BYU 1-on-1: Will transfers, new additions impact Cougar programs immediately?
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- BYU head coach Kalani Sitake (left) answers a question while defensive coordinator Jay Hill looks on during the signing day press teleconference in Provo on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.
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- Fans spell out BYU on their T-shirts at a Big 12 men’s basketball game against Utah at the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 8, 2025.
Daily Herald sports writers Darnell Dickson and Brandon Gurney give their opinions on the hot BYU sports topics this week:
1. How does the transfer of 4-star quarterback Bear Bachmeier affect the battle for the No. 2 quarterback position at BYU for the coming season?
DICKSON: I wouldn’t expect Bachmeier to compete for the backup role in 2025, which is just fine as he adjusts to a new offense and new surroundings. Jake Retzlaff is the starter, and I would see McCae Hillstead and Treyson Bourguet with a pretty big advantage in competing for the backup role. Bachmeier has a skill set that’s different than the other quarterbacks as a big, strong runner. Think Jaxson Dart or, maybe someday, Taysom Hill. There’s no rush to get Bachmeier in the lineup now. I do think he could compete for the starting role in 2026, though.
GURNEY: I expect Bachmeier to come in and compete for a spot on the two-deep roster immediately. I believe in the Stanford transfer’s talent as a 4-star prospect, but I also put a lot of stock in his overall acumen. I mean, he did qualify academically to attend Stanford, and his older brother, Tiger Bachmeier earned a degree in Computer Science from the Cardinal in just two and a half years. So it’s apparent that the Bachmeier brothers run ahead of the curve. I do believe that McCae Hillstead is the leader in the clubhouse, and it will take a stand out performance from Bear Bachmeier to unseat him, but I do think the ability is there for him to at least make it interesting.-
2. Other than AJ Dybantsa and Robert Wright, which first-year player do you feel will make the biggest impact on this year’s BYU Men’s Basketball team?
GURNEY: I’m expecting Kennard Davis Jr. to make a big impact during his first year in Provo. The 6-foot-6 swingman averaged 16.3 points per game for Southern Illinois last season and was recruited by some top programs after hitting the transfer portal before deciding to play for Cougar Coach Kevin Young. He shot 37.9% from 3-point range a season ago and will have two years of eligibility remaining. Experienced scorers are looked at to make immediate contributions upon transferring, and I believe Davis Jr. will provide a big one for BYU.
DICKSON: I need to get eyes on the other newbies to know for sure, but initially I’d like to see what former Washington Husky Dominique Diomonde can do on the defensive end. The addition of Mwot Mag from Rutgers last season was critical, especially after he came into the starting lineup. Mag’s defense and energy was pretty big for the Cougars success. If the 6-foot-7 Diomonde could fill a similar role, that would be cool for Kevin Young and company.
3. The BYU softball team was left out of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year and was dubbed as the ‘First Team out’ by experts for both of those years. What’s going on?
DICKSON: Welcome to the Big 12, Cougars. BYU dominated the MWC and the WCC for years. Those leagues only had one or two decent teams. The Big 12 just sent six teams to the NCAA Tournament and the Cougars just missed out. I feel like the Fighting Gordon Eakins are doing a good job bringing in hitters and defensive players, but the pitching needs to step up just one more notch to get BYU back into the NCAA’s.
GURNEY: BYU’s past performance in the NCAA Tournament isn’t doing it any favors. I’m not certain how much that weighed into the committee’s decision this year, but the fact is that the Cougars have rarely managed to advance out of the first round of NCAA Tournament play after dominating play in the WCC Conference for many seasons. Gordon Eakin is a proven coach, and has built a very good program, but his team is going to have to make several more marked improvements if the team is to again become fixtures in the NCAA Tournament.
4. The Utah Hockey Club is now the Utah Mammoth. Did the team make the right decisions regarding the team name, design and colors?
GURNEY: I’m not typically a guy who goes crazy over color schemes, logos, uniforms and all the rest of that nonsense, but I find myself absolutely loving everything about the Utah Mammoth. The colors? Perfect. The logo? I love it. The name? I preferred the plural ‘Mammoths’ initially, but the singular ‘Mammoth’ has grown on me and I love it. When and where can I purchase a jersey?
DICKSON: I know that a ton of research and testing has gone into figuring out how to best market this franchise. Owner Ryan Smith seems to have a pretty good handle on how to be successful in Salt Lake City. Initially I thought Mammoth was weird (and should actually be “Mammoths”) but the name has grown on me. I think it’s terrific that Smith has been able to bring an NFL franchise to Utah and expect there to be more pro teams to come. Who’s up for an NFL or MLB franchise? I know I am.
5. The BYU men’s volleyball team missed out on the NCAA Tournament for a fourth straight season. What does the team need to do in order to get back to perennial contender status?
DICKSON: I really think the Cougars have had the worst luck ever in the past five years. BYU had the best team in the country in 2020 before COVID took out the rest of the season. The Cougars won the MPSF Tournament in 2021 but ran into a red-hot Hawaii team in the NCAA Finals in 2021. Get this: BYU has lost four straight times in the MPSF Tournament in five sets to Pepperdine, Stanford, USC and Stanford again (2025). They are pretty close to being elite, but it was pretty clear they still have a ways to go to be elite again. What’s interesting is that there have only been a half-dozen players from Utah in the program over the past 20 years or so and there are three in the 2025 Class (Trey Thornton, Corbin Batista and Evan Olmstead). Will that make a difference? I think the Cougars need to get back to recruiting top foreign talent to make some headway.
GURNEY: I covered this team for years while with the Deseret News, and admittedly sort of took for granted how easily Shawn Olmstead’s team would rise to become a top team nationally every season. So it’s weird to see the Cougars in the position they’re in after not having covered them since COVID cut the 2020 season short. I believe that 2020 team was the best BYU team of the past decade, and was the odds on favorite to win an NCAA Championship, making the COVID disruption so disappointing. It’s hard to assess exactly what needs to happen for BYU to get back to where it’s so consistently been, and Darnell can certainly dispel more knowledge here than I’m able, but adding effective receivers and passers of the volleyball has always been an area where the Cougars need improvements.
