Head Coach Jon Judkins of Utah Tech Trailblazers was named the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Coach of the Year by Hoops HD, as announced on Sunday. Ethan Potter, a senior forward who transferred from Utah Valley, earned a spot on the All-WAC Team.
Judkins guided the Trailblazers to an 11-win improvement during the regular season, resulting in a third-place finish in the WAC standings. This performance came after Utah Tech was predicted to finish sixth in the preseason poll. Under Judkins’ leadership, the team achieved 18 wins, marking their highest total since joining Division I.
Judkins was also recognized as one of 25 finalists for the Hugh Durham Award, which honors the top mid-major head coach in the country.
Potter had a standout season, earning four WAC Player of the Week awards. He led the conference in rebounds per game (8.0), total rebounds (255), and field goal percentage (58.9%). Potter also ranked second in both points per game (16.3) and total points (522).
The Trailblazers are set to begin play in the WAC Tournament on Thursday night at 9:30 p.m. Mountain Time at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
“HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel has reviewed all the numbers and is ready to announce his picks for the 5 best players from each conference based on their all-around stats,” according to Hoops HD. “Players are listed in a traditional 5-position lineup (G-G-F-F-C) whenever possible with several exceptions, plus special awards for each conference’s Player of the Year (POY), Rookie of the Year (ROY), Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY), 6th Man of the Year (6TH), and Coach of the Year (COY).”
Other individual WAC honors included Dominique Daniels Jr. from Cal Baptist as Player of the Year and Elijah Duval from Southern Utah as Rookie of the Year.
