Report: Utah hiring Dallas Mavericks assistant Alex Jensen as new head coach

The Utah Utes men’s basketball program has hired Dallas Mavericks assistant Alex Jensen as its next head coach, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Jeff Borzello. Jensen is a Utah alum who played for the Utes in the mid-to-late 1990s before an eight-year playing career overseas.

Jensen replaces Craig Smith, who was fired on Feb. 24. That came after four years in Salt Lake City, after going 65-62 overall and 30-46 in league play across four seasons in the Pac-12 and Big 12.

Dallas Mavericks assistant Alex Jensen has accepted the job as the next coach at Utah, sources tell me and @jeffborzello. He’s a former star player there and has been an NBA assistant since 2013. He’s a former head coach of the Canton Charge in the G League.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 6, 2025

Jensen played under the great Rick Majerus at Utah from 1994-95 and returned to the program from 1997-2000 following a two-year mission. He was a key part of the 1998 team that won the national championship, averaging 6.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists while starting all 38 games.

After his college career ended, Jensen played at the professional level in Europe from 2000-07. He then returned stateside and reunited with Majerus at Saint Louis, working under his former head coach as an assistant until 2011.

From there, Jensen became the head coach of the Canton Charge in the NBA D-League and returned to the state of Utah as an assistant coach with the Jazz in 2013. He remained in that role until 2023 when he headed to Dallas to work under Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd.

Now, he appears to be heading back to his alma mater. Goodman reported a deal could come together in the next couple of days, meaning Utah could have a coach in place by the time the transfer portal window opens on March 17.

Utah’s pursuit of Jensen follows a similar path to the one instate rival BYU took last year. After Mark Pope left to become the head coach at Kentucky, the Cougars turned to the NBA to land Phoenix Suns associate head coach Kevin Young, who had never coached at the college level.

However, BYU used an influx of NIL dollars to help build the roster, and the program made a huge splash on the recruiting trail this cycle, landing AJ Dybantsa. The Hurricane (UT) Utah Prep prospect is the No. 1 overall player from the 2025 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. Dybantsa is also gearing up to secure a lucrative NIL package, On3’s Pete Nakos previously reported.

Utah has two games remaining on its schedule during the regular season and enter Tuesday night’s matchup against West Virginia with a 19-10 overall record and an 8-10 mark in Big 12 action. The Utes will close things out Saturday against BYU and will then turn their attention toward the first round of the Big 12 Tournament.

On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this report.