The freshman looks to become the second straight Cougar to win the award, after AJ Dybantsa received the honor last season for leading the nation in scoring at 25.5 points per game and scoring the third-most points by a freshman in NCAA Division I men’s basketball history.

In BYU’s two exhibition wins, Branch III averaged 14.5 points, 6.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game while shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 30.0 percent from 3-point range.

The native of Gilbert, Ariz. flirted with a double-double in Saturday’s 89-77 win over UNLV finishing with 14 points and eight assists in 30 minutes of action. With the Cougars trailing by one at halftime, the McDonald’s All-American nearly led the comeback single handedly with 12 points and six assists, two of those coming on alley-oops to Khadim Mboup.

In BYU’s 72-61 win over Nebraska, Branch III had 15 points, six rebounds, five assists and a steal in his first-ever game at the Marriott Center. The 6-foot-8 forward went 6-of-9 from the field and 3-of-5 from behind the arc as Cougars outscored the Cornhuskers 44-29 after halftime.

The No. 6 recruit in SCNext 100 made his international debut for USA Basketball this summer helping them earn a silver medal at the FIBA U18 AmeriCup in Mexico. He earned second team all-tournament honors after averaging 8.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game.

About the Julius Erving Award

The annual Julius Erving Award, named after the Class of 1993 Hall of Famer and 17-year professional basketball player, celebrates its 13th year by recognizing the top small forwards in Division I men’s college basketball.

In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2026 Julius Erving Award will be narrowed to 10, and then in late February, to just five. In March, the five finalists will be presented to Erving and the Hall of Fame’s selection committees, where winners will be selected. The selection committees are composted of top men’s college basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers.

The winner of the 2027 Julius Erving Award will be presented on a to-be-determined date, along with the four other members of the Men’s Starting Five.

BYU men’s golf

No. 25 BYU men’s golf (278-274-291-843) took second at 21 under par Tuesday at The Preserve Golf Club Collegiate at Santa Lucia Preserve, earning its best finish of the season.

Drake Harvey (70-67-70-207) finished second at 9 under to earn his first career top-five finish. Peter Kim (65-70-75-210) tied for fifth at 6 under to round out the Cougars in the top 10.

“This was a solid performance by our team without Kihei [Akina] in the lineup,” head coach Todd Miller said. “We had a great chance to win down the stretch, but we didn’t hit enough quality iron shots to make birdies like we did in the first two rounds.”

Harvey shot a 2-under 70 in the final round, including four birdies and two bogeys. He responded to a bogey on No. 6 with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 7 and 8. After making the turn at 1 under, he added another birdie on the 10th hole to open the back nine. After offsetting a bogey with a birdie late in the round, the freshman finished the tournament with the lowest 54-hole score of his career.

Kim carded a 3-over 75 to complete his tournament run. He recorded six bogeys and three birdies en route to the ninth top-five finish of his career.

David Liechty (71-68-73-212) tied for 13th at 4 under par, posting a career-best 54-hole score and earning his second top-15 finish this season.

Cooper Jones (73-69-74-216) tied for 27th at even par, while Jackson Mauss (72-75-74-221) finished in a tie for 48th at 5 over.

Competing as individuals, Austin Shelley (68-72-74-214) tied for 20th at 2 under, while Angus Klintworth (70-71-85-226) finished in a tie for 59th at 10 over.

Oregon (275-284-282-841) won the team title at 23 under. No. 23 Santa Clara (282-282-286-850), Saint Mary’s (275-282-293-850) and San Diego (281-284-285-850) finished in a three-way tie for third, each at 14 under.

BYU concluded its fall slate and will return to competition at the Arizona N.I.T. in Tucson, Arizona, on Feb. 1-2, 2027.