“… as we enter the busy tournament stretch of December, teams across every classification are starting to discover who they really are.”
Utah High School Hoops Heat Up:
December Brings Tournament Tests, Rising Stars, and Early-Season Clarity
By Mountain & Main — Utah Sports Ink
The first few weeks of Utah high school basketball always feel like a rush–new lineups, breakout performances, and preseason polls that almost never survive the opening month. Now, as we enter the busy tournament stretch of December, teams across every classification are starting to discover who they really are. These next few weeks shape everything: confidence, chemistry, region readiness, and ultimately the road to the state tournaments coming in February.
At Mountain & Main, our Utah Sports Ink team will be courtside all season, keeping a close eye on the programs along the Wasatch Front and spotlighting the players, coaches, and communities that make high school basketball one of the state’s great winter traditions. From marquee matchups to emerging stars, we’ll bring you the stories behind the scores as the season unfolds.
Boys Basketball: Breakouts and Big-Time Early Tests
One of the biggest early surprises comes out of 2A Rowland Hall, where sophomore and first-year varsity guard Jrue Miller has erupted onto the statewide scene. Miller opened the year with back-to-back scoring outbursts of 42 and 41 points–drilling seven 3-pointers in each game, according to the Deseret News. With the Winged Lions returning home this week, the question becomes: can the young star keep his astonishing pace?
Meanwhile, at the higher classifications, contenders are already colliding. The December 4 matchup between Highland and American Fork is shaping up to be a major early-season measuring stick–two programs with championship expectations stepping into a game that may tell us a lot about the February landscape.
Girls Basketball: Power Programs, Rising Talent, and a Loaded Field
On the girls side, Region 10 in 4A is already emerging as one of the state’s toughest, with Ridgeline, Mountain Crest, and Sky View all starting 3–0 and all landing in the preseason coaches poll. Their round-robin battles once region play begins could determine not only the region hierarchy, but early postseason momentum.
Statewide, the talent level is as deep as Utah has seen in years. Ute commit Rylee Little (2A Kanab) is one of the state’s most dynamic scorers, while BYU commit Kennedy Woolston leads a Lone Peak squad chasing an extraordinary fifth straight 6A state title. Whether in the small schools or the big divisions, elite players are setting the stage for a fiercely competitive season.
The Road Ahead
December is where teams stop guessing and start proving. Tournament pods, neutral-site showcases, long-road trips, and heavyweight cross-classification matchups bring out the best–and sometimes reveal the cracks. By the time January region play arrives, the picture will look very different from the preseason assumptions we all started with.
And when February hits? Brackets drop, gym crowds swell, and Utah basketball becomes electric.
Mountain & Main’s Utah Sports Ink will be there for all of it—tracking the rivalries, the breakout names, the must-see games, and the storylines that carry teams all the way to the postseason.