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Brigham Young University students unfurl a flag before the home opener of the BYU Cougars held against the Southern Illinois University Salukis at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
With a sigh of relief and a smile of satisfaction, Rory McIlroy finally put on the green jacket he so valiantly earned by winning the Masters in a one-hole playoff. The victory also completes his career grand slam, having won all four of golf’s majors.
The green jacket gets a lot of attention this time of year, but there are other jackets out there — including dinner jackets that are worn for style; yellow jackets that sting; and straight jackets that confine. What if BYU had a “blue jacket” to present to its most masterful coach?
Who is the Rory McIlroy on campus in 2025? The field of contenders is loaded.
Kevin Young:The first-year men’s basketball coach took a team picked to finish ninth in the Big 12 and led it to the program’s first appearance in the Sweet 16 since 2011. Along the way, his Cougars won 26 games and earned a No. 13 ranking in the final AP Top 25 poll. In addition, Young put a freshman in the NBA lottery (Egor Demin) and landed the nation’s top recruit to play next season (AJ Dybantsa).
Kalani Sitake: After being picked to finish 13th in the Big 12, Sitake’s Cougars tied Arizona State, Iowa State and Colorado for first place. BYU capped its 11-2 season with a 36-14 triumph over the Buffaloes in the Alamo Bowl in front of a program record 8 million television viewers. The Cougars finished the season ranked No. 13 in the AP Top 25. Sitake also landed former Utah defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa from the transfer portal and earned future commitments from four-star prospects McKay Madsen and Brock Harris.
Diljeet Taylor:Women’s cross-country won the NCAA national championship, the Mountain Region championship and the Big 12 championship. Taylor was also named the NCAA women’s national coach of the year for the second time in four years and the Big 12 coach of the year for the second straight season. In addition, she signed the nation’s top runner, Jane Hedengren (Timpview), for next season.
Ed Eyestone:Men’s cross-country won the NCAA national championship, the Mountain Region championship and the Big 12 championship. Eyestone was named NCAA men’s national coach of the year, NCAA mountain region coach of the year and the Big 12 coach of the year. Eyestone signed the No 1 runner in the country, Daniel Simmons (American Fork), and landed All-Pac 12 and All-ACC grad transfer Thomas Boyden from Stanford.
Jennifer Rockwood: Soccer went 9-7-5 (6-2-3) and reached the NCAA tournament for the seventh consecutive season. With just one starter returning from BYU’s 2023 College Cup squad, Rockwood’s Cougars started the season ranked No. 3 and finished No. 19. The nine victories pushed Rockwood’s career total to 435 and a win percentage of .751. BYU finished No. 3 in the country in home attendance at South Field.
Heather Olmstead: In BYU’s second season in the Big 12, women’s volleyball finished 19-10 (12-6) and reached the NCAA tournament for the 13th consecutive season. Olmstead’s 257 career victories are attached to an .848-win percentage, which remains No. 1 among active Division I volleyball coaches. She will also coach the USA’s 2025 Norceca U21 Pan Am team this summer.
Bruce Brockbank: Men’s golf won the Arizona NIT and have three consecutive top-four finishes heading into this week’s Western Intercollegiate (Monday-Wednesday) in Santa Cruz, California. Brockbank’s 2025 recruiting class is ranked No. 8 by Golf Channel.
Shawn Olmstead: No. 7 men’s volleyball is 17-9 (5-5) with a homestand Friday and Saturday against Pepperdine. Between his time head coaching both the men’s and women’s programs, Olmstead has earned 241 career victories.
Gordon Eakin: Leading softball into its second season in the Big 12, Eakin’s Cougars are 25-12, including 8-7 in conference play. In his 23rd season, Eakin has 856 career wins and 16 trips to the NCAA tournament.
Carrie Roberts: Fresh off its victory at the USF Invitational, the women’s golf team marches into this week’s Big 12 championships (Tuesday-Thursday) in Hockley, Texas, with tremendous momentum.
Tamber McAllister: In her first season at BYU, the women’s swim and dive team placed 23rd at the NCAA championships — the program’s best showing in 34 years. McAllister was named Big 12 women’s swimming co-coach of the year.
The blue jacket: Considering McIlroy and Justin Rose ended the final round at the Masters in a tie and needed an extra hole to decide the winner, it seems fitting to keep Taylor and Eyestone in a statistical dead heat. The two accomplished what all the others are trying to do — win national championships. Not only did they win, but they won on the same day, and both are deserving of the blue jacket.
Winning in Provo is becoming a tradition unlike any other. These are unique times where, across the board, the athletic program is flying at an elite level. There are areas to improve and certain sports that need to do better, but this spring, BYU is blooming as much as Augusta National.
Looking ahead to next season, if Young and Sitake are to win their own blue jackets, they will first need to catch cross-country, which is already miles ahead and close to lapping the field.
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BYU fans cheer during a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament against the Virginia Commonwealth Rams held at Ball Arena in Denver, Colo., on Thursday, March 20, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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.
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