Watch: Utah women’s basketball picks up ‘epic’ commitment from 4-star guard

Avery Hjelmstad got the drop on her soon-to-be college coach.

The four-star women’s basketball recruit from Oklahoma flew into Salt Lake City and surprised Utah head coach Lynne Roberts with her commitment to the Utes. She shared a video of the encounter on X on Tuesday.

On April 13, several Utah coaches, among them Roberts and assistants Gavin Petersen and Jordan Sullivan (who was in on the surprise, as shown in the video), announced an “epic” commitment had come the Utes’ way.

On Tuesday, the world was let in on the secret, as Hjelmstad announced her commitment to Utah on social media.

Who is Avery Hjelmstad?

Hjelmstad is rated a four-star guard in the 2025 recruiting class and the No. 46 prospect nationally in espnW’s HoopGurlz Super 60 recruiting rankings.

She will be a senior at Edmond Memorial High in Edmond, Oklahoma, in the upcoming school year.

Hjelmstad is the third ESPN four-star commit for the Utah program in the past two years, after guards Brooke Walker and Kylie Ray signed to the Utes’ 2024 recruiting class.

The 6-foot Hjelmstad, whose high school teammate Janiyah Williams is an Oregon commit and ranked No. 49 in the Super 60 rankings, led Edmond Memorial in scoring this past season.

She averaged 16.3 points per game while adding 5.0 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.3 assists, according to MaxPreps.

Hjelmstad was named to the District 6A-3 first team and earned District MVP honors, per The Edmond Way, and The Oklahoman named her to its Big All-City second team.