Head coach Amber Whiting announced the hiring of Keilani Unga as the BYU women’s basketball director of operations on Monday morning.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled for Keilani to join our BYU women’s basketball family,” said Whiting. “Keilani was a great player at BYU and has a great basketball mind. Having her on staff will help elevate our ability to get the most out of our players and put them in positions to succeed. We are excited for her to get to work with our players and make her mark on BYU, this time as a coach.”

The newly named director of operations spent four seasons as an assistant coach to Dan Nielson at Utah Valley University. Unga was the recruiting coordinator, post-players coach, camp coordinator and served as the director of operations in addition to her role as an assistant coach during her first two seasons in Orem.

At UVU, Unga helped the Wolverines to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2020-21 where they faced the No. 1 overall seed and eventual national champion Stanford in the opening round. That season, Unga helped UVU to a program record 10-4 WAC record, the best mark since joining the WAC in 2013-14.

During her tenure with the Wolverines, Unga coached eight all-conference players including two All-WAC first-team selections, two that were named to the All-WAC second team, two All-WAC honorable mentions and two that received All-WAC defensive team nods. She also helped 19 players receive Academic All-WAC honors.

Prior to her time at UVU, Unga served as an assistant coach for the Mountain View High School girls basketball team in Orem, Utah from 2016-18.

Unga suited up for the Cougars from 2007-10 before a two-year hiatus during which she gave birth to her first two children. She then returned for her final season in 2012-13 in which she was named to an All-West Coast Conference honorable mention as well as the 2013 Cougar Club Comeback Player of the Year. Unga played in the 13th-most games in BYU history (125) and recorded the 14th-most starts as a Cougar (101).

Unga is from Warrenville, Illinois where she prepped at Wheaton High School. Her brother Tony Moeaki who played collegiately at Iowa before playing eight seasons in the NFL. During her time at BYU, Unga met and married her husband Harvey who played football for the Cougars from 2006-09 and now serves as the running backs coach for BYU. She and Harvey have five children: Jackson, Leila, Makai “Kai”, Naomi and Harvey “Duece”.

Hall adds Utah native Andrew Hochstrasser to UVU wrestling staff

Utah Valley wrestling head coach Adam Hall announced on Monday the hiring of Andrew Hochstrasser as an assistant coach. He joins the UVU staff after a successful run with the Sons of Atlas Wrestling Club.

“I am proud to announce Andrew as an assistant coach at UVU,” Hall said. “I’ve known Andrew since we were teammates at Boise State, and we competed together post-college. He is respected in the wrestling community, especially in his home state of Utah. I love his passion for impacting young people, and I look forward to watching him develop as a college coach. I am also excited to welcome his wife, Teighlor, and their three kids, Finnley, Maylee, and Riggs, to our Wolverine Family.”

“I am extremely excited to join the Wolverine family. It is inspiring to coach with Adam Hall, Timmy McCall, and Joey Lavallee, who have the same love and enthusiasm for the sport that I do,” Hochstrasser said. “I am thankful for this opportunity to help build Utah Valley University and its student-athletes.”

Hochstrasser had a storied Utah High School wrestling career, during which he became one of 34 to win four state titles and tallied 170 career wins, which places him fifth in the UHSAA record books. 130 of his 170 victories came via a fall, placing him second all-time in Utah on this way to record 22, 18, 16, and 15 fall streaks.

After high school, he attended Boise State University, where he went 98-14 overall, won a pair of Pac-12 titles, and became a two-time All-American, finishing runner-up in 2011 and fourth in 2009.

The three-time NCAA qualifier continued his success on the United States and world stages. His wrestling career continued on the US and World stages, with two US Open runner-up finishes and two appearances on two World Cup teams. Hochstrasser finished fourth at the 2012 Olympic Team Trials and was a two-time Pan American Games champion.

Hochstrasser spent time at his alma mater on staff at Boise State while also training for international competitions in Boise.

Former UVU baseball star Mitch Mueller heads to the Lake County DockHounds

Utah Valley senior Mitch Mueller has signed a professional contract with the Lake Country DockHounds of the American Association of Professional Baseball. He is the fifth from the 2024 roster to advance to the next level.

Mueller (#52) made his professional debut last weekend, going two innings without allowing a hit against the Sioux City Explorers.

“Mitch was a big-time commit for us during our first recruiting cycle. He not only lived up to the hype but, in many instances, exceeded it. He’s an incredible worker with a relentless dedication to his craft! Could not be more excited for Mitch as he becomes a professional,” said UVU head coach Nate Rasmussen.

Mueller logged 32 career appearances and 14 starts in his two seasons in Orem. He had a standout outing in his first year at UVU when he tossed six innings and struck out nine at UC Riverside.

In 2024, he rose to a new level with a 6-1 record in 64 2/3 innings pitched in 14 appearances and seven starts. He struck out six or more hitters in four of his final five outings of the season. His eight strikeouts over six innings at California Baptist on Apr. 27 was a season highlight for the Wisconsin native.

The Lake Country DockHounds play in Oconomowoc, Wisc. The American Association is an MLB partner league with teams from Winnipeg, Canada, to Cleburne, Texas. Fans can follow the DockHounds on dockhounds.com, and games are available via stream on aabaseball.tv for free.

BYU earns NABC Team Academic Excellence Award for second straight season

The NABC announced the recipients of the 2023-24 NABC Team Academic Excellence Awards and NABC Honors Court on Monday, representing outstanding achievement in the classroom by collegiate men’s basketball teams and student-athletes.

“The NABC is proud to celebrate these accomplished student-athletes, along with the coaches and staff who champion success in the classroom,” said NABC Executive Director Craig Robinson. “Education is a core value of the NABC, and the teams and athletes who earned these awards are proof that academic achievement remains a priority across every level of our sport.”

The NABC Team Academic Excellence Awards recognize men’s basketball programs that completed the 2023-24 academic year with a team GPA of 3.0 or higher. The NABC Honors Court includes junior, senior and graduate student men’s basketball players who finished the 2023-24 year with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher.

BYU earned the Team Academic Excellence Award for a second straight season as the Cougars were one of three current Big 12 schools honored for its success in the classroom. Soon-to-be conference foes Arizona and Utah also made the list.

The Cougars were also one of three programs from the best men’s basketball conference in America with three or more players named to the NABC Honors Court: Trevin Knell, Fousseyni Traore and Trey Stewart.

More than 2,100 players earned spots on the NABC Honors Court and over 360 programs received NABC Team Academic Excellence Awards for 2023-24.

Thirty-one Cougars earn USTFCCCA All-Academic Honors

Thirty-one BYU track and field athletes received All-Academic honors as the USTFCCCA released its 2024 academic awards on July 15.

Sixteen women and 15 men earned individual All-Academic honors. Both programs also garnered All-Academic team honors as the women hold a combined GPA of 3.41 and the men 3.37.

Teams must hold a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale to be named an All-Academic team.

With 2024 recognition, Cierra Tidwell Allphin and Aubrey Frentheway lead BYU with five track and field All-Academic honors. Cameron Bates, Dallin Draper, Aidan Troutner and Meghan Hunter registered their fourth nomination as nine Cougars receive their third, nine received their second and seven their first.

Courtesy UVU Marketing