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College Roundup: BYU women’s hoops promotes Edwards to new position

By Daily Herald - | Jun 7, 2023

Nate Edwards/BYU Photo

BYU's Nate Edwards talks to Rose Bubakar on the bench during the West Coast Conference Tournament in Las Vegas on March 3, 2023.

BYU head coach Amber Whiting announced the promotion of Josh Edwards to the Director of Player Development on Wednesday.

“Josh has been a great asset to our staff, and we are thrilled to have him take on this new role as our director of player development,” said Whiting. “Josh has a skill for helping players reach their full potential by giving them confidence in their game. He is great at finding their limits and helping them stretch themselves to become the best they can be.”

Edwards joined the BYU coaching staff last season as the Director of Video & Strategy. Last season, he assisted the staff with the breakdown and analysis of practice and game film as well as player and skill development.

“I am extremely grateful that Amber thought enough of me to give me the opportunity to work in this player development role,” said Edwards. “Player development is a huge job within any program. I’m excited to serve alongside this staff as we work to bring the best out of our players both on and off the court this offseason as we move toward our first year in the Big 12. My family and I are thrilled about this next chapter in our lives.”

Before coming to Provo, Edwards spent seven seasons at the College of Southern Idaho where he helped the Golden Eagles to a 162-55 record. Edwards began his time at CSI as a volunteer assistant but was promoted to a full-time assistant after his first year with the program.

Edwards began his coaching career at Chattahoochee High School where he served as the freshman boy’s head coach as well as an assistant on the varsity team’s staff. During his one season with the Cougars, he helped the varsity team to a 21-8 record, going 12-2 in conference to capture the Georgia 6A region title.

After his successful 2012-13 season at Chattahoochee High, Edwards was hired as a graduate assistant to Joanna Bernabei-McNamee at the University of Pikeville. Following a 14-18 campaign with the Bears, Edwards made the move to the College of Southern Idaho where he served as an assistant coach from 2015-22.

Edwards is joined on staff by head coach Amber Whiting, associate head coach Lee Cummard, assistants Morgan Bailey and John Wardenburg, director of operations Natalie Lainhart, graduate assistant Hailee Higgs, strength and conditioning coach Steven Arnold and head athletic trainer Jeff Hurst.

BYU Softball adds two transfer

BYU softball head coach Gordon Eakin has announced the signing of transfers Lily Owens and Aleia Agbayani, who will join the Cougars for the 2024 season.

Coming to Provo after a year at Lehigh University, Owens is a 5-foot-9 infielder. The Chino Hills, California native will have three years of eligibility.

A political science and Africana studies major, Owens was a four-time Rookie of the Week in the Patriot League, posting a .305 batting average and .444 slugging percentage as a freshman in 2023.

Starting all 55 of the Mountain Hawks’ games this past season, Owens tallied 57 hits, 43 runs, 32 RBI, 15 walks and seven home runs, also recording 117 putouts and 100 assists in the field defensively.

Headed to BYU as a graduate transfer from Cal, Agbayani has spent the last four years in Berkeley, playing in 60 games since 2020. She will have two years of eligibility with the Cougars.

The 5-foot-4 utility player from Mililani, Hawai’i was named to the Pac-12 Spring Academic Honor Roll in 2021. Agbayani is also a former Hawai’i Gatorade Player of the Year.

Owens and Agbayani join pitchers Kate Dahle and Olivia Laney, catcher Abbey Gillespie and pitcher/outfielder Gianna Mares as the six members of BYU’s 2023 recruiting class.

UVU men’s hoops hires new Director of Basketball Operations

Utah Valley men’s basketball head coach Todd Phillips has announced the addition of Trevor Stranger as the program’s Director of Basketball Operations. Stranger spent last two seasons as a graduate assistant for the Wolverines.

“Trevor Stranger is a fantastic young coach,” said Phillips. “He is meticulous and hard working. He is always the first one to the office and the last one to leave. What sets Trevor apart is his ability to problem solve and put out fires before they happen. He is a great addition to our staff and huge asset to me.”

Stranger spent the 2022-23 season as a graduate assistant on the UVU staff, helping the Wolverines to their most successful season in program history. Utah Valley won the outright WAC regular season championship and finished the season with a 28-9 overall record and a 15-3 mark in WAC play. The 28 wins are the most wins ever recorded in a single season in UVU history.

Utah Valley finished the 2022-23 season with a nation-best 12 road wins. Stranger helped UVU to the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) with wins at New Mexico, at Colorado, and against Cincinnati at home in the quarterfinals. UVU finished the year with a No. 10 ranking in the College Insider Mid-Major Top-25 poll and its best-ever end-of-season rankings in the NCAA NET rankings (58) and on KenPom.com (64).

Stranger spent the 2020-21 year as the video coordinator at Boise State where he worked closely with the staff on generating scouts and handling the day-to-day film operations. The Broncos had a successful season, finishing 19-9 overall and 14-6 in the Mountain West Conference play.

Stranger was an assistant coach at the College of Idaho during the 2019-20 season. The Yotes finished the year with a 31-3 record, including an impressive 20-0 record in league play. The team won both the Cascade Collegiate Conference regular season title and CCC Tournament championship. The Yotes finished the year ranked as the No. 1 team in the country but unfortunately only played one game in the national tournament before COVID ended the season.

Prior to joining the Yotes, Stranger served as a team manager for the Boise State men’s basketball team for three years. During that time, he helped with on-court player development and assisting with the day-to-day operations.

Stranger is a native to Meridian, Idaho. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Boise State in political science and a minor in business.

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