Former BYU basketball great, NBA player, founder, investor and business executive Travis Hansen will be joining BYU Athletics as a senior associate athletic director to oversee revenue share and NIL operations for the entire department.

Current BYU head coaches Diljeet Taylor and Kalani Sitake will join the leadership team as senior associate athletic directors and will assist the department with strategy and impact. Their primary responsibilities remain coaching and leading their nationally renowned programs.

Dallan Moody will be elevated to deputy athletic director, and will continue to oversee all BYU Athletics revenue and finance. Chad Lewis and Casey Stauffer are being elevated to senior associate athletic director roles, Lewis continuing to oversee development initiatives and Stauffer corporate sponsorship operations as key revenue-generation drivers. Liz Darger will continue as senior woman administrator (SWA) and she, David Almodova and Trevor Wilson continue as senior associate athletic directors. Tyson Hutchins will also be elevated to senior associate athletic director. This group will take over many of Santiago’s previous responsibilities and sport administration assignments.

“In an ever-changing landscape of college athletics, it is imperative we have excellent, sound leadership, especially in the revenue share/NIL space,” Santiago said. “Our mission is to develop young women and men of character and faith in their pursuit of academic and athletic excellence, and prepare them for life after sport. Travis deeply embraces that mission and brings experience as a professional athlete, business executive and mentor who understands the shifting landscape of college athletics. Adding Diljeet and Kalani to our leadership team provides world-class coaching voices in our most important department collaborations and also expands their impact and influence to all 600+ of our student-athletes at BYU. These will be essential additions with Dallan, Chad, Casey, Liz, Trevor, David, Tyson and the rest of our existing senior leadership team that has worked so well together to get us in the position of strength we are currently in. I am so grateful to be aligned with this group. We’ve built something special together, and are going to build something even more special in years to come.”

Aaron Cornia, BYU Photo

Various other additions and elevated roles were also discussed at an internal BYU Athletics department meeting on Monday and will be announced publicly as further details get finalized.

BYU’s Banz makes strong push at Utah Women’s State Am

BYU golfer Whitney Banz almost became the only woman to qualify for last summer’s traditional Utah State Amateur, but she double-bogeyed her last hole at Wasatch Mountain Golf Course.

Monday’s stroke-play round of the 119th Utah Women’s State Amateur Championship was another story. Banz not only got past the Lake Course’s tricky No. 9 with a par this time, but she carded five birdies (and one bogey) on the way to a 68 that gave her medalist honors in Midway.

When the Women’s State Am moved to a 32-golfer bracket for match play in 2021, Banz won two matches as the No. 32 seed. She’ll be No. 1 on Tuesday, after finishing  one stroke ahead of Cougar teammate Berlin Long.

Banz, Long and other BYU golfers missed the 2024 Women’s State Am during the Cougars’ summer trip to Ireland.

Six-time champion Kelsey Chugg went out in the morning’s first group (a twosome) and completed a 71 in about three hours, ending up with the No. 3 seed. As for the other 2024 semifinalists, runner-up Ali Mulhall has turned pro, while Grace Summerhays (73) and Faith Vui (75) comfortably advanced. So did BYU incoming freshman Aadyn Long (75), Berlin’s sister.

Two-time champion Steph Belnap (77) will be the only senior golfer in the bracket, among five contestants in the starting field of 67.

The cut came at 79, 7 over par. Tabiona High School teacher Mikayla Jensen’s par on No. 18 secured the last berth, with no playoff necessary. Jensen played the back nine in 1 over par to make match play for the second time in three years. She’ll face Banz, as the No. 32 seed.

Two rounds of matches will be played Tuesday, followed by the quarterfinals and semifinals Wednesday and the 36-hole final Thursday. Utah Golf Association administrators have restored the 36-hole finish. That was standard practice through 1961, before the tournament switched to stroke play for nearly a half-century.

UVU’s Stranger elevated to assistant coach

Utah Valley head men’s basketball coach Todd Phillips has announced the promotion of Trevor Stranger to assistant coach ahead of the 2025-26 season. Stranger has served the past two years as Director of Basketball Operations and is entering his fifth overall season on the Wolverines’ staff.

“Well deserved bump for Trev,” said Phillips. “He has been the backbone of our program–taking care of all the little things that have made our program successful. We have high expectations with him moving forward.”

UVU’s Frei, Herman sign with MLB Draft League

OREM, Utah – Utah Valley baseball has sent two more players to the next level of their careers, as Landon Frei and Carston Herman have signed with the MLB Draft League. Frei will join the West Virginia Black Bears, while Herman is headed to the State College Spikes.

“Carston and Landon have worked their absolute hardest for opportunities like these. Both of these guys played major roles in our championship and regional run,” UVU head coach Nate Rasmussen said. “Getting the chance to continue is difficult, and these two have the talent and determination to really succeed at the next level.”

Frei, who played one season in Orem, will return to the MLB Draft League after appearing in 31 games for the Trenton Thunder in 2024, hitting .226 with two home runs and 14 RBIs. In his lone season with the Wolverines, he significantly improved offensively, finishing with a .285 average, a team-high 17 home runs, and 77 RBIs — which also led the Western Athletic Conference.

Frei’s signing marks the second time a UVU alum will suit up for the Black Bears. Danny Beddes played one season for West Virginia after being selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 15th round of the 2016 MLB Draft.

Herman transferred to UVU after previously playing for WAC rival Utah Tech. He finished the season 5-4 with a 5.87 ERA across 61 1/3 innings pitched. He appeared in several high-leverage situations for the Wolverines, including throwing 4 2/3 innings in UVU’s first regional win over No. 12 Oregon.

Major League Baseball operates the MLB Draft League, which splits its season into two halves. The second half began July 16 and runs through Sept. 3, featuring players who have exhausted their amateur eligibility. Former big leaguers serve as coaches, and players have access to minor league facilities. All six teams in the league were formerly affiliated with Minor League Baseball.