After going 26-12 and reaching the WBIT championship game last season, the Cougars look to build on the foundation laid in Cummard’s first season at the helm by setting their sights on an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since 2022.

The Cougars’ non-conference slate includes 10 home games, two neutral-site contests and one true road game before the team embarks on its fourth Big 12 Conference campaign.

BYU opens its season Nov. 3 by hosting Idaho State out of the Big Sky Conference at the Marriott Center. The season opener kicks off a seven-game homestand, featuring contests against Portland (Nov. 5), Montana (Nov. 7), Bethune-Cookman (Nov. 11), New Mexico (Nov. 14), Utah State (Nov. 18) and Northern Colorado (Nov. 21).

The team’s first games away from Provo will come at the St. Pete Showcase on the campus of Eckerd College, where the Cougars face the Fairfield Stags on Nov. 27 and Boston College on Nov. 28.

Following the trip to Florida, the Cougars will travel to Corvallis, Oregon, to take on Oregon State on Dec. 5. After 19 days without a home game, Cummard’s squad returns to the Marriott Center to host Southern Utah on Dec. 9.

BYU will conclude its non-conference slate with a pair of home games on Dec. 12 and Dec. 15 against Cal Baptist and Weber State, respectively.

Three named to Big 12 All-Conference team

IRVING, Texas – The BYU women’s soccer team was ranked No. 6 in the Big 12 Preseason Poll, while the Preseason All-Big 12 Team bolstered three Cougars, the league announced Monday morning.

Presley Freeman, Lucy Kesler and Ellie Walbruch have all been named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team ahead of the 2026 season.

Freeman played in every game for the Cougars last season, tallying 1,682 minutes on the pitch, a career-high two goals, four assists and eight shots. She is the only current BYU player to start every game for the past two seasons, starting in 45 consecutive games dating back to the start of the 2024 season. She was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team following the 2025 season.

Kesler started 22 games last season, missing just two while attending the U-20 USWNT Training Camp. She scored her first career brace against OSU and added three assists to her stat sheet. She was named to the Big 12 All-Tournament Team, the All-Big 12 First Team and the All-Midwest Region First Team. Following the season, she was honored as a United Soccer Coaches Third Team All-American.

Walbruch’s career-high season placed her atop the Cougars in goals (16), shots (91) and shots on goal (41). She scored her first career hat trick against Arizona and had four multiple-goal games last season. She led the conference during the Big 12 Tournament with five goals and was named the Most Outstanding Offensive Player of the tournament and given a spot on the Big 12 All-Tournament Team. Following the season, she was named to the All-Big 12 First Team, All-Midwest Region First Team and became a United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-American.

After finishing the 2025 season ranked eighth in the Big 12 conference and winning the Big 12 Tournament, the Cougars received a total of 164 votes for a sixth place standing in the 2026 preseason poll. TCU took the top spot for the second year in a row with 13 first place votes and 222 total votes. Colorado took second with 187 votes, West Virginia and Kansas tied for third with 182 votes each and Texas Tech rounded out the top five teams with 180 votes.

The Cougars welcome seven new freshmen and one transfer senior to the 2026 roster.

The Cougars will be back on South Field Saturday evening for an exhibition match against Idaho State at 7 p.m. MT.

Liechty wins golf tournament

LAYTON, Utah — BYU men’s golfer David Liechty shot 15-under over 36 holes to win the 2026 Mountainland Valley View Open at Valley View Golf Course in record-breaking fashion on Saturday.

Liechty posted rounds of 64-65-129 to break the previous tournament record of 132, set by Steve Schneiter in 2017 and Spencer Wallace in 2019. He also became the first player in tournament history to win both the Valley View Amateur and the Mountainland Valley View Open in the same season. Liechty previously won the Valley View Amateur in May with a 6-under 66.

“Winning is hard to do in any sport, and it always feels great when you get one done,” Liechty said. “I’m really proud of how consistently I played.”

Liechty fired a tournament-low 64 in the first round, making eight birdies without a bogey. After a birdie on No. 2, the Layton native made five consecutive birdies on Nos. 7 through 11. Birdies on Nos. 14 and 17 capped an 8-under 64.

The rising sophomore opened the second round with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 1 and 2. The incoming BYU transfer added birdies on Nos. 4, 6 and 8 before the turn. He made two more birdies on Nos. 11 and 17 to finish with a 7-under 65.

Liechty grew up three minutes from Valley View Golf Course and attributed part of his success to his familiarity with it.

“There’s definitely a home course advantage,” Liechty said. “I know a lot more about where I can miss and put myself, especially around the greens. Leaving yourself in the correct spot is important.”

Incoming freshmen Lincoln Markham and Austin Shelley also competed, each shooting 3-under 141 with rounds of 70 and 71 to tie for 22nd.

Markham made four birdies and two bogeys to card a 2-under 70 in the first round. He recorded four birdies before the turn in the second round, but a bogey and a double bogey on the back nine left him with a 1-under 71.

Shelley recorded six birdies and four bogeys for a 2-under 70 in the first round. Five birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey in the second round gave him a 1-under 71.

Former Cougar Kelton Hirsch carded a 2-under 142 with rounds of 69 and 73, highlighted by an eagle on No. 9 in the opening round. BYU alumnus Joseph Summerhays, the 2018 Mountainland Valley View Open champion, shot a 3-over 147 with rounds of 75 and 72 to tie for 51st.

Former BYU women’s golf coach, Sue Nyhus, competed in the women’s professional division of the tournament, shooting a 14-over 158 with rounds of 81 and 77 to finish fifth.