Utah basketball is getting a player back from the transfer portal

Utah Utes forward Riley Battin (21) dribbles the ball around Idaho forward Jake Bruner (3) during a basketball exhibition game at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2018. Battin had entered the transfer portal but will return to the Utes. | Qiling Wang, Deseret News

With new head coach Craig Smith now in place, the University of Utah men’s basketball team got some good news on the transfer portal front Tuesday.

On March 23, it was reported by Verbal Commits that forward Riley Battin, a rising senior, had entered the portal, but on Tuesday evening, Battin posted a short video on Twitter with a message indicating that he’s returning to Utah after all.

UTAH, let’s run it back! @UtahMBB pic.twitter.com/yTtTCYAyns

— Riley Battin (@battin_riley) March 31, 2021

Smith agreed to become Utah’s new coach late on March 26 and met with his new team the next morning.

Battin, a California native who is listed at 6-foot-9 and 230 pounds, started nine of 25 games in the 2020-21 season and averaged 6.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest.

Four players from last season’s roster are still reportedly in the transfer portal: Timmy Allen, Alfonso Plummer, Lahat Thioune and Jordan Kellier. Brendan Wenzel entered the portal during the season and has officially joined the Wyoming Cowboys.

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