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BYU's Kihei Akana and the Cougars are competing in to the Big 12 Men's Golf Championship in Hutchinson, Kan., from April 27 to April 29, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Athletics

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BYU women's basketball has signed former North Carolina guard Liza Astakhova for the 2026-27 season.

Courtesy BYU Athletics

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HUTCHINSON, Kan. — No. 23 BYU men’s golf (280-282-562) capped off day one of the Big 12 Men’s Golf Championship at Prairie Dunes Country Club in fifth at 2-over par on Monday.

“Prairie Dunes is an impressive track,” director of golf  Todd Miller  said. “The firm, undulated greens and high winds are a challenge, and there is a lot to learn to play the course well. Our guys did a great job of bouncing back when they made a bogey or double which will happen no matter how well you hit the ball.”

Kihei Akina (63-71-134) finished his first 36 holes in second at 6-under par. Along the way, Akina’s 7-under 63 in Round 1 tied for the lowest single-round score in conference tournament history and became the lowest score recorded in the opening round. In addition, the freshman became the third golfer to hit that mark in the event, and the second to do so at Prairie Dunes CC joining PGA Tour professional and Texas Tech alum Ludvig Aberg, who did so in 2023. Akina was one stroke shy of matching the course record.

“It’s awesome to be mentioned alongside Ludvig, especially at a course like Prairie Dunes,” Akina said. “I thought I controlled my ball well in the wind for the most part. I need to continue to play smart and execute my shots.”

“Kihei’s 63 was one of the best rounds of golf I’ve witnessed,” Miller said. “He made the other competitors feel like he was playing a different course.”

Halfway through the 72-hole championship, the Cougars ended up with three players inside the top-25 to bolster its position in fifth.

12-time conference champion Oklahoma State (279-267-546) graced Big 12 record books on their way to a tournament-leading 14-under par. The Cowboys’ second round marked the lowest single-round team score in tournament history, beating out their 2019 squad. Arizona’s (281-272-553) 7-under-par day put it in second, with Texas Tech (282-277-559) six strokes behind the Wildcats in third. TCU (281-280-561) ended at 1-over par for the day and one ahead of fifth-place BYU to round out the current top-5.

Jackson Mauss (73-69-142) and  Tyson Shelley (72-70-142) found themselves in the top-25 through two rounds, both with a share of 25th at 2-over par. Mauss had a hole-in-one on hole 15, the first one of the season from any Cougar.

“The ace that Jackson made was impressive, especially since he did it with a 4-iron on one of the toughest holes on the course,” Miller said.

Follow live scoring on  Scoreboard, with more updates on  Instagram  and  X.

Cougar women’s hoops signs Astakhova

BYU women’s basketball head coach Lee Cummard announced the signing of North Carolina transfer Liza Astakhova to the 2026-27 roster.

“Liza is an extremely dynamic player who will help us raise the level of our program now and into the future,” Cummard said. “As a staff, we want to ensure that any player we bring in from the transfer portal fits into our program both on and off the floor, and Liza does just that. She is a versatile guard-forward with size who can guard multiple positions and make contributions on the offensive end at all three levels.”

The native of Moscow, Russia, comes to BYU after appearing in 12 games during her freshman season in Chapel Hill. The 6-foot-2 forward averaged 4.7 minutes per game while recording 25 points and 12 rebounds for the Tar Heels.

BYU’s newest sophomore scored a career-high six points on 3-of-6 shooting, grabbed three rebounds with two coming on the offensive glass and recorded an assist in the season opener against NC Central.

Before coming to the United States, Astakhova competed in the Moscow Basketball Association with Russia-PBL and played in 39 games during the 2024-25 season. She clocked 19 minutes off the bench and scored 4.7 points. Astakhova recorded six double-figure scoring performances and recorded a season-best 20-points and six rebounds against Enisey.

She also spent time with MBA-2 in the Russian Superleague 1, averaging 11.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game during her six-game stint in the league.

Baseball ends long road trip with loss

PHOENIX — BYU baseball lost to Grand Canyon 10-3 Monday afternoon in a non-conference game on Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark in Phoenix.

GCU (15-26, 6-9) scored 10 runs on eight hits while stranding just three runners, while BYU (22-21, 11-10) scored three runs on 11 hits, stranding 11.

Ezra McNaughton homered for the Cougars and Easton Jones had two hits, including a triple.

BYU scored first in the top of the first to take an early 1-0 lead. With two outs, Ryder Robinson doubled to left field and scored on an  Easton Jones infield single combined with a GCU throwing error.

GCU took the lead with two runs in the top of the second on two hit batters, a wild pitch and a single for a 2-1 advantage. The Lopes tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the third on two walks and two hits to lead 4-1.

After holding BYU to a third-straight scoreless inning, Grand Canyon added another run in the bottom of the fourth on a solo home run to increase its lead to 5-1. McNaughton cut the ‘Lopes lead to 5-2 with a one-out, solo home run in the top of the fifth.

GCU picked up five additional runs in the bottom half of the inning on two walks, a hit batter and three hits to increase its lead to 10-2.

After three scoreless innings by both clubs, BYU added a run in the ninth for a final score of 10-3. The run came on a Jones triple that scored McNaughton, who had reached on a walk.

After wrapping up four road games in five days, BYU returns home for a three-game Big 12 series with rival Utah, April 30-May 2 at Miller Park. All three games of the BYU-U of U series will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and on the BYU Radio app, BYUradio.org, SiriusXM 143 and 107.9 FM in Utah County.