Utah State Guard Drake Allen To Return For Final Year

Over the last five seasons, Utah State has had four different head coaches in charge, and since new transfer portal and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rules were implemented, rosters have also looked extremely different from year to year.

With a new head coaching hire last season, the only three returners were Mason Falslev, Karson Templin, and Isaac Johnson, forcing the new coaching staff to field their roster primarily from the portal, bringing in seven transfers.

Now, after uncertainty following the season, Jerrod Calhoun, Mason Falslev, and Karson Templin, who all certainly had lucrative offers to jump ship and take their talents elsewhere, are staying at Utah State.

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This rare stability in this day and age of college sports will give the Aggies the chance to truly build from last season to next. While the squad did lose pieces like Ian Martinez, Dexter Akanno, and Aubin Gateretse to graduation, only Isaac Johnson, Deyton Albury, Pavle Stosic, and Braden Housley have entered the transfer portal. With just four departing transfers so far and eight days remaining in the current portal window, the only Mountain West teams with fewer exits are San Diego State and Nevada.

This means that along with Falslev and Templin, players Tucker Anderson, Jordy Barnes, and Isaac Davis are all seemingly coming back in 2025-26, allowing the returning coaching staff to supplement the already strong roster with transfers as opposed to building a team entirely from the portal.

RELATED: Mason Falslev Confirms Return To Utah State For Junior Season

It has also become less common for top players for mid-major teams like Mason Falslev and Karson Templinto to turn down the chance to jump to a Power 5 program. This can be seen even just within the Mountain West Conference with Donovan Dent transferring from New Mexico to UCLA, Obi Agbim jumping from Wyoming to Baylor, Dedan Thomas Jr heading from UNLV to LSU, and so many more.

For Utah State, this much returning firepower to a team that already made the NCAA Tournament will mean high expectations heading into next season.

About Drake Allen

A Westlake High School standout, Allen played basketball and baseball for the Thunder. After graduating in 2020, Allen played two seasons with the Snow College Badgers in the Scenic West Athletic Conference of the junior college ranks. As a sophomore, Allen averaged 12.8 points and six assists while earning NJCAA Second Team All-America honors.

Allen spent 2022-23 at Southern Utah. The 6’4 playmaker averaged 11.0 points, 3.6 assists, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game. He was named to the WAC All-Newcomer team as a sophomore.