BYU softball first baseman Huntyr Ava and shortstop Ailana Agbayani were both named to the 2024 All-Big 12 First Team, the conference announced on Wednesday morning.

The Cougars were one of six teams represented on the 18-player first team, and one of just four teams to place multiple student-athletes on the team.

va finished Big 12 play leading the league with a .446 batting average and 37 hits. She was also second in RBI (36), fourth in slugging percentage (.738) and tied for sixth in home runs (8).

On the season, the Rose Park, Utah product leads the team in slugging percentage (.698), RBI (62), home runs (12) and total bases (111). She has three of the BYU’s seven grand slams in 2024, including a walk-off shot in the ninth inning to win the series against Houston.

This is the third all-conference first team honor for Ava. She was also named to the All-WCC First Team in 2022 and 2023.

Agbayani concluded conference play tied for second in the Big 12 with 33 hits, and scored the third most runs, with 28. She also had the sixth best batting average (.402) and slugging percentage (.519).

A native of Mililani Mauka, Hawai’i, she leads the Cougars in batting average (.426), on base percentage (.539), runs scored (58), hits (69), hit by pitch (11), stolen bases (12) and at bats (162) this season.

This is the second all-conference first team nod of Agbayani’s career. She was an All-WCC First Team honoree last season as well.

BYU will be back in action on Thursday, May 9, taking on No. 3-seed Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship quarterfinal at 11 a.m. CDT, with coverage through Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

Cougar men’s basketball signs former Utah big man Keba Keita

BYU men’s basketball announced the addition of former Utah center Keba Keita on Wednesday.

“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Keba to BYU,” head coach Kevin Young said. “He fits into our program perfectly both on and off the court. He brings a level of toughness, athleticism, and defense that has been a big priority for us. I can’t wait to get to work with him.”

In his two seasons on The Hill, the native of Bamako, Mali, appeared in 66 games including 13 starts where he averaged 5.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

As a sophomore in 2023-24, Keita appeared in 35 games including 13 starts for a Ute squad that won 22 games and advanced to the semifinal of the NIT. He scored in double figures 12 times en route to averaging a career-high 8.3 points per game, shooting 61.0 percent from the floor. He finished with 189 rebounds including pulling down a team-high 73 offensive boards.

Keita scored a career-high 23 points in a win over Southern Utah going 11-of-12 from the floor. The 6-foot-8 center also had three double-doubles highlighted by a 18-point, 15-rebound performance against Oregon State where he pulled down a career-high seven offensive boards.

Keita appeared in 31 games as a true freshman in 2022-23 averaging 3.0 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. He shot 60.9 percent from the floor, the third-highest clip among freshmen in program history behind Jakob Poeltl and Mikael Jantunen.

He was instrumental in the Utes upset over No. 4 Arizona, finishing with seven points and a then career-high 11 rebounds including five offensive boards.

A three-star recruit out of Wasatch Academy, Keita ranked No. 84 in the ESPN 100. He led the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (NIBC) in rebounding as a senior after recording four games with double-digit rebounds. He was also named the NIBC Defensive Player of the Year and all-defensive team.

BYU names Tamber McAllister as head swimming and diving coach

BYU director of athletics Tom Holmoe has announced the hiring of Tamber McAllister as the Cougars’ swimming and diving head coach.

“I express my gratitude to Tom Holmoe and Chad Lewis for their belief in me,” McAllister said. “It is an honor to serve as the head coach of swimming and diving as we continue to embark on our journey into the Big 12 Conference. The legacy established by previous BYU coaches has laid a strong foundation for the team’s future success, and I am genuinely thankful for that. The unwavering pride and spirit of the Cougars is unparalleled, and I eagerly look forward to remaining a part of it.”

While McAllister will oversee both the men’s and women’s swim and dive programs, Tyce Routson will continue in his role as head coach of the BYU men’s and women’s dive teams.

McAllister’s coaching career at BYU stretches back almost two decades through three different stints as an assistant coach. Most recently, McAllister worked as an assistant coach from 2021-2024 under now-retired head coach Shari Skabelund. McAllister also held an assistant coaching position with the Cougars from 2012-2018 and 2005-2011. These followed McAllister’s decorated BYU swimming career from 2000-2004.

The 2024 season saw McAllister help the Cougars navigate their inaugural Big 12 campaign. Despite the challenges posed by unprecedented competition, BYU swimmers combined to finish the 2024 Big 12 Championships with two individual champions and 24 all-conference honors. The BYU men finished third in the Big 12 while the women took fifth.

McAllister also had a hand in the BYU men’s historic success at the 2024 NCAA Championships. The Cougars set school records for swimming entries, at eight, and relay entries, with three. Each of McAllister’s most recent three seasons at BYU align with the first three-year stretch in program history where a men’s swimmer has qualified for NCAA Championships in three different events.

In 2024, the BYU men also registered their first team points and All-American honors since 2016.

“Tamber is ready and qualified to lead our swim and dive team with vision and energy,” said Chad Lewis, BYU associate athletic director and swim and dive sport administrator. “We are very excited about the future of this program.”

McAllister’s combined 16-year tenure as an assistant at BYU, includes her role in nine All-American performances and 49 individual conference championships along with eight team conference titles.

Cougar swimmers have set 37 school records under McAllister’s tutelage, 13 of which came in 2024.

McAllister’s vast assistant coaching experience is enhanced by three previous years of head coaching at Utah Tech (2018-2021). Following her first two stints as a BYU assistant, McAllister left Provo to accept Utah Tech’s women’s head coaching position.

McAllister led the Trailblazers to third-place finishes in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in each of her first two seasons. The RMAC honored McAllister as its 2020 Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year. In 2021, McAllister oversaw Utah Tech’s transition to competing at the Division I level as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. McAllister concluded her tenure at Utah Tech with swimmers breaking over 70 program records.

In between assistant coaching roles at BYU, McAllister led the Wasatch Front Fish Market club team during the 2011-12 season. McAllister also coached for a season at East High School in Salt Lake City prior to returning to coach at BYU.

While a student athlete at BYU from 2000-2004, McAllister specialized in the breaststroke and garnered four Mountain West Conference Championships in the women’s 200 breast. Her career-best 200 breast time of 2:14.69, set in 2001, remains fifth all-time at BYU. Prior to putting on a BYU uniform, McAllister competed at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials where she finished 12th and 27th, respectively, in the 200 and 100 breast.

McAllister graduated from BYU in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science. A native of El Dorado Hills, California, McAllister and her husband, Eric, are the parents of four children.

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