1 / 2

BYU's Jane Hedengren, front, competes in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., on Thursday, June 11, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Athletics

2 / 2

BYU's Kihei Akina continued his standout play during the NCAA championships on Saturday

Courtesy BYU Photo

❮ ❯

BYU Athletics is No. 25 in the nation in the 2025-26 Learfield Directors’ Cup Division I Standings, released on Thursday.

This is the third Top-25 finish for the Cougars in the past six seasons and the first time BYU has finished in the Top-25 in back-to-back seasons since 2001 and 2002. It is BYU’s 10th Top-25 finish since the Directors’ Cup started in 1994.

BYU is the top Big 12 institution in the Directors’ Cup standings, with Oklahoma State second at No. 28, TCU at No. 33, Texas Tech as No. 35 and Arizona at No. 36.

“Finishing in the Top 25 of the Directors’ Cup standings two years in a row is a testament to our incredible student-athletes and coaches,” said Brian Santiago, BYU director of athletics. “Together we have built positive momentum that will carry us forward towards our goal of national relevance in every sport. The future is bright.”

The Directors’ Cup annually ranks college athletic programs around the country by awarding points based on each institution’s finish in NCAA Championships. Preliminary standings are released following the fall and winter athletic seasons and lead up to the release of a final ranking following the spring season.

The Cougars’ teams combined to generate 730 points. Women’s and men’s cross country generated the most points for BYU, with the women finishing No. 2 and the men No. 11 at nationals. Postseason runs in football, men’s basketball, women’s volleyball, soccer, gymnastics, men’s and women’s swim and dive, men’s golf, women’s tennis and men’s and women’s track all contributed points as well.

BYU’s No. 25 finish ranks the Cougars among some of the nation’s best collegiate athletic programs.

Texas was the overall champion with 1,322 points, followed by Stanford (1263.50), UCLA (1199.25), North Carolina (1166.75) and Virginia (1148.75).

Cougars add two to softball roster

BYU softball head coach Gordon Eakin has announced the signings of transfer Braylee Shields and Rilyne Keck.

Shields comes to Provo after a pair of seasons at Indian River State College in Fort Pierce, Fla., picking up FCSAA First Team All-Conference honors in 2025 and 2026.

A five-foot-five outfielder from Riverton, Utah, Shields batted .384 over the last two years, scoring 96 runs and posting a .453 on-base percentage. She went 80-for-88 on stolen bases, including 46 bags in 2026.

Leading The River this past season with 75 hits and 58 runs scored, Shields finished second on the team with a .389 batting average and .452 on-base percentage, posting 22 multi-hit games with 10 games of three or more hits.

She prepped at Riverton High School, where she was a three-time Utah 6A state and region champion (2021-22, 24), the 2024 state tournament MVP and a Utah 6A All-State Second Team honoree, also setting a single-game record with four runs scored in a single game.

Keck joins the Cougars after two years at the College of Southern Idaho, where she was an NJCAA Second Team All-American this past season.

The five-foot-seven infielder from Salem Hills, Utah, was named to both the All-NJCAA Region 18 First Team and all-tournament team after leading the Scenic West Athletic Conference in both doubles (25) and RBI (80).

Keck hit .361 across two seasons at CSI with 114 RBI, 112 hits, 70 runs scored, 54 walks, 34 doubles and 13 home runs. She posted a .603 slugging percentage, .455 on-base percentage and a .990 fielding percentage for the Golden Eagles.

Prepping at Salem Hills High School, Keck was a two-time Utah 5A First Team All-State honoree, hitting .600 with 68 RBI, 53 hits and 15 home runs.

She will join BYU’s  10 incoming freshman  as the 11th member of the Cougars’ 2026 signing class this fall.

UVU will compete in MPSF for indoor track

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Utah Valley director of athletics Dr. Jared Sumsion has announced that Utah Valley’s indoor track and field program has accepted an invitation to compete in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) as an affiliate member beginning with the 2026-27 season.

“The opportunity to join the MPSF was one that we couldn’t pass up,” said Sumsion. “This affiliation will allow our athletes to compete against their peers from The Big West in indoor track and field, while also providing the opportunity to go head-to-head with high-level athletes from the WCC and Pac-12.”

The announcement comes as Utah Valley officially joins The Big West on July 1. The league sponsors cross country and outdoor track and field, but does not sponsor indoor. The MPSF has been home to most Big West and all West Coast Conference schools who compete in indoor track and field. The Wolverines will join Big West compatriots Cal State Fullerton, CSUN, Long Beach State, UC Irvine, and UC Riverside in the MPSF, along with WCC foes Pacific, Pepperdine, Portland, San Francisco, and Saint Mary’s.

Utah Valley is coming off of a very strong 2025-26 track season that saw the men’s team win its first indoor title since 2015 and the women’s team win its third-straight outdoor conference championship. Overall, Utah Valley’s men’s team has won three indoor and nine outdoor titles, while the women’s team has claimed two indoor and nine outdoor championships in the D-I era.

UVU men’s soccer hires goalkeeper coach

Utah Valley University women’s soccer head coach Chris Lemay has announced the addition of Devin Zimmerman to the Wolverine coaching staff as the program’s goalkeeper coach ahead of the 2026 season.

Zimmerman brings extensive playing and coaching experience to Utah Valley, including collegiate, professional, club, and Olympic Development Program experience.

“Having the opportunity to add Devin to our coaching staff is very exciting,” said Lemay. “He is a great fit and will make our goalkeepers better. Devin has coached and played at the highest level, and his experience as an elite coach and player will elevate the entire program. I am excited to watch the development and growth between the posts because of Devin’s impact.”

Prior to joining Utah Valley, Zimmerman spent three seasons on the coaching staff at the University of Utah, where he worked with the Utes’ goalkeepers. He also served as an assistant coach at Southern Virginia University before most recently serving as Director of Goalkeeping for Utah Avalanche. In that role, he oversaw goalkeeper development throughout the club while coaching multiple teams.

A former goalkeeper himself, Zimmerman played collegiately at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, helping lead the Skyhawks to three Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championships and multiple NCAA Tournament appearances. He finished his career among the program’s all-time leaders in goals-against average and shutouts.

Following his collegiate career, Zimmerman played professionally for the Portland Timbers before transitioning into coaching. He also competed with the Utah Select Team and USASA National Team.

Zimmerman holds a United States Soccer Federation National “C” License and a United Soccer Coaches Goalkeeper Diploma.

Zimmerman joins a Utah Valley program coming off one of the most successful seasons in school history. The Wolverines captured their fourth consecutive Western Athletic Conference regular-season championship in 2025 and earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.

The Wolverines finished the 2025 season with a 14-5-3 overall record and will begin their first season as a member of The Big West Conference this fall.