Moving neighbors on Saturday from a home on the hill into assisted living is a sign of their times. They have graduated into the realm of downsizing where less is more. Keep what truly matters and discard the things that don’t. The real challenge is deciding what stays and what remains.
Hauling boxes to and fro got me thinking about how age wears on the mind and body just as football taxes the joints. Each passing second reminds us that no one is as young as he or she used to be.
Up in the technological cloud, where there seems to be endless storage space, you can retain everything. But down here, operating with a limited landscape between the ears, I find my mind requires similar downsizing with the same dilemma — deciding what stays and what goes.
Don’t get me wrong, as a hoarder of BYU sports moments, I can instantly recall a key play with Picasso-like detail, but as for what my wife asked me to pick up from the store? That’s a different story, and it probably didn’t include Oreos and ice cream.
But even with sports, it’s never a bad idea to clear up some cap space. With that in mind, and ahead of another promising athletic year at BYU, let’s downsize the memory bank from last season, keeping what matters the most while making room for what is on its way.
Just like with a move from a big place to small one, deciding what to hang on to is no easy task. Once we attach an emotion to a touchdown, a dunk or a home run, it becomes part of who we are. As a result, things that matter more to me may mean less to you, but here goes.
Football
In a 12-2 season full of big moments, the three memories I’m keeping are Bear Bachmeier’s 22-yard touchdown run against rival Utah late in the fourth quarter, Faletau Satuala’s 40-yard pick six in the fourth quarter to lead BYU past Iowa State and Evan Johnson’s moment of redemption in the Pop-Tarts Bowl when, just moments after getting beat on a 66-yard pass completion on fourth and 15, he grabbed an interception in the end zone with six seconds remaining to seal BYU’s 25-21 victory against No. 22 Georgia Tech.
Men’s basketball
Rob Wright III’s buzzer beater to take down Clemson 67-64 at Madison Square Garden on ESPN is a moment to never forget, as is Richie Saunder’s 3-pointer against Arizona State after getting a behind-the-back pass from Wright, who had just chased down a long pass from AJ Dybantsa.
A monster dunk down the middle of the lane highlighted Dybantsa’s BYU freshman record 43 points against the Utes. He also finished as a consensus All-American and No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. Watching Saunders hear his name called in the second round of the draft was priceless, too.
Women’s basketball
Beating Utah three times was an ideal way for Lee Cummard to remember his debut season as the Cougars’ head coach. Sophomore Delaney Gibb played big in
all three games. Gibb scored eight points with eight rebounds and seven assists in the 77-65 win in Provo, a career-high 37 points in an 86-74 victory in Salt Lake City and Gibb delivered 19 points with eight assists in the Cougars’ 70-52 win in the Big 12 Tournament.
Soccer
On a campus loaded with amazing stories, it’s hard to find one better than backup goalie Chelsea Peterson, who replaced the injured Paiton Collins and sparked a must-win 2-0 victory at Utah to qualify for the Big 12 Tournament.
Then in the postseason, Peterson held her ground in a 4-3 penalty kick victory against No. 5 TCU 4-3 to eliminate the Horned Frogs. What’s more, she shut out No. 23 Baylor (4-0) and Kansas (1-0) to win the Big 12 championship and earn honors as the tournament MVP.
Peterson’s brilliance continued in the NCAA Tournament, where BYU won back-to-back penalty kick decisions against Utah State (7-6) and UCLA (4-2) before falling to No. 1 Stanford in the Round of 16.
Baseball
When Crew McChesney pulled his hamstring in the seventh inning against Oklahoma State, BYU head coach Trent Pratt turned to Keoni Painter to hold down center field and then deliver the hit of his life.
With the Cougars trailing 4-3 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Painter connected on a fastball, and when it disappeared over the center field wall, he had the first walk-off home run of his life, giving BYU a dramatic 5-4 victory and series win against the Cowboys.
Track and field/Cross country
The moment each BYU runner experienced the thrill of winning a national championship is a memory maker, including two by freshman Jane Hedengren (300m and 5000m) and one each from Carter Cutting (mile), Ben Barton (decathlon) and James Corrigan (300m steeplechase).
Softball
Tied 5-5 with Iowa State in the bottom of the seventh inning at Gail Miller Field, Maddie Udall-Woolley saw a fastball she liked and belted it over the center field wall for the senior’s first walk-off home run.
Men’s volleyball
Tyler Herget’s 55 assists and Connor Oldani’s 18 kills fueled No. 8 BYU to a four-set upset of No. 4 USC in front of a packed crowd at the Smith Fieldhouse.
Women’s volleyball
During a thrilling 3-2 victory against Utah in the home finale, Suli Davis pounded out 26 kills, giving her the all-time freshman record at BYU (541).
Men’s golf
Freshman Kihei Akina sank his final putt to make program history while winning the Bridgestone Collegiate Invitational. Akina’s 21-under par marked the lowest 54-hole tournament score ever at BYU.
2025-2026 gave us plenty of impressive performances, both from individuals and teams, but for me, these are the keepers. My mind can only retain so much. Plus, my wife wants me to run to the store. We must be out of Oreos and ice cream.
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.