KANSAS CITY — Vibes are high ahead of Lee Cummard’s second campaign at the helm of the BYU women’s basketball program, although the offseason did involve one notable disappointment for the head coach.
Cummard is quite fond of Taco Bell — his players call it his “go-to meal — and he even had it for dinner the night before speaking to reporters Wednesday at Big 12 basketball media days in Kansas City.
But BYU’s on-campus Taco Bell location, a longtime staple of the Cougareat food court, permanently closed down in the spring, thus reducing the number of Taco Bells in Provo from four to three.
“I was bummed,” Cummard laughingly said of his reaction to the closure. “We had a conversation about it with some of the staff. You know, you either like Taco Bell or you don’t like Taco Bell, and I’m heavily on the like Taco Bell side.”
While his favorite restaurant is no longer within easy walking distance from the Marriott Center Annex, Cummard and three of his players — Delaney Gibb, Sydney Benally and Olivia Hamlin — offered an encouraging taste at media days of what to expect from BYU in 2026-27, where the Cougars are looking to build off of last year’s 26-12 record and WBIT championship game appearance.
“It was a fun run,” Cummard said. “We’ve got a great group. We’ve got most of (last year’s) group returning, and we’re really excited about that.
“We want to use those postseason games that we were able to play in to help us lead into Year 2. We’re represented by great, great players, great people. We’re really excited about this season.”
BYU is returning four starters and more than 70% of its scoring production from last season, while also adding Kailey Woolston — a 13-point per game scorer and 47% 3-point shooter as a freshman three years ago — back to the court following a Latter-day Saint mission.
“It’s something that I think speaks to the locker room that these ladies have built, the culture that they have there,” Cummard said. “They all want to be here with each other and build continuity and chemistry.
“We’re grateful to have as much back as we have, because that isn’t the norm ... we’re really excited and love the continuity and chemistry we have.”
Gibb will lead the charge for the Cougars, coming off a sophomore season in which she averaged 18.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game to earn First Team All-Big 12 honors.
With no seniors on the roster, the explosive guard from Canada is embracing a newfound veteran leadership role with which she plans to “impact the game in so many more ways.”
“I’ve been a key scorer for our team, but I want to be a great playmaker. I’ve focused a lot on that,” Gibb said.
“... Our team is really fun. We have a group of girls that are really unselfish. We want what’s best for the team. I think that’s something that’s just built within our program. We just have built a culture where everyone genuinely cares about each other and is really just wanting to win and do whatever they can to help the team.”
Hamlin and Benally were solid as true freshmen a year ago, with Hamlin posting 12.9 points and 1.7 steals per game and Benally breaking BYU’s freshman record for assists with 148.
“I think the style of play that we really want to emphasize is unselfishness, just passing up a good shot for a great shot,” Benally said.
“Just playing together as a team, because chemistry and our defense is what is going to bring us wins.”
Shooting has been a major focus of the offseason as BYU netted just 30% of its high volume of triples last year, but even with so much existing roster continuity, Cummard and his staff have put a heavy emphasis on team-building this summer, which has included team trips to Montana and Moab, line dancing and river rafting, going on hikes and running up and down Y Mountain.
“That’s the best part (of the offseason), just spending time with our team and just building those memories when we do team bondings like that,” Hamlin said.
As for overall goals, BYU is eyeing its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2022, having been the first team outside of last year’s bracket. With the tournament’s recent expansion to 76 teams, the Cougars now have a wider path to reach the Big Dance again and be one of Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark’s desired 10 tournament bids from the conference.
But of course, the road to March will be paved throughout the grind of Big 12 play, where BYU went 9-9 last season and has been picked to finish seventh in the conference preseason poll.
“It’s a tremendous league,” Cummard said. “It’s so much fun to play and compete against some of the great coaches of the college world. We’re pretty intentional about who we play in the nonconference. We try to pick some differing styles that fit some of the teams that are in our league and do that as best that we can.
“There’s nothing like playing Big 12 basketball. I mean, eight teams made the tournament (last year), and there were probably three or four more that had a chance, so we look forward to that. We’re not where we need to be yet. Through the nonconference, we’ll be primed and ready to go once we tip off (conference play) in December.”
