The event is slated to start at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 2. Due to construction at the Dee Events Center, this version of the biennial classic will take place at Swenson Gym.

Capacity, therefore, will be limited. But even with that, tickets on sale were displayed for $10 apiece Wednesday morning online at WeberStateTickets.com. Tickets are sold as general admission by section, either for the north side of the gym or for standing-room-only tickets on the track/balcony that wraps around the perimeter above the bleachers.

Tickets on the south side of the gym are currently shown as unavailable.

A note atop the page for online ticket sales says purchases will be limited to eight tickets per person and that prices are subject to change “until added to the cart.” Capacity is expected to be 1,200.

Lillard will not participate in any competitions this time as he recovers from a tear to his Achilles tendon late in the 2024-25 season. WSU says Lillard will be available for autographs before events begin but that autographs are not guaranteed by purchasing a ticket.

On-the-court proceedings will begin with shooting competitions. Then, instead of a 5-on-5 regulation game, the team competitions will take place as a 3-on-3 tournament.

Former Wildcats currently lined up for the event include Davion Berry, Jimmy DeGraffenried, Nick Hansen, JJ Overton, David Patten, Nic Sparrow and Kyle Tresnak, with others being announced later.

Preseason picks in for USU, SUU, UTU

Preseason football polls are in for the Mountain West and United Athletic conferences, and Southern Utah is the top vote-getter among Utah schools among the trio.

Utah State was voted to finish ninth in the Mountain West. The Aggies went 4-8 last season with a 3-4 record in the MWC and hired Bronco Mendenhall as head coach this offseason. USU says the team has 68 new players this season (41 transfers, 27 high school recruits). Safety Ike Larsen was voted to the preseason all-conference team.

Boise State ran away with first place votes in the final year of the MWC as it’s been known, getting 35 of 39 first-place selections. UNLV received the other four top votes.

In the United Athletic Conference, which is a joint venture in FCS between the WAC and Atlantic Sun, coaches voted Southern Utah to finish fourth in the nine-team league. That’s where the Thunderbirds finished last season after winning their final three games to go 7-5 overall and 6-2 in league play.

Utah Tech received 10 points for a placement in ninth, meaning all but one coach voted them last and the other placed them eighth. The Trailblazers finished in last place in 2024, going 1-11 overall by claiming a win over ranked Central Arkansas late in the first season under head coach Lance Anderson.

Both SUU and UTU are playing their final season in the UAC before joining the Big Sky Conference in 2026.

Big Sky polls come out during its kickoff event scheduled for July 19-21. The Big 12, where BYU and Utah call home, will no longer publish preseason polls.

Two Utah baseball players drafted

The University of Utah had two baseball players selected in this year’s MLB Draft, bringing the program’s all-time total of drafted players to 80.

The New York Yankees picked shortstop Core Jackson (Wyoming, Ontario) in the fifth round at pick No. 164 overall. He hit .363 over two seasons at Utah.

The Minnesota Twins took right-handed pitcher Merit Jones (Idaho Falls, Idaho) in the 14th round with the 419th overall selection. Jones logged 40 starts in three seasons and is 10th in career strikeouts.

Meanwhile, former Ute and undrafted left-handed pitcher Bryson Van Sickle is throwing well in his affiliated debut. After making three starts for the Ogden Raptors this season, Van Sickle signed with the Colorado Rockies. In six games with the Rockies’ Arizona Complex League team, Van Sickle has allowed two runs on four hits, striking out 11 and walking one in nine innings of relief work.