We try to provide reports from the state's elite basketball club teams from time to time because the teams generally include players who will end up being among the most-recruited athletes in Utah.

Last weekend, the Utah Pump-N-Run Under-16 team made it to the semifinals in the varsity division at a tournament in Boise, Idaho.

The team of sophomores defeated Pocatello Highland (Idaho) 59-38, with American Fork's Tanner LeBaron scoring 14 points. Highland's Nathan Fakahafua added 12 and Juan Diego's Morgan Hesleph had six rebounds.

The Utahns then defeated Boise Elite Blue B Team 47-43 as Fakahafua scored 19 points on 10-for-12 shooting. Highland's Sam Orchard made some crucial hustle plays in the critical moments.

A team called the Boise Flight White A Team, which consisted of seniors, including Idaho's 4A and 5A MVPs, downed the Utah team 60-48 in the semis. Fakahafua had 13 and LeBaron added 12. Wasatch High's Michael Brown chipped in 10.

The Utahns downed Idaho Select 62-47 in the third-place game as Fakahafua scored 25 and Hesleph 13. Lehi's Zach Stanley had five assists.

Others who contributed to the team's success were Timpanogos' Christopher Melville, American Fork's Nate Ensign, Woods Cross' Peter Howey and Viewmont's Blake Wilkinson.

The team was coached by Jason Long and Dave Thompson.

Utah State's football program has picked up a late commitment from one of the top junior college quarterbacks in California, according to the Web site JCfootball.com.

Jeff Fischer, a 6-foot, 195-pound sophomore orally committed to the Aggies on Sunday. Fischer competed 160 of 249 passes for 1.849 yards and 22 touchdowns with only four interceptions last year in 10 games, according to the site.

Fischer, who played juco ball for Cerritos Junior College, will have three years to play two in Logan. He also received interest from Colorado State.

We mentioned a few days ago that Jared Richardson, a linebacker at Bonneville High in Idaho Falls, Idaho, has accepted an offer to be a preferred walk-on at BYU this fall.

Here's a link to the story about Richardson, brother of current BYU player Jordan Richardson and just-graduated BYU player Brock Richardson, that was in the Idaho Falls Post-Register newspaper.

Speaking of non-scholarship guys who will earn a spot on the 105-man roster, it appears that another of BYU's preferred walk-ons in 2009 will be Jordan Pili, a linebacker at Timpanogos High in Orem.

A family member confirmed that Pili has been accepted at BYU and plans on enrolling this fall.

Pili at one time had an offer from UNLV. The 5-foot-11, 224-pound senior is the younger brother of Thor Pili, who played for UNLV. He is also the nephew of Ifo Pili, a former Cougar who played in the NFL.

A few days ago Scout.com released its list of the top 300 high school football prospects from the class of 2010, and we listed the Utahns who made the list here.

They are Timpview defensive end Bronson Kaufusi, Brighton defensive tackle Ricky Heimuli, Pleasant Grove quarterback Dallas Lloyd, Timpview safety Chris Badger and Timpanogos defensive end Joe Kruger.

Scout.com has now presented a list of the top 150 players in the West, and more Utahns have been chosen for that.

In addition to the aforementioned, Bingham defensive tackle Tuni Kanuch (6-1, 285), Alta offensive tackle Jordan Black (6-7, 235) and Pleasant Grove tight end Bryan Sampson (6-4, 210) are on that list.

Black has committed to BYU, while Sampson is the brother of current Utah tight end Colt Sampson.

Another Richardson from Idaho is adding his name to BYU's football roster.

The Idaho Falls Post-Register reported Thursday that Jared Richardson, a linebacker from Bonneville High in Idaho Falls, Idaho, has accepted a preferred walk-on offer from BYU.

Richardson is the younger brother of Brock Richardson, a defensive lineman who just graduated from BYU and is now working towards becoming a trainer at the school. Another brother, Jordan Richardson, will join BYU's roster when he returns from a mission to Brazil.

Jared Richardson said he also had offers to be a preferred walk-on at Boise State and Utah State.

He averaged 10.9 tackles a game in both his junior and senior years and was the High Country Conference Defensive Player of the Year last fall, according to the Post-Register.

Another defensive star from Southern Idaho, Mason Higham of Shelley High, will also join BYU in the fall as a preferred walk-on.

Preferred walk-ons are not on scholarship, but they do have guaranteed spots on the 105-man roster.

Scout.com recently released its list of the top 300 high school football prospects from across the country. These are juniors who will sign national letters of intent with their chosen college programs next February.

The highest ranked Utahn is Timpview defensive end Bronson Kaufusi, who is ranked as the No. 53 player in the country and rates four stars from the Web site. Kaufusi (6-6, 220) is the son of BYU defensive line coach Steve Kaufusi and has committed to BYU.

The next highest ranked Utahn is Brighton High defensive tackle Ricky Heimuli (No. 159). Heimuli, the cousin of Utah signee Latu Heimuli and BYU signee Anthony Heimuli, is a four-star prospect who already has 11 offers, including invitations from BYU, Utah, UCLA, Washington and Michigan State.

Because Kaufusi has already committed, Heimuli will likely be the most heavily recruited prospect in the state in the coming months.

Pleasant Grove quarterback Dallas Lloyd, 6-3, 192, is No. 188 on Scout.com's list. Lloyd, a four-star prospect, has offers from BYU, Stanford, Utah, Wyoming and others.

At No. 201 is Timpview safety Chris Badger, who has committed to Stanford. Badger rates three stars from Scout.com, and had offers from BYU, Utah and others before choosing the Cardinal a few weeks ago.

Joe Kruger, the Timpanogos defensive end, is at 219. Kruger, younger brother of Utah standout Paul Kruger, has committed to the University of Utah. Rumors ran rampant a few months ago that Joe Kruger was going to transfer to Pleasant Grove for his senior season of football, but a source close to the situation said Tuesday that Kruger is staying put at Timpanogos.

The same source said that Kruger's commitment to Utah is not rock solid.

----------------------

Other players of interest on Scout.com's Top 300 list include:

* Jake Heaps, the LDS quarterback from Skyline High in Issaquah, Wash., is ranked as the No. 14 top prospect overall and the top quarterback. Heaps, 6-2, 195, is a huge BYU target.

* Zac Stout, a linebacker from Oaks Christian High in Westlake Village, Calif., is No. 120 and rates four stars. Stout, who is also LDS, has an offer from BYU and nearly a dozen other schools.
* V.J. Fehoko, a linebacker from Farrington High in Honolulu, is No. 128 and gets four stars as well. He has offers from BYU and Utah.
* Kona Schwenke, a lineman from Kahuku, Hawaii, is at No. 240. He also has offers from BYU, Utah, Hawaii and others.

Here's another up-and-coming Utah high school basketball player to keep an eye on: American Fork sophomore Tanner LeBaron.

LeBaron made 52 three-pointers in 21 games this past season to lead 5A in that category with a 2.48 average.

West Jordan's Rayes Gallegos, who has signed to play for Nebraska, was 5A's second most prolific three-point shooter.

LeBaron will play on a Utah Pump-n-Run under 16 team this spring and summer.

BYU's men's volleyball team was having an average year -- by its standards -- until a week ago, when the Cougars upset No. 4-ranked Penn State.

Friday night, the Cougars continued their hot streak and downed No. 5 Long Beach State in five sets. Then they did it again on Saturday, also in five sets.

Off the court, the Cougars have also received some good news. They have received a commitment from one of the top prep volleyball players in Southern California.

Tyler Heap, a senior at La Jolla High in the San Diego area, has committed to play for BYU. In addition to being a standout basketball and volleyball player, Heap carries a 3.85 GPA.

I caught up with Utah assistant coach Morgan Scalley to get his thoughts on recruiting, since he is the Utes' new recruiting coordinator. Here you go:

Will anything change?
"Our philosophy won't change. What has made us successful in the past is taking raw material and turning them into something. We're not a university that can go out and get the ready made players and take their pick. That is just how recruiting works, that is where we are at. We need to be projectors. Speed is obviously something we stress, coach Whittingham has harped on that a lot."

The Utes competed against the Pac-10 for several players this year, can we expect more of that?
"We feel like we can go up against those schools, a lot has to do with that some of those big names were local, but more and more we get out there and get our name out there, the more we can battle those BCS schools. It's only going to continue to improve as long as we show we can do it."

How will the Utes' new hirings affect recruiting?
"Blake Miller having been in Texas and having experience in Louisiana and JD Williams was in California, those are natural fits. John Pease, his influence and time he spent in California, he'll be in California as well. Most of our players come from California, Utah and Texas is becoming a more of a priority for us. Texas, those players are able to do spring practice in full gear and scrimmage almost year-round, you can put them in the weight room and they are used to it."

Does he anticipate running into former Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig on the recruiting trail now that he has jumped from Kansas State to Cal?
"He is doing what is best for him, but we've gone up against Cal in the past and we'll continue to go up against him as long as we are focusing on California but we are excited for it. We have so many selling points, the more we go out on the field and show up against the big boys, the more it will help out in recruiting. You establish yourselves in Texas and California, then the players who are here from those areas can sell it as well. The biggest selling point are the players, the guys you are going to be around for four and five years. Coaches can sell it all they want, but it's the players who are going to tell it like it is, when they are alone with recruits."

How do you take advantage of the Sugar Bowl exposure?
"Have to keep on pumping it. Look at what we did against the SEC, what we've done against teams in the past, look at what we've done not only in our bowl games but the big-name teams we've beaten in the regular season you have to keep on selling that to those kids. Once they get here and they see not only what we have to offer academically but what we've done athletically, it's hard to leave here without saying, 'Hey this is a special place.'"
- Lya Wodraska

Timpview safety Chris Badger might not be the only defensive back from Utah to land a Division I scholarship next February. Badger, of course, has committed to Stanford.

Park City's Erik Walker is also turning some heads on the national level.

Walker was one of the top 500 or so juniors in the country invited two months ago to participate in the U.S. Army All-American National Combine in San Antonio, Texas. Only five Utahns, including Badger and Walker, were invited.

Walker ran the fastest pro-agility drill (4.09 seconds) among all the DBs at the combine, and the second-fastest of all the players there.

He also had one of the highest vertical jumps (33 inches) and posted one of the fastest 40 times.

Couple updates on two Utah high school athletes, juniors, who will be among the most-recruited players in the state next year.

In basketball, Provo High's Kyle Collinsworth fell just short of delivering another state championship for the Bulldogs, but his recruitment is as hot as ever.

Collinsworth has been invited to attend the NBA Players Camp in Virginia in June. Only the top 100 players in the country get nominated.

UCLA has now officially jumped into the picture, sending word that they plan on visiting Provo soon to get a look at Collinsworth.

Marquette has also started to recruit him.

Among the schools that attended the state tournament to watch Collinsworth were Stanford, UNLV, Utah, BYU and Arizona State.

Wake Forest, Washington State, Cal, Arizona, USC, Oregon State, Kansas and Baylor continue to call the young man or his high school coach, Craig Drury. -----------------------

Ricky Heimuli, a defensive tackle at Brighton High who will be a senior next year, continues to attract college football recruiters.

According to his brother, Heimuli (6-4, 290) recently received an offer from the University of Colorado.

Oregon State recently offered, along with UCLA and Oregon.

Heimuli got his first offers a few weeks ago from BYU, Utah, Stanford and Washington.

One of the state's top junior basketball players, Bingham High's 6-foot-8 Ben Clifford, confirmed Sunday evening that he has orally committed to play college basketball for Utah State.

Clifford, who has started for Bingham since his sophomore year, said that he just felt the timing was right to commit to USU assistant coach Chris Jones -- and then head coach Stew Morrill -- on Sunday.

He was Bingham's leading scorer this past season and helped the Miners get to the 5A semifinals, where they lost to Lone Peak.

"I have been thinking about it all last week and I pretty much decided the next time I talked to [USU coaches] I would tell them," Clifford said.

He also had scholarship offers from Portland and Weber State.

"Utah State is close to home, but it's not too close to home," he said. "It just seems like the perfect place for me."

BYU has offered a football scholarship to Keanu Nelson, an all-around athlete from Sabino High in the Tucson, Ariz., area.

Nelson, a 5-foot-11, 165-pound junior, also has an offer from Colorado State.

The receiver and running back rushed for 571 yards last year, on 57 carries. He also had 21 receptions for 480 yards and three TDs.

He also plays defensive back for his high school team.

Since Logan's Riley Nelson graduated, the state of Utah hasn't really produced a highly-recruited, sure-fire, Division I quality high school quarterback.

Sure, Logan's Jeff Manning signed with Utah State in February (he will go on a church mission first), but the Aggies were really the only D-I team to come through with an offer for Manning. (I'm on record as saying that other schools are going to regret that, but that's a topic for another day).

Anyway, it appears that the state's next highly recruited QB will be Dallas Lloyd, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound junior at Pleasant Grove High in Utah County.

Lloyd already has offers from BYU, Utah, Wyoming, Stanford and Tulsa.

He helped the Vikings to 10-2 in his junior season, throwing for 1,689 yards and 15 TDs with just four interceptions.

He was the Region 4 Quarterback of the Year.

Last weekend, Lloyd earned All-Camp Team honors at the Las Vegas Scout/Badger 7-on-7 Passing Tournament.

Bingham running back Harvey Langi (a sophomore who has offers from Utah and BYU), Pleasant Grove tight end Bryan Sampson and Timpview's Chris Badger also made the all-camp team.

Badger has committed to Stanford.

Judge Memorial has announced two more athletes have signed letters of intent. Jake Troy has signed to play soccer at Cal State Northridge and Mitch Wood will play football at Willamette College in Salem, Oregon.
Troy is expected to play center back for the Matadors.

"Jake is an outstanding young man and a captain for the 2009 squad," his coach Kelly Terrill said. "He is a leader among his teammates and a role model for our underclassmen."

Wood was named to the Salt Lake Tribune's All-State second team as a linebacker.
"Mitch worked very hard for this opportunity and will gain a great academic and athletic experience at Willamette," coach James Cordova said.

Six high school soccer stars have signed to play for the University of Utah's women's soccer team next fall, coach Rich Manning announced recently.

The 2009 signing class includes four Utahns: Bountiful defender Monica Okapal, Park City forward Hanna Terry, Park City defender Zoe Van Gorder and Springville forward Natalie Young.

Ashley Mosley, a defender from Las Vegas, and Stephanie Lemeza, a midfielder from Ontario, Canada, have also signed with Utah.

"Natalie and Ashley are excellent track athletes. Hanna and Monica have good speed and Stephanie and Zoe are powerful players. With Erin Dalley and Jen Christoffers coming back from redshirt years, the difference in our team's athleticism will be dramatic," Manning said.

A top recruit from Southern California whom the Utah State Aggies wanted and had on their campus last weekend has committed to San Diego of the West Coast Conference.

A source close to USU's basketball recruiting efforts confirmed that Jordan Mackie, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard from Dorsey High in Los Angeles picked USD.

Mackie was on USU's campus with a recruit who has committed to Utah State: Preston Medlin, a 6-5 guard from Hebron High in Texas.

Both players are seniors.

-- Jay Drew

One of the state's top boys soccer club teams, La Roca Premier U-18, is sending an impressive group of players on to a variety of college soccer programs across the country.

Here's where they are headed:

Tyler Albrechtson -- Regis University or Dixie State College

Branton Bauman (Layton) -- Phoenix Junior College

Tyler Bowlin (Weber) -- UNLV

Jon Davis (Roy) -- Yavapai J.C. or CSU-East Bay

Trevor Henderson (Timpanogos) -- BYU

Josh Hernandez -- Dixie State College

Mike Hodgen (Bountiful) -- Oregon State

Kody Hunter (Fremont) -- Dixie State College

Gentry Maag -- Iowa Western

Tommy Martin (Park City) -- Oregon State

Jake Peterson (Roy) -- BYU

Jordan Roylance -- Dixie State College

Jake Troy (Judge Memorial) -- Cal State Northridge

The Utes are hard at work in spring practice and on the recruiting front. Utah picked up a commitment from Jacoby Hale, a Beaumont, Texas linebacker who committed to the Utes even though he has yet to visit the school.

"Coach Scalley has been talking to me a lot," he said of Utah's new recruiting coordinator, Morgan Scalley. "I looked at it on the computer and they have a good chemical engineering program, which is what I want, and the surroundings look real peaceful."

Hale, who also had Texas Tech and Texas A&M in his sights at one point, hopes to visit in the spring or summer. He said the Utes No. 2 final ranking in 2008 played a big part in his decision.

"I'm not going to lie, it did," he said. "But I didn't get to see a lot of the games because I was working."

Hale is the second to commit to the Utes for 2010, joining defensive end Joe Kruger, the younger brother of Paul Kruger, who committed earlier.
- Lya Wodraska

A loyal recruiting trail reader has informed us that several of the state's top track & field athletes have made their college choices recently.

Shalaya Kipp, a senior at Skyline High, recently signed with the University of Colorado. Kipp is a standout cross country star and a long distance runner for the Eagles.

Another Skyline senior, Jeff Daw, recently signed with Boise State. Daw was the 5A state champion last spring in the 200 and the 400 meters.

He is ranked in the top 10 nationally in the 400 (indoors). Daw is also a standout football player who was named second-team all-region in football as a receiver and defensive back.

He had offers from BYU, Boston University and Washington.

Also, Ogden High's Franco Montes has signed with Weber State's track team.

--------------------

The state's top girls soccer player, and one of the top soccer recruits in the country, has committed to North Carolina.

Alta High's Kealia Ohai recently gave an oral commitment to the ACC school, coach Lee Mitchell confirmed.

Ohai also had offers from Portland, Santa Clara, USC and UCLA, among others.

Ohai is a two-time 5A MVP and has been a part of three state championship teams at the school.

A team of Utah high school football players (sophomores and juniors) placed second at a 7-on-7 passing tournament at Las Vegas on Sunday.

Bingham head coach Dave Peck and Timpview assistant coach Chad Van Orden coached the team, one of two teams from Utah that participated in the Scout.com tourney at UNLV's practice field.

The Utah team was quarterbacked by Jordan's Alex Hart and Pleasant Grove's Dallas Lloyd, who has a scholarship offer from BYU, among other schools.

Timpview's Chris Badger, who recently committed to Stanford, played safety on the team.

A team from Washington which included quarterback Jake Heaps, an LDS player whom BYU is recruiting heavily.

Among the other Utahns who participated were Cottonwood quarterback Crosby Jensen, Bingham running back Harvey Langi, Park City receiver Dylan Chynoweth, Timpview receiver Alema Key and Bingham defensive back Bridger Peck.

Having wrapped up the WAC regular-season title, the Utah State Aggies play host to San Jose State on Saturday night with not a lot on the line before the conference tournament begins next week at Nevada.

However, the Aggies are hosting two recruits this weekend, including one player who has already committed to USU and one who hasn't. Both are high school seniors.

The uncommitted player is Jordan Mackie, a wing player from Dorsey High in Los Angeles who averaged 13.4 points per game in his just-completed senior season. Mackie as listed anywhere between 6-foot-2 and 6-foot-4, and he weighs 180 pounds.

He is visiting the Logan campus this weekend with his mother, Brenda.

A source familiar with his recruitment said "he'd be a good get" for Utah State.

Boise State, University of San Diego and San Diego State have also offered Mackie, who has been described as a "diamond in the rough" by ESPN's recruiting Web site.

In December, Scout.com said the following: "A lot of college programs are missing the boat big-time on Mackie. Needs some coaching, and has some rough edges to polish out, but there is a huge upside here. Terrific athlete and multi-dimensional player. Potentially great defender. Good kid and a terrific prospect."

The other recruit is Preston Medlin, who is in Logan with his father. Medlin is a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Hebron High in Carrollton, Texas, who committed to the Aggies on Feb. 27. Medlin averaged 22.5 points per game his senior year.

The Aggies signed just one player during the early signing period last November -- Nate Bendall of Salt Lake Community College. A Skyline High product, Bendall played his freshman year for USU before going on a church mission.

-- Jay Drew

Salt Lake City's Highland High doesn't figure to get past No. 1-ranked Provo on Thursday night in the 4A state basketball tournament, but the Rams will send at least one player to the next level.

Taylor Janoe, a 6-foot-7 post player at Highland, has signed with Carroll College, an NAIA school in Helena, Mont., that competes in the Frontier League with the likes of Westminster College.

Janoe helped the Rams take second place in Region 6.

"Taylor has a huge upside as a college basketball player," said Carroll coach Gary Turcott. "He has the size, the strength, and the determination we look for in our post players."

Janoe was a wide receiver and tight end for three years on the Rams football program. He also excels academically, with a 3.8 GPA.

Timpview High safety Chris Badger, perhaps the top Utah high school football player in the Class of 2010 (this year's juniors), has committed to Stanford.

Badger confirmed his commitment on Tuesday to The Salt Lake Tribune, saying he couldn't pass up the combination of Stanford's academic reputation and Pac-10 football.

"I decided it was the best thing for me and that there was no use waiting any longer to commit," he said.

Badger, 6-0, 190 pounds, also had offers from BYU, Utah, UCLA, Oregon, Northwestern, Missouri, Florida State and Cal.

He said he committed to Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh on Sunday night, a day after making a visit to the Palo Alto campus. He used Monday to call the other coaches and let them know he won't be heading their way.

"That was a hard thing to do," he said.

Badger's father is a Stanford graduate and one of his brothers, Brandon, played tennis for the Cardinal.

He said he plans on going on an LDS Church mission, but hasn't decided whether he will play a year and go, or go before he enrolls at Stanford.

The Post and Courier newspaper in Charleston, S.C., says that DaMarcus Harrison, a junior at Greenwood High School in South Carolina, is still being recruited heavily by BYU.
Go here to read more about Harrison (at the end of the article).
Harrison, a 6-3 shooting guard, averaged 21 points and seven rebounds for his team this past season.