By Tobias Bass, Christopher Kamrani and C.J. Moore

Utah has parted ways with men’s basketball coach Craig Smith after nearly four seasons, the program announced Monday.

Assistant coach Josh Eilert will serve as the interim coach moving forward.

Smith, 52, was the head coach at South Dakota from 2014-18 and at Utah State from 2018-21, where he led the Aggies to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances before moving to Salt Lake City.

Smith was hired in the summer of 2021 and guided the Utes to a 65-62 overall record, failing to make an NCAA Tournament appearance. In 2023-24, he made the NIT semifinals, losing to Indiana State, 100-90.

The 2024-25 Utah team only returned 36 percent of its scoring from a season ago, so Smith turned to the transfer portal, adding eight transfers and three freshmen. Jaxon Johnson, Utah’s top-ranked freshman, is the highest-ranked recruit in program history according to 247Sports, but is absent as he serves a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Johnson is planning to join the Utes in 2026. Of their eight transfers, only one averages 10 points or more in Ezra Ausar (East Carolina).

Utah currently ranks 10th in the Big 12 at 15-12 overall, 7-9 in conference play. The Utes face No. 22 Arizona on Wednesday. Smith was considered a potential hot-seat candidate despite pulling off big wins over Kansas and Kansas State in mid-February, though the Utes followed them with a four-point loss to UCF.

Why the Utes made this decision now

While the timing of dismissal so late in the year is odd, it’s evident that Utah athletic director Mark Harlan wanted to get a head start on figuring out who can resurrect a once-proud program that has floundered for nearly a decade.

Utah hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2016. In 2021, Harlan hoped Smith’s fantastic track record up the road at Utah State — three tournament appearances in three years — would help reverse the fortunes of the program, but in nearly four years at the helm, Smith’s Utes made no NCAA appearances and were rarely major players in recruiting top-tier high school or transfer portal talent.

In the time that Smith was at Utah, the school’s bitter rival, BYU, also rose to national acclaim in the sport. After former head coach Mark Pope helped establish a tantalizing style of play before taking the head-coaching job at his alma mater Kentucky, BYU hired highly-regarded NBA assistant coach Kevin Young.

And in less than a year under Young, BYU has recruited two presumed lottery pick talents in Russian freshman point guard Egor Demin and five-star phenom A.J. Dybantsa. Young also hired former Utah star Chris Burgess away from Smith’s staff after three years in Salt Lake.

Utah was a powerhouse under legendary head coach Rick Majerus in the 1990s, when they were March Madness regulars. But since the late Majerus left, Utah has made just four NCAA Tournament appearances in 20 years. Utah hasn’t had a player drafted since Kyle Kuzma in 2017. As BYU’s stock rises with superstar talent and Utah State once again looks to be a tournament team for a sixth year in a row, the pressure mounts on Harlan to find a coach who can resuscitate a program that has drifted into irrelevancy. — Christopher Kamrani, college senior writer

Could Utah try copying BYU and go with the NBA model?

Legendary Utah guard Andre Miller is the head coach of the Grand Rapids Gold in the G League. Former Utah guard Johnnie Bryant is associate head coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Former Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski is coaching the Salt Lake City Stars. One industry insider floated the idea that Utah already has its coach picked out and that’s why the odd timing on the firing of Smith. Whoever lands the job, the key is going to be securing NIL funding.

The belief is that Utah is near the bottom of the Big 12 when it comes to NIL budget, and BYU’s climb to the top is one big reason for its rise. It’ll be key that Utah hire someone who can fundraise and motivate boosters to spend. — C.J. Moore, college basketball staff writer

Required reading

(Photo: Dylan Buell / Getty Images)