• Utah Valley opens the 2024-25 season on Monday night at the UCCU Center against NCAA Division II foe Western Colorado. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
   
• Utah Valley returns four letterwinners, including two starters from last year's team that won 16 games and tied for fourth in the WAC with an 11-9 record. Ethan Potter (7.9 ppg., 4.2 rpg.) and Tanner Toolson (9.5 ppg., 3.8 rpg.) are the returning starters returning from last year's squad. Potter led the Wolverines over the final 12 games of the 2023-24 season, averaging 15.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
   
• Redshirt sophomore guard Trevan Leonhardt and sophomore forward Osiris Grady, who was named the WAC All-Freshman team last season, also return to the team. Leonhardt averaged 2.1 points and 1.1 assists last season, while Grady posted 4.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.
   
• Utah Valley welcomes 12 new players to the squad, including eight transfers in Dominick Nelson (Polk State), Andre Johnson Jr. (Uconn), Kylin Green (Daytona State), Noah Taitz (LMU), Hayden Welling (UC Irvine), Cory Wells (Xavier-La.), Carter Welling (UC Irvine), and Majer Sullivan (Yuba College). UVU also welcomes four freshman in Tyler Medaris (Middleton, Idaho), Jake Nadauld (Springville, Utah), Tyler Weaver (Aliso Viejo, Calif.), and Dylan Metoyer (Chatsworth, Calif.).
   
•  Utah Valley was selected to finish fifth in the 2024-25 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll.
   
• Phillips became the winningest first-year head coach in Utah Valley's Division I history last season, leading the Wolverines to a 16-16 overall record, breaking the previous wins mark of 12 wins set during the 2015-16 season under head coach Mark Pope. Phillips also wrapped up WAC play with the most league wins by a first-year head coach in UVU history with 11, breaking the previous record of six set by Pope in 2015-16. Phillips is the first coach in UVU history to finish WAC play with a winning record by a first-year head coach. He also set the UVU record by a first-year head coach for the best KenPom rating (162) and NCAA NetRating (173). 

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Monday night's game will be broadcast live on ESPN+, which is available on the ESPN app and on ESPNplus.com. Brandon Crow and Josh Kallunki will be on the call for the ESPN+ broadcast. The game will also be broadcast over the air waves on the Wolverine Sports Network with Jim McCulloch and Brice Larson on the call. The radio broadcast will be aired live on ESPN 960 AM/103.9 FM radio in Utah County and 98.3 FM/105.1 (HD2) in Salt Lake City with a live stream available at ESPN960sports.com. Larson will host the pregame/halftime/postgame show for the game.

ABOUT WESTERN COLORADO
Western Colorado is an NCAA Division II school and a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC). The team opens its season with a pair of exhibition games against Division I opponents on the road. The Mountaineers will open the season at Utah Valley on Monday night before traveling to play Denver on Friday. The team will then play its official season opener at Oklahoma Christian on Nov. 10. Western Colorado finished the 2023-24 season with an 11-17 overall record, recording its most wins in a season since the 2019-20 season. Zac Claus entering his second season as the Mountaineers' head coach returns eleven members of his squad with the addition of four. Western Colorado's top three scorers are back this season, senior Kade Juelfs (13 ppg), sophomore Tyler Halligan (8.2 ppg) and senior Amar Rivers (6.6 ppg).  Also back are WCU's top three rebounders junior Andrew Reichart (4.3 rpg), senior Jamel Hollins (5.3 rpg) and Rivers (3.6 rpg).

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE MOUNTAINEERS
Utah Valley and Western Colorado will meet on the basketball hardwood for just the third time on Monday night. The Wolverines hold an all-time 3-0 record against the Mountaineers, including an 87-52 win in Orem last season. UVU holds an all-time perfect 64-0 record against non-Division I teams.  

UCCU CENTER MAGIC
Utah Valley holds an impressive 75-17 (81.5%) record at home since a win over Seattle U on March 4, 2017. The Wolverines hold an all-time 226-63 (78.2%) record as the team is in its 21st season at the UCCU Center. The Wolverines are averaging 10.9 wins a season on their home hardwood. UVU finished 14-1 at home last season. The team has won 23 of its last 25 games at home and 31 of its last 35 at the UCCU Center. Utah Valley's 14 wins at home during the 2022-23 season tied the program record for home wins in a season with the 2006-07, 2011-12, and 2018-19 seasons. UVU is 6-1 at home this season.

UTAH VALLEY PICKED FIFTH IN WAC PRESEASON COACHES POLL
Utah Valley was selected to finish fifth in the 2024-25 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll, the league office announced on Tuesday. The Wolverines, led by second-year head coach Todd Phillips, received 38 points in the poll voted on by the league's nine head coaches. Two-time defending WAC Tournament champion Grand Canyon was the unanimous pick to win the league, securing eight first-place votes and a total of 64 points. UT Arlington followed in second place with 49 points, while Seattle U, California Baptist, and Utah Valley rounded out the top five. Seattle U received the only other first-place vote.