Former BYU football stars Jack Kelly, Will Ferrin and Austin Leausa won’t be moving on to NFL opportunities next month empty-handed.
The standout players from the Cougars’ 12-2 team in 2025 will be taking college degrees with them to New York (Kelly and Ferrin) and Las Vegas (Leausa). They are among 29 football players, and 124 BYU student-athletes, who recently graduated or will graduate within the next four months, according to the school.
Linebacker Kelly was taken in the sixth round of last weekend’s NFL draft by the New York Giants, while tight end Carsen Ryan was picked in the seventh round by the Cleveland Browns. BYU kicker Ferrin has signed a free-agent contract with the New York Jets and offensive lineman Leausa received a rookie minicamp invite with the Raiders.
Receiver Chase Roberts, cornerback Mory Bamba, safety Tanner Wall and then-BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff were among the 22 football players graduating from BYU in 2023-24 or 2024-25 and will also receive NFL opportunities shortly; Roberts and Wall signed with the Raiders, Bamba signed with the Jets, and Retzlaff received a rookie minicamp invitation from the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
Two of the student-athletes on this year’s football list — quarterback Max Hall (2009) and tight end Masen Wake (2022) — last played for the Cougars several years ago but recently finished up the coursework required to get their degrees, Hall in facilities management and Wake in exercise and wellness, which is easily the most popular degree among BYU athletes.
Of note, a football player who arrived on campus in January, Mississippi State cornerback Jayven Williams, is also graduating in the 2026 class, in global studies.
Most of the other 29 graduates from the football program will be starters on the 2026 team, including safety Raider Damuni, kicker Matthias Dunn, offensive linemen Andrew Gentry, Kyle Sfarcioc and Bruce Mitchell, linebacker Isaiah Glasker, cornerback Evan Johnson, and defensive linemen Anisi Purcell, Keanu Tanuvasa and Bodie Schoonover.
Backup quarterback Treyson Bourguet is also graduating, in business management.
All 124 graduating student-athletes were invited to attend a banquet hosted by the athletic department last Wednesday, in which the aforementioned Hall was one of the speakers.
Four members of the BYU men’s basketball team that made the NCAA Tournament are graduating — Mihailo Boskovic, Keba Keita, Jared McGregor and Richie Saunders — along with a former Cougar cager, Payton Dastrup. Dastrup is the new boys basketball coach at Weber High.
Guard Dawson Baker, who was injured for most of the basketball season, graduated in 2024-25 with a degree in sociology.
Notables among the seven graduating BYU women’s basketball players who played for the WBIT championship last month are two who are getting master’s degrees — center Heather Hamson and guard Arielle Mackey-Williams. Softball star Hailey Morrow, who committed to BYU when she was 12 years old, also graduated last week.
Here’s the list of 2025-26 BYU student-athlete graduates
Baseball — 11
- Luke Anderson, Exercise and Wellness
- Bryant Ball, Economics
- Carter Foss, Political Science
- Parker Goff, Exercise and Wellness
- Patrick Graham, Media and Society
- Payton Gubler, Business Management
- Bryker Hurdsman, Health Promotion
- Easton Jones, Exercise and Wellness
- Mason Olson, Business Management
- Justis Reiser, Finance
- Luke Sterner, Business Management
Men’s basketball — 5
- Mihailo Boskovic, History
- Payton Dastrup, Exercise and Wellness
- Keba Keita, Media and Society
- Jared McGregor, Entrepreneurial Management
- Richie Saunders, Business Management
Women’s basketball — 7
- Lauren Davenport, Exercise and Wellness
- Kendra Gillispie, Family Studies
- Heather Hamson, Athletic Training (Master’s)
- Kylie Krebs, Exercise and Wellness
- Hattie Ogden, Biology
- Lara Rohkohl, Media and Society
- Arielle Mackey-Williams, Biology (Master’s)
Football — 29
- Treyson Bourguet, Business Management
- Kaden Chidester, Business Management
- Raider Damuni, Experience Design and Management
- Matthias Dunn, Finance
- Will Ferrin, Business Management
- Andrew Gentry, Business Management
- Isaiah Glasker, Business Management
- Cole Hagen, Finance
- Max Hall, Facilities Management
- Evan Johnson, Business Management
- Ace Kaufusi, Experience Design and Management
- Maika Kaufusi, Entrepreneurial Management
- Jack Kelly, Business Management
- Austin Leausa, Sociology
- Sonny Makasini, Global Studies
- Bruce Mitchell, Business Management
- Enoch Nawahine, Business Management
- Keayen Nead, Exercise and Wellness
- Trevin Ostler, Global Studies
- Anisi Purcell, Exercise and Wellness
- Rowan Reay, Exercise Science
- Preston Rex, Business Management
- Bodie Schoonover, Global Studies
- Kyle Sfarcioc, Journalism and Sports Media
- Keanu Tanuvasa, Psychology
- Petey Tuipulotu, Finance
- Sam Vander Haar, Communications Studies
- Masen Wake, Exercise and Wellness
- Jayven Williams, Global Studies
Men’s golf — 2
- Simon Kwon, Finance
- Tyson Shelley, Communications Studies
Women’s golf — 2
- Lily McCauley, Media and Society
- Alexa Udom, Biology
Gymnastics — 4
- Alilah Alvarado, Exercise Science
- Kylie Eaquinto, Accounting
- Melissa Earl, Elementary Education
- Heidi Meyers, Chemical Engineering
Soccer — 3
- Avery Frischknecht, Exercise and Wellness
- Emma Neff, English
- Chelsea Peterson, Exercise and Wellness
Softball — 5
- Hina Huber, Exercise Science
- Jaelynn Lambert, Physical Education Teaching/Coaching
- Miranda Mansfield, Communications Studies
- Hailey Morrow, Exercise and Wellness
- Lily Owens, Political Science
Women’s swim and dive — 8
- Sophia DeBergh, Psychology
- Lily Flint, Accounting
- Daniela Flores Bautista, Construction Management
- Katya Hulse, Exercise Science
- Emma Marusakova, Psychology
- Annie Reichner Plumb, Family Life; Human Development
- Annie Robinson, Journalism and Sports Media
- Victoria Schreiber, Microbiology
Men’s swim and dive — 6
- Jacob Ballard, Biology
- Jack Burke, Human Resource Management
- Diego Camacho Salgado, Business Management
- Tyler Edlefsen, Exercise and Wellness
- Nathan Marshall, Global Supply Chain Management
- Payton Plumb, Business Management
Women’s tennis — 2
- Kendall Kovick, Sociology
- Maddie Smith, Marketing
Men’s tennis — 1
- Redd Owen, Political Science
Women’s track and field — 9
- Carmen Alder, History
- Zoey Bonds, Family Studies
- Lizzie Dildine, Journalism and Sports Media
- Jacey Farmer, Human Resource Management
- Carlee Hansen, Computer Science: Data Science
- Jenna Hutchins, Communication Disorders
- Lia Katoa, Communications Studies
- Taylor Rohatinsky, Exercise Science
- Krystie Solomon-Jensen, Psychology
Men’s track and field — 11
- Ben Barton, Exercise Science
- Luke Grundvig, Computer Science
- Jace Jensen, Psychology
- Asante Laryea Akrong, Information Systems Management
- Brinton Paulson, Exercise Science
- Connor Saunders, Global Supply Chain Management
- Jacob Stanford, Information Systems
- Josh Taylor, Construction Management
- Creed Thompson, Computer Science: Software Engineering
- Davins Thompson, Computer Science: Software Engineering
- Peyton Williams, Marketing
Women’s volleyball — 2
- Hannah Billeter, Exercise and Wellness
- Kate Prior, Exercise and Wellness
Men’s volleyball — 2
- Jackson Fife, Microbiology
- Tyler Herget, Accounting
Cheer — 5
- Rylee Cotterell, Nursing
- Lizzy Dayton, Exercise and Wellness
- Caroline Howard, Accounting
- Halle Johnson, Exercise and Wellness
- Jacob Willford, Advertising
Cougarettes — 3
- Brynnley Huntsman, Experience Design and Management
- Ambrie Kirkham, Experience Design and Management
- Halle Larsen, Experience Design and Management
Dunk team — 6
- Connor Cihula, Computer Science
- Alden Cocanour, Global Supply Chain Management
- Kaden Dengin, Marketing
- Jacob Foote, Manufacturing Engineering
- Isaac Schaat, Finance
- Nicholas Thomas, Information Systems