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BYU's Carter Cutting finished eighth during the 1,500 meter NCAA championships on Friday. June 12, 2026

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Crew McChesney slides into third base in a game against UC Riverside on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Athletics

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Men’s basketball player AJ Dybantsa and track and field standout Jane Hedengren are BYU’s candidates for the Big 12 Athlete of the Year.

Each institution nominated one male and one female athlete of any classification who competed for their institution during the 2025-26 school year. Student-athletes were required to be in good academic standing and must have participated in a league-sponsored sport.

The 16 full-member institutions that competed during the 2025-26 academic year are eligible.

The winners will be announced Thursday, July 23.

AJ Dybantsa, Fr. from Brockton, Mass.

Men’s Basketball

Accomplishments: Consensus First Team All-American, earning recognition from AP, CBS Sports, Sporting News, USBWA, NABC and the Wooden Award. … Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year, Big 12 Freshman of the Year and All-Big 12 First Team selection. … Led NCAA Division I in scoring at 25.5 points per game while totaling 894 points, the third-most by a freshman in NCAA Division I history. … Drafted by the Washington Wizards with the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft and earned a spot on the Big 12 Academic All-Rookie Team.

Jane Hedengren, Fr. from Provo, Utah

Cross Country and Track & Field

Accomplishments: Won NCAA indoor national championships in the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters. … Named the 2026 USTFCCCA Indoor National Women’s Track Athlete of the Year and the Women’s Mountain Region Track Athlete of the Year. … Earned First Team All-America honors in cross country with a runner-up finish at the 2025 NCAA Cross Country National Championship and was named the 2025 Big 12 Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Year. … Holds the NCAA all-time marks in the indoor 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters and outdoor 5,000 meters and was named to the Big 12 Academic All-Rookie Team with a 3.77 GPA.

Cutting, Barton earn Academic All-American honors

GREENWOOD, Ind. – Carter Cutting and Ben Barton were named among 46 men’s track and field athletes across Division I athletics as College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-Americans for the 2025-26 season, the organization announced Tuesday.

To qualify, student-athletes must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically, must hold a GPA of at least 3.50 and rank in the top 50 at the 2025 NCAA Regionals or in a Track and Field Results Reporting System (TFRRS) regional event. Relay marks may support but not determine eligibility.

The Cougars join ten other Division I universities to honor multiple men’s Academic All-American athletes this season including Kansas State, Utah State, Tennessee, North Dakota State, US Naval Academy, Virginia, North Carolina, Butler, Arkansas and Minnesota. The University of Virginia led the group honoring the most athletes with four for the 2025-26 season.

Three Cougars picked in MLB draft

PHILADEPHIA — Three members of the BYU baseball team were selected in the 2026 Major League Baseball draft held at Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, July 11-12.

BYU righthanded pitcher Garrison Sumner was the first Cougar selected in the 13th round by the Baltimore Orioles with the 380th overall pick. He was followed by centerfielder Crew McChesney who was taken in the 17th round with the 495th pick by the Chicago White Sox. Incoming freshman outfielder Dimitri Williams, Jr., who prepped at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland, California, was selected in the 20th round with the 584th pick by the Colorado Rockies.

Three picks in 20 rounds of the MLB Draft ties the seventh highest total in BYU baseball history. Only six times in the program’s 100-plus seasons have four Cougars been selected in the first 20 rounds — 2022, 2002, 1986, 1983, 1982 and 1979.

Softball adds two more to 2027 roster

BYU softball head coach announced the signing of transfer catcher Maile Ha’o and freshman infielder Gianna Garcia.

Ha’o spent this past season at the College of Southern Idaho, starting 41 of 44 games played in. The five-foot-six catcher hit .359 and slugged .756, recording 47 hits and 57 RBI, including 15 home runs.

The Fayette, Utah product also scored 34 runs, tallied 10 walks, seven doubles and three sacrifice flies to go along with a .982 fielding percentage behind the dish.

A four-time (2022-25) Utah 2A First Team All-State honoree at Gunnison Valley High School, Ha’o finished her Bulldog career with a .601 batting average with 98 hits and 82 RBI. She slugged 1.025 across two seasons at Gunnison Valley, posting a 1.679 OPS.Ha’o will join BYU’s  11 incoming freshman  along with fellow transfers  Rilyne Keck,  Braylee Shields  and  Jaylee Ojo  as the 15th member of the Cougars’ 2026 signing class this fall.

Garcia is a four-time letter winner at Oaks Christian High School, earning First Team All-Marmonte League honors as a junior in 2025 after hitting .354 with 23 hits, 18 RBI and four home runs.

The five-foot-five infielder from Camarillo, Calif. helped the Lions to a 43-10 record in 2024-25, including a Marmonte League title. Garcia hit a combined .318 at Oaks Christian, with 34 hits and 24 RBI.

She played club ball for the OC Batbusters, batting .443 with 42 RBI and 10 home runs in 2023 and .427 with 73 RBI and 21 home runs in 2024. Garcia was named to the 2023 Alliance Stars of Tomorrow and won the 2023 Alliance home run derby.Garcia will join BYU’s  10 incoming freshman  along with fellow transfers  Rilyne Keck,  Braylee Shields  and  Jaylee Ojo  as the 14th member of the Cougars’ 2026 signing class this fall.

Over the past four years, 10 Cougars have been selected in the MLB Draft, including Sumner (twice), McChesney, Williams, Ben Hansen  (2024), Austin Deming  (2023) Andrew Pintar  (2022), Cy Neilson (2022), Nate Dahle  (2022) and Cooper McKeehan  (2022).