Unpacking BYU’s wildly successful year

It has been a year full of sweets for BYU sports — including an appearance in the Sweet 16 and a come-from-behind victory at the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Here are the top 10 stories of 2025 — according to the “Y’s Guys” livestream show.

10. Tom Holmoe retired in February as BYU’s longtime athletic director. He saw the Cougars through the independence era and then into the Big 12, where BYU is contending in almost every sport. Brian Santiago was named BYU’s new AD on May 14.

9. BYU basketball routs Kansas 91-57 at Marriott Center. Kansas, the most storied program in college basketball, made its Marriott Center debut on Feb. 16 and the Cougars ran them out of the gym 91-57. The 34-point win was BYU’s largest margin of victory against a ranked team, and it was also the third-worst loss in Jayhawk history and the most one-sided defeat in Bill Self’s 22 years as the Kansas head coach.

8. Jane Hedengren/Diljeet Taylor dominate Big 12.In her collegiate cross-country debut, freshman sensation Jane Hedengren won the individual Big 12 title and finished runner-up at the NCAA championships. For the first time in Big 12 history, Hedengren was named both the conference Newcomer of the Year and Runner of the Year. On the heels of BYU’s third-straight Big 12 championship, head coach Diljeet Taylor was tabbed Big 12 Coach of the Year for a third-consecutive season. As a team, the defending national champions came up short in their quest for a repeat — finishing second behind NC State.

7. BYU soccer claims first Big 12 championship.In a season-ending run for the ages, BYU women’s soccer beat Utah 2-0 in the final game of the regular season to qualify for the final spot in the Big 12 Tournament. During the battle with the Utes, Cougar goalie Paiton Collins tore her ACL and backup Chelsea Peterson (a former Ute) was called into action. The Cougars marched into Fort Worth, Texas, and proceeded to upset No. 5 TCU, No. 23 Baylor, and Kansas to win their first conference championship and earn a date in the NCAA Tournament. In the first round, Peterson held off Utah State during 11 rounds of penalty kicks to earn a rematch against UCLA. BYU also beat the Bruins in PKs before losing at No. 1 Stanford in the Sweet 16.

6. Bear Bachmeier goes 12-2 in his first season as BYU’s quarterback.Considering he spent spring football competing to be Stanford’s starting quarterback, it is a no-brainer that freshman Bear Bachmeier is among the top BYU sports stories of 2025. An unexpected coaching change at Stanford prompted Bachmeier’s move to Provo. The unexpected departure of senior Jake Retzlaff opened the door for the 6-foot-2, 230-pound battering ram to become the first true freshman to start a season opener in BYU history. Bachmeier led the Cougars to their first 12-win season in 24 years, threw for over 3,000 yards, ran for a school quarterback record 11 touchdowns, beat the Utes 24-21, marched BYU into its first Big 12 championship game, and earned honors as the Big 12 Freshman of the Year and was also named the Most Valuable Player of the Pop-Tarts Bowl.

5. AJ Dybantsa debuts for BYU. Never before had BYU basketball landed the top recruit in the country, but that’s what it got when AJ Dybantsa showed up on campus and enrolled in spring classes. The projected top pick in next year’s NBA draft chose to play for the Cougars on the belief that Kevin Young and his staff can best prepare him for the next level.In Dybantsa’s highly anticipated debut, the 6-foot-9 freshman scored 21 points to lead No. 8 BYU past Villanova 71-66 in the nationally televised opener on TNT at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. So far during BYU’s 12-1 start, his marquee moments include scoring 25 points in an 86-84 loss to No. 3 UConn at TD Garden in Boston; 18 points in a 98-70 win against No. 23 Wisconsin at Delta Center; 28 points in BYU’s 67-64 win against Clemson at Madison Square Garden; 35 points in BYU’s 85-67 win against Abilene Christian; and in BYU’s final nonconference game of 2025, Dybantsa produced the Cougars’ first triple-double in nine years with 33 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Eastern Washington.

4. BYU plays in first Big 12 championship game.At the end of BYU’s 5-7 debut season in the Big 12, the idea of reaching the conference championship game just two years later seemed as far-fetched as having a true freshman quarterback lead them there. However, the Cougars’ impressive 8-1 conference record took them to Arlington, Texas, on Dec. 6 to compete for the title and an automatic invite into the College Football Playoff. No. 11 BYU lined up against No. 4 Texas Tech as a significant underdog and when Bachmeier sprained his ankle on BYU’s opening drive, the odds in the Red Raiders’ favor increased dramatically. Texas Tech broke open a 13-7 game late in the third quarter by cashing in on a flurry of Cougar mistakes to win 34-7. More than 9 million people watched the game on ABC, which is BYU’s largest television audience in modern history.

3. BYU basketball reaches Sweet 16. The Cougars had big plans when they hired Kevin Young as the men’s head basketball coach, and in his first season, with help from freshman and future NBA lottery pick Egor Demin, Young took BYU to the Sweet 16. Richie Saunders scored 25 points as the Cougars upset No. 13 Wisconsin 91-89 in Denver to reach the third round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since Jimmer Fredette took them there in 2011. BYU’s efforts to get to their first Elite Eight since 1981 was halted by No. 7 Alabama and the Crimson Tide’s tournament-record 25 made 3-pointers, 113-88. Young completed his debut season in Provo with a 26-10 record and No. 13 ranking in the final AP Top 25.

2. BYU beats Georgia Tech 25-21 in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.Playing without star running back LJ Martin and star linebacker Jack Kelly, No. 12 BYU still found a way to shine in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The Cougars fell behind 21-10 but rallied for 15 points in the fourth quarter on touchdown runs by Enoch Nawahine and Jovesa Damuni and a two-point conversion run by Bear Bachmeier, who played most of the game on a re-aggravated sprained ankle.Georgia Tech marched to the BYU 18-yard line and on fourth and 10 with 14 seconds remaining, setting up Evan Johnson’s dramatic interception in the end zone to preserve the Cougars’ 25-21 victory.

1. Kalani Sitake turns down Penn State, signs extension.With Penn State in hot pursuit, BYU found a way to hold on to head coach Kalani Sitake and sign him to a “lengthy” contract extension that will keep him in Provo for a long time. A day after reaching the new deal, Sitake signed the highest-rated recruiting class in program history and was named Big 12 Coach of the Year. In his last two seasons, his Cougars are a combined 23-4 with a pair of victories against Utah and wins in the two most lucrative bowl games in program history.

Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.