Winter 2026 Sports Briefs

Utah Athletics tied its highest graduation success rate (GSR) in department history for the second year in a row, reaching 95 percent in NCAA’s annual GSR report. That figure ties for the third-highest rate among all power conference public institutions. This is Utah’s eighth consecutive year at 93 percent or higher and third time at 95 percent. The report measures the percentage of student-athletes who earned their undergraduate degrees within six years of enrolling.

Utah Volleyball capped the year with a first-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the 20th time in program history, after a 15-14 regular season that included Big 12 wins over No. 13 Kansas and No. 23 BYU. Junior outside hitter Kamryn Gibadlo and senior middle blocker Emrie Moea’i earned All-Big 12 honors for their contributions throughout the year. The season marked the end of an era as Beth Launiere, the program’s winningest head coach, announced her retirement after 36 years. Launiere led the Utes to 689 victories, six conference titles, 20 NCAA Tournament berths, four Sweet Sixteens, and multiple coach of the year awards across the Pac-12, AVCA West Region, and Mountain West Conference.

Utah Golf star Gabriel Palacios landed on the 2025-26 Haskins Award final fall watch list, a selection of 25 top NCAA Division I male golfers. Palacios also earned a spot on Team International in the 2025 Arnold Palmer Cup, the first Ute to be selected for the prestigious event.

The Utah cross country team finished 17th overall at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Erin Vringer led Utah with a time of 19:38.2 for 59th place. Annastasia Peters was the next-best finisher for the Utes, crossing at 19:54.3 for 88th place. Both Vringer and Peters finished the 6000m course under 20 minutes, which marked just the fifth and sixth times a Ute has run a sub-20 at the championships.