BYU senior forward Lauren Gustin was named an Honorable Mention All-American, the Associated Press announced Wednesday morning.

“Lauren is incredibly deserving of this honor and I am super proud of her for all she has accomplished in the Big 12 this season,” Cougar head coach Amber Whiting said. “We have always known what Lauren is capable of, but so many people doubted that she would be able to be as prolific in such a talented, physical Big 12. I’m really proud of her for controlling the controllable and proving everyone wrong.”

This marks Gustin’s second AP All-America honor as the senior was named a 2021 Honorable Mention. She is the 17th BYU Cougar to receive All-America honors in program history. This season, the Salem, Utah native was named to the All-Big 12 First Team earning her fourth All-Conference honor in four seasons, since transferring to BYU from Salt Lake Community College in 2019.

The senior leads the nation with 30 double-doubles in 32 games (2nd – 26), total rebounding with 493 rebounds (2nd – 392), rebounding average with 15.4 boards per game (2nd – 13.1), defensive rebounds per game with 10.3 (2nd – 9.4) and is second in offensive rebounds per game at 5.1, trailing only LSU’s Angel Reese (5.6).

With her nearly 500 rebounds this year, Gustin has become the fourth-ranked rebounder in the history of NCAA women’s basketball and shattered the BYU all-time rebounding record with 1,683 career rebounds and counting. She is now a two-time All-American, a four-time all-conference first-team honoree and the 2023 WCC Defensive Player of the Year.

Gustin’s career isn’t quite finished as she and the Cougars turn their sights to a date with the Santa Clara Broncos in the first round of the newly formed Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament run by the NCAA. BYU and Santa Clara will square off at 6 p.m. PT on Thursday, March 21 at the Leavey Center in Santa Clara, California.

UVU’s Sumsion wins national award

Utah Valley University Director of Athletics, Dr. Jared Sumsion, has been named the Division I-AAA Athletics Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).

Sumsion will be honored at the 59th Annual NACDA & Affiliates Convention, held at Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, during the Association-Wide Featured Session on Tuesday, June 11.

The Athletics Director of the Year Award celebrates the dedication and positive impact of athletics directors at all levels, acknowledging their commitment to student-athletes, campuses, and surrounding communities.

“NACDA is delighted to continue the tradition of the Athletics Director of the Year Award, celebrating a new class of leaders for 2023-24,” stated Pat Manak, NACDA Chief Executive Officer. “As an association, our mission includes nurturing future leaders, guided by today’s visionaries. It’s gratifying that 21 out of the 28 recipients this year are first-time awardees. We’re honored to contribute to the development of impactful athletics directors across the industry.”

Under Sumsion’s leadership, Utah Valley University Athletics has seen substantial achievements, including winning the 2019-20 WAC Commissioner’s Cup, eight WAC Team Championships, three consecutive WAC Academic Excellence Awards (2020-23), six NACMA ‘Best of’ Awards, and the 2021-22 College Communicators Changemaker Innovation Award, highlighting innovative approaches within the athletics department.

His tenure has been marked by numerous academic and athletic accomplishments. The Wolverine athletic programs are consistently among the nation’s best academically, with nearly every sport earning team academic honors each year and a significant number of student-athletes who earn Academic All-Conference, outperforming all other programs in the Western Athletic Conference and Big 12 Conference.

Sumsion’s strategic initiatives have led to the largest fundraising contributions in UVU’s history. Significant donations with partners like Utah Community Credit Union, dōTERRA, Intermountain Health and others totaling over $64.2 million have supported department growth and prosperity. Additionally, corporate partnership and annual giving has increased to over $2 million per year under his direction. These collaborations have enabled the development of new facilities and the enhancement of all athletic programs at UVU. His prior roles at UVU included managing revenue streams, donor relations, marketing, and guiding UVU’s wrestling program into the BIG 12 Conference.

Sumsion earned a bachelor’s degree from Utah Valley University, where he served as student body president, and holds a master’s degree in business administration and a Doctor of Education in organizational leadership with a minor in conflict resolution.

A native of Springville, Utah, Sumsion and his wife, Stephanie, have four children: Kyson, Krew, Maylee, and Remi.

BYU baseball slugs way past Utah Tech

ST. GEORGE, Utah — BYU baseball picked up its third-straight win with an 11-6 victory over Utah Tech on Tuesday evening at Bruce Hurst Field in St. George, Utah.

BYU improves to 10-8 on the season with right-handed pitcher Jake Porter picking up his first win of the year. Utah Tech falls to 5-16 with the loss.

“We had some big hits in the second inning and got off to a great start,” said BYU head coach Trent Pratt. “I thought Luke (Sterner) did a nice job tonight. He threw a lot of strikes and got us off to a good start on the mound. We also played good defense which really saved us in a couple of tight spots.”

The Cougars took a commanding lead in the second inning with eight runs on six hits, for an early 9-1 advantage.

Crew Robinson got things rolling with a one-out home run to right field. Ryker Schow was then hit by a pitch and scored on a double to left center by Keoni Painter. Chipper Beck was also hit by a pitch and advanced to third on back-to-back singles by Anderson and Cooper Vest. A groundball to third base by Jones scored Beck and a single by Collin Reuter plated Vest for a 6-1 advantage. Freshman designated hitter, Kuhio Aloy, then homered to left center for three RBI and a 9-1 lead.

Up next, BYU resumes Big 12 Conference play with a three-game series at Texas Tech, March 21-23. The series will be played at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park in Lubbock, Texas with all the three games broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. The games will also air live on the BYU Radio App and BYU Radio.org with Steve Klauke on the call.

Boise State tops UVU softball

OREM, Utah — Utah Valley dropped its midweek non-conference matchup on Tuesday, falling to the Boise State Broncos (20-10) 10-4.

The Wolverines (9-14, 3-0 WAC) battled back from a 4-0 deficit to tie the game in the fourth, but the Broncos responded with six unanswered runs — including five in the seventh — to pull away from Utah Valley.

Peyton Hall saw her 11-game hit streak snapped, as she went 0-for-3 with a walk. Earlier today, Hall was named the D1Softball National Freshman of the Week for her stellar weekend against the Tarleton State Texans.

Despite putting up four runs in one inning, the Wolverines did not record a single extra-base hit the whole afternoon. Saige Nielsen and Taylor Wooten each went 1-for-2 with an RBI. Amber Rodriguez posted a 1-for-4 day with an RBI. Halle Morris delivered a pinch-hit RBI single in her one plate appearance.

Wolverine pitchers largely avoided the crooked number, as the Broncos only put up more than one run in one of the first six innings, which helped keep Utah Valley in the ballgame.

After surrendering one in the first, two in the second, and one in the fourth, the Wolverines tied the game with some station-to-station softball. Hall led off the inning with a walk, then five of the next six Utah Valley hitters reached via a single. The Wolverines looked to have taken the lead with a sacrifice fly by Angelique Mann, but Taylor Wooten was thrown out trying to advance to third before the runner could cross home plate.

The Broncos quickly regained the lead with a run in the top of the fifth, but the Wolverines stayed within striking distance. Utah Valley had a chance to tie the game in the sixth, but BSU brought in ace Taylor Caudill and sshe stranded a runner on third after coming in with one out. Boise State went on to put up five runs in the seventh to secure the win.

Utah Valley returns to WAC play this weekend on the road at Grand Canyon, who is receiving votes in the NFCA Coaches Poll. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Friday starting at 5:30 p.m. MT, then reconvene on Saturday at 2 p.m. MT. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+.

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