading into the 2024-25 season.

What this means for the class

With Jaxon Johnson and David Katoa both signed but slated for LDS missions, Utah currently has three spots to fill after the addition of Dawes. However, that number should increase over the next 1-2 weeks with players opting to look for playing time elsewhere. Stay tuned, it’s about to be a busy offseason. Utah will also have to find substantial NIL money to keep Deivon Smith running the offense.