BYU’s run at the NCAA golf championships ended just before the final stage in California.
The No. 19 team in the country advanced to the final day of stroke play and made the 15-team cut over No. 11 Illinois and No. 14 UCLA. But it was edged out by Ole Miss for the last spot in the eight-team match play event that will determine the championship.
The Cougars were led by two local products: Cole Ponich, of Farmington, and Tyson Shelley, out of Skyline. The team finished 13th overall.
BYU has never advanced to match play since it was instituted in 2009. But this is the third time since 2022 that the Cougars have gone to the championship tournament. BYU won the national championship in 1981.
The program figures to improve heading into year three of Big 12 play. Kihei Akina, the best amateur golfer in the state out of Lone Peak, committed to BYU last week. He played in a PGA Tour event last year at the Black Desert Championship on a sponsor exemption.
The Big Thing
(Julia Demaree Nikhinson | AP) Brigham Young forward Richie Saunders (15) puts up a shot against Alabama guard Mark Sears (1) and forward Grant Nelson (4) during the first half of a Sweet 16 round NCAA college basketball tournament game, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Newark, N.J.
Kevin Young didn’t want to get caught up in the transfer portal buzz at the beginning of April.
“We don’t want to make any rash and quick decisions,” he cautioned. “In today’s day and age in college athletics, I think you can get caught up in the storm that is in the portal. I think we are just trying to be calculated in the moves we make. And we feel like we are on a decent path to doing that.”
Well, with his roster basically set, it looks like Young was right not to rush anything.
With a couple of late adds in the portal, Young’s roster is again 10 players deep. He pulled from high-major and low-major schools to build out a rotation.
The top-end talent is led by Richie Saunders, AJ Dybantsa and Rob Wright III. The depth is now helped by Nate Pickens, Tyler Mrus and Khadim Mboup. This is what Young envisioned two months ago.
“We essentially have an NBA front office, so to speak, that has been scouting players since the day we stepped foot here,” Young said. “Our staff is very well versed, we have a lot of connections all over the country and the world. We have a good handle on who is out there. We are relying on the work we put in for many months.”
BYU opens up against Villanova in Las Vegas next fall.
Fourth down
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