BYU right-handed pitcher Ben Hansen was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 20th round of the 2024 MLB draft at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth on Tuesday.

Hansen becomes BYU’s 124th all-time MLB draft selection and the first to be drafted by the Red Sox organization. Six members of the Cougar baseball program have been selected in the MLB draft over the past three seasons including Andrew Pintar, Cy Nielson, Nate Dahle and Cooper McKeehan in 2022 and Austin Deming in 2023.

Hansen started 14 games as a sophomore in 2024, leading BYU in starts, wins (5), innings pitched (72) and strikeouts (51). His 72 innings of work was also ninth best during the Big 12 regular season. He finished the 2024 campaign with a 5-7 record and a 6.63 ERA for a Cougar team that went 21-31 overall and 7-23 in its first season in the Big 12 Conference.

The Pleasanton, California, native signed with BYU after serving a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Santiago, Dominican Republic. As a freshman in 2023, Hansen appeared in 16 games with 10 starts and was third on the team in innings pitched with 55.

As a pre-business major with a 3.77 GPA, Hansen was selected Academic All-District in 2024 by College Sports Communicators and was also named Academic All-Big 12 Team First Team. As a freshman in 2023 he was named to the WCC Commissioner’s Silver Honor Roll.

Hansen’s brother, Brett, is also a member of the BYU baseball team and his father, Matt, played basketball for the Cougars in 1988.

UVU men’s soccer welcomes back former Mountain View star Michael Chesler as associate head coach

Utah Valley men’s soccer head coach Kyle Beckerman announced the hiring of Michael Chesler on Tuesday, who is returning for his third stint with the team and will be serving as Beckerman’s associate head coach.

Chesler returns to Orem after spending the past three years coaching on the Utah youth soccer circuit with Utah Arsenal FC and La Roca FC.

Chesler started at Utah Valley in the program’s inaugural 2014 season. After a season away at his Alma Mater, High Point University in North Carolina, Chesler returned to Orem and was on staff from 2016 to 2021, serving in a variety of roles including goalkeepers coach, associate head coach, and interim head coach during the Spring 2021 season.

Between his time at UVU and High Point, Chesler has coached a total of 35 All-League honorees, two Freshmen of the Year, one Offensive Player of the Year, one All-American, three Scholar All-Americans, and 15 athletes who went on to play professionally.

He attended Mountain View High School in Orem and went on to start four seasons at goalkeeper for High Point from 2008-11. In his time with the Panthers, Chesler was named to the Big South All-Freshman team in 2008 and first team all-conference in 2010. A three-year captain, he set several goalkeeping records at HPU and helped the Panthers to a Big South Championship in 2010.

On the professional level as a player, Chesler spent time with Real Salt Lake as a practice player and the Carolina Railhawks of the USL.

Chesler was a member of the High Point Student Athlete Advisory Committee and held the position of Vice President during his senior season, helping organize service projects and fundraising opportunities for HPU student-athletes.

BYU women’s volleyball earns fifth-straight AVCA Team Academic Award

BYU women’s volleyball was among the record number of teams to earn the 2024 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award presented by INTENT, the AVCA announced on Wednesday.

Beginning in the 1992-93 academic year, the award honors volleyball teams that maintain a year-long grade-point average of 3.30 on a 4.0 scale or 4.10 on a 5.0 scale. As a team, the Cougars earned a 3.51 GPA during the past fall and winter semesters.

This is the fifth-consecutive season that BYU has received the award, earning it from 2020-2023. It also marks the 10th time the Cougars have been awarded the honor.

A complete list of teams recognized by the AVCA can be found at the organization’s website at https://www.avca.org/award/2024-avca-team-academic-award-sponsored-by-intent.