PROVO, Utah — A young BYU baseball team embarked on its inaugural Big 12 season in 2024, experiencing a combination of growing paints and breakout performances from a promising core of underclassmen along the way.
The Cougars finished the season 21-31 (7-23) and 13th in the Big 12 after facing a 52-game gauntlet that featured six eventual NCAA Tournament teams, two No. 1-seeds, four opponents that finished ranked in the D1 Baseball.com Top-25 and a combined opponent winning percentage of .534.
BYU’s five wins over NCAA Tournament teams came with two at Texas, one each at West Virginia and Kansas State along with a home defeat of Grand Canyon. West Virginia and Kansas State each advanced to NCAA Super Regionals, while GCU went on to topple No. 1-seed Arizona in the opening round of the Tucson Regional. The Cougars also earned the distinction of the only Big 12 team to beat Texas two out of three times in 2024.
BYU opened the season with an 8-1 win over eventual Pac-12 Tournament runner-up USC at the MLB Desert Invitational in Mesa, Arizona on Feb. 16. The Cougars got off to a hot start at Miller Park weeks later with a three-game sweep of Gonzaga Feb. 29-March 1. BYU’s first Big 12 win came in a 4-1 decision at West Virginia on March 8. The Cougars then returned home to earn their first Big 12 home and series wins with a pair of victories over Houston.
BYU began April with a bang as it knocked off perennial powerhouse Texas with two wins out of three in the month’s first weekend series. The remainder of the month was highlighted by two nonconference wins over Utah. A 2024 sweep of the Utes marked the Cougars’ first since 2003 and their first time to win the rivalry series in consecutive seasons since 2015-16.
The Cougars closed out the season with two marquee road trips, one at traditional power Miami, the other at Kansas State. Both series combined for three one-score games and two ending in extra innings. BYU used an 8-0 run to dispatch the Hurricanes in game three at Miami and handed the Wildcats a 12-8 defeat to end the 2024 campaign in Manhattan.
All of this came as 11 of 14 Cougars to appear in this season's batting orders were either sophomores or freshmen.
Freshman outfielder Crew McChesney came on strong to close the season with starts in 14 of BYU’s last 18 games. McChesney finished the season leading BYU in batting average (.340), slugging percentage (.547) and on-base percentage (.478). Fellow true freshman outfielder Ryker Schow made 17-straight starts to end the season and finished top-5 on the roster in on-base percentage (.368) and fielding percentage (.982).
Sophomore Parker Goff worked his way into 13 of the Cougars’ final 16 lineups and made his presence felt as the team’s second leader in both batting average (.293) and on-base percentage (.403). Goff also recorded 184 putouts and a .990 fielding percentage at catcher.
Freshman Kuhio Aloy made his first start at designated hitter in the opener versus USC and proved a fixture in the spot throughout the year. Aloy led BYU with 38 RBI and finished second on the team with 53 hits on his way to a place on the Big 12 All-Freshman Team.
Veterans Easton Jones, Cooper Vest and Luke Anderson provided the Cougars with consistent leadership from start to finish in 2024.
Jones, a sophomore, became a mainstay for BYU at third base, anchoring the leftfield line in 51 of 52 games while leading the team in hits (55), home runs (14) and total bases (109).
The versatile Vest led BYU with a fielding percentage of .994 through significant time at both first base and rightfield. Offensively, the junior led the Cougars with 38 runs scored while finishing second on the team in home runs (11) and total bases (99). Vest became the only Big 12 player in 2024 to record multiple triples in a single game with two versus Baylor on April 13.
Anderson, a sophomore outfielder, led BYU in doubles (12), walks (32) and stolen bases (9-10) while finishing second on the team with 36 runs scored.
Sophomore Collin Reuter proved a valuable defender at both catcher and first base. The Honorable Mention All-Big 12 selection led the team in putouts (379) and tied for second in the league with 12 runners caught stealing.
Closer Stone Cushing, starters Bryce Robison and Ben Hansen, along with reliever Mason Olson headlined the BYU pitching staff in 2024.
Cushing joined the Cougars this season following two years at the College of Southern Idaho. The junior from Salem, Utah wasted no time making his presence felt on the mound. Cushing garnered Honorable Mention All-Big 12 after finishing the regular season as the league-leader with 10 saves. The Cougar closer finished tied for ninth nationally in saves along with second and fifth all-time at BYU in single-season and career saves, respectively.
Robison co-led BYU with 51 strikeouts in 67 innings pitched. The senior finished his Cougar career top-10 in program history in career starts (42), wins (24), innings pitched (285.2) and strikeouts (212).
Hansen shared Robion’s 51 strikeouts while leading BYU with 72 innings pitched and five wins. Olson earned Honorable Mention All-Big 12 despite missing the season’s last 18 games. The senior lefty led BYU with 2.82 ERA and ranked top-4 in the league in both ERA and fewest earned runs allowed prior to injury.
With a subpar season in the books, the Cougars look to build on the successes of a young team in 2024 as they approach year two in the Big 12.
“This isn’t the season we wanted, we know that,” BYU head coach Trent Pratt said. “Even still, our guys came out and played hard every day. We have to find a way to not just compete in the Big 12 but win in the Big 12. We all have to get better this offseason; coach better, play better. We’re excited to get to work.”