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BYU safety Tanner Wall (28) fires up his teammates before a Big 12 football game against Colorado at Folsom Field in Boulder on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU sophomore Brielle Kemavor (24) and freshman Elli Mortensen go up for a block during the Big 12 match against Utah at the Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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DALLAS — BYU safety Tanner Wall has been named to the watch list for the 2025 Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year award.

Now in its ninth season, the award is presented annually to a student-athlete who exhibits exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship both on and off the field.

Wall, a 6-1, 205-pound senior from Arlington, Virginia, is a leader on and off the field for BYU, starting at free safety, being elected a team captain, earning Academic All-America honors and leading out in serving and mentoring others.

In September, Wall was named to the prestigious 2025 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team and is also a semifinalist for the Wuerffel Trophy that is presented annually to the player who best combines exemplary community service with leadership achievement on and off the field.

In addition to starting as a senior in 2025, Wall earned a starting role in all 13 games as a junior for BYU in 2024. Last season he was the team co-leader in interceptions with three, ranked fourth in total tackles with 53 and had four pass defection and a pass breakup to help BYU go 11-2 and earn a No. 13 final ranking.

Following the 2024 season, Wall was named CSC Academic All-America First Team for his excellence in the classroom and received All-Big 12 Third Team recognition by College Football Network for his play on the field. In addition, he earned recognition on both the Fall Academic All-Big 12 Team and Commissioner’s Honor Roll in both 2023 and 2024. Wall graduated from BYU with a 3.89 GPA in finance and is currently enrolled in the BYU Marriott School MBA program.

In addition to his success on the field and in his academic studies, Wall has been very involved in a variety of community service endeavors. He currently coordinates the BYU football efforts with the BYU-Pathway Worldwide program to help connect with and mentor hundreds of students from across Africa and the South Pacific.

He also served as the co-chair of the BYU Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Service Committee for three years, which provides service opportunities for student-athletes in the local community.

Wall also speaks regularly at local school events and church devotionals for youth to inspire them to pursue education and value learning and discipline. Along with other members of the BYU football team, he makes regular visits to patients at Utah Valley Hospital who are struggling with illness.

Twenty semifinalists will be selected by a subset of the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Selection Committee and announced on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Three finalists will then be named for the award on Monday, Dec. 15. The winner will be announced at the award ceremony at The Star in Frisco, Texas, on April 16, 2026.

The winner of the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year will receive a $10,000 contribution in his name to his school’s athletic scholarship fund. The contribution is made by the Jason Witten’s SCORE Foundation, the official charity of Jason and his wife Michelle. The foundation operates its SCOREkeepers program, which places trained male mentors on staff to work with children at family violence shelters. Over the last 16 years, the program has impacted tens of thousands of children and families in Texas and Tennessee over the last 16 years.

Kemavor earns spot on AVCA Player of the Year Watch List

LEXINGTON, Ky. — BYU middle blocker Brielle Kemavor has been named as a midseason addition to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Player of the Year Watch List, the organization announced on Thursday.

Kemavor joins Claire Little Chambers as the second Cougar on the watch list after the outside hitter was named to the original list back in July.

An AVCA All-West Region Honorable Mention and All-Big 12 First Team honoree last season, Kemavor leads the team this season with 60 total blocks, inlcuding 10 solo, for an average of 1.15 per set. Offensively, she has also contributed 115 kills, good for third-most, on a team-high .427 clip.

The Bristow, Virginia native’s hitting percentage leads the Big 12 and ranks No. 20 nationally. She has led BYU in blocks in eight of its 15 matches this season, and also has two matches with double-digit kills.

The Cougars continue Big 12 play at West Virginia on Friday, Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. EDT on ESPN+.

Barber takes new softball post

BYU softball head coach Gordon Eakin has announced the hiring of Mallory Barber as director of operations.

Barber will oversee day-to-day operations for the team, supporting numerous aspects of the program including marketing, travel, equipment, uniforms, assisting the pitching staff with charting and video, alumni relations and special events. She will also serve as a liaison to athletic administrators, coaches, vendors and game contacts.

A two-year starter and three-year member of the Cougars after playing one season at Salt Lake Community College (SLCC), Barber graduated from BYU with a degree in exercise and wellness in 2023.

She finished with a career .280 batting average, .370 slugging percentage and .952 fielding percentage. Recording 33 hits, 18 RBI and four stolen bases her senior year, Barber homered twice on senior day en route to a .407 slugging percentage her final season.

The Spanish Fork, Utah native was named an All-WCC Honorable Mention as a junior in 2022 and started 67 of the 107 games she played in at BYU.

Lopez picks up Big 12 soccer award

IRVING, Texas — BYU women’s soccer midfielder Mia Lopez has earned her first Big 12 Freshman of the Week honor.

Despite BYU’s loss to West Virginia last week, the Logan, Utah native scored a goal in the 68th minute to tie the game up before WVU scored two more.

In addition to her goal against the Mountaineers, Lopez scored her first career brace in BYU’s 3-0 victory against the Bearcats. Her goals were just three minutes apart, scoring in the 11th and 14th minutes of the match, giving the Cougars an early 2-0 lead. She had a team-high four shots in the match. The Cougars went on to win the game 3-0 for their first Big 12 victory of the season.

Lopez is now tied with Ellie Walbruch for most goals this season for BYU with four.