Hurry up and wait is the name of the game at BYU, where the relentless effort required to land top recruits is often followed by the long wait before they ever get to campus.
Kalani Sitake celebrated the signing of four-star linebacker/running back McKay Madsen, who announced on NBC that he was choosing the Cougars over Oregon and UCLA. Landing Madsen was a big win for the program, but the coach will wait until he completes his two-year church mission before he can get him on the field.
Kevin Young watched AJ Dybantsa announce on ESPN that the world’s top basketball recruit was choosing BYU over North Carolina, Kansas and Alabama. Dybantsa instantly became the program’s highest-ranked signee, but he still has his senior year at Utah Prep to finish before he can get here.
Bruce Brockbank is preparing the men’s golf team for its spring season as his prized recruit Kihei Akina plays his senior year at Utah’s Lone Peak High.
Akina is to the golf program what Dybantsa is to basketball. The three-time 6A individual state champion and 2023 USA Today Boys Golfer of the Year is ranked the fourth-best prep player in the United States by the Golf Channel.
“Kihei is as good as they say he is,” Brockbank told the “Y’s Guys” podcast this week. “We are fortunate to have him. He’s so polished. It’s hard to put a lot of pressure on these high school kids, but he is one who will handle it and handle it very well.”
Like Dybantsa, Akina is the golf program’s highest rated recruit, and he also had his pick over where to play before taking his swing at a professional career. Akina’s older brother Keanu finished his BYU golf career last year. The brothers teamed up with former Cougars star Carson Lundell earlier this month during their qualifying efforts for the Sony Open.
“Carson played a round with us and told me (about Kihei), ‘He’s just on a different level. That kid is so good. So tough mentally,’” Brockbank said. “Players usually won’t say that about younger guys, but that is exactly what Carson said. It was fun to hear him say, ‘Don’t worry about him. He’s going to be just fine.’”
Akina and Skyline High senior Jackson Shelley give BYU the No. 8 recruiting class, according to the Golf Channel.
“To be in the game for the last year and a half with Kihei and Jackson has been great,” Brockbank said. “Coach (Todd) Miller has done a phenomenal job with both of them, trying to get them to stay home and enjoy this cold weather.”
Brockbank’s current Cougars, led by senior Zach Jones and sophomore Peter Kim, begin their spring season in much warmer Tucson, Arizona, at the Arizona Collegiate (Feb. 3-4). Like Sitake, Young and other coaches on campus, Brockbank’s focus is on the here and now with this team, but you can’t blame him for keeping an excited eye on what’s coming.
For coaches at BYU, landing top prospects is tough work, but in the words of the late Tom Petty, “The waiting is the hardest part.”
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.