PROVO, Utah — BYU women’s golf racked up one runner-up, three top-5 finishes, and Maria Jose “MJ” Barragan capped off the campaign with an appearance in the NCAA Louisville Regional.
The Cougars kicked off the season with back-to-back seventh-place finishes at the Dick McGuire Invitational and Colonel Wollenberg Ptarmigan Ram Classic. Whitney Banz tied for 15th at the UNM Championship Course, her best placement of the season.
Ava Schroeder became the first top-10 finisher for BYU at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational with a 6-over 222. The sophomore secured a career-best eighth place to help the team finish in sixth in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The Cougars moved on to the Route 66 Invitational Honoring Dale McNamara, where they finished 10th. Barragan took home a share of 34th at 10-over par.
The best team finish of the fall season came at the Rainbow Wahine Invitational. Barragan’s 2-under 214, for 10th place, assisted BYU in carding an 8-over 872 on its way to a fifth-place finish at Hokuala Golf Club.
After a three-month hiatus, the Cougars nabbed their second and third consecutive fifth-place outings at the Collegiate Invitational at Guadalajara Country Club, then Thunderbird Intercollegiate. Barragan added two more top-10’s in that stretch, with a T-10 placement in her native country, then a T-8 finish at Tucson Country Club.
“One of my favorite events was in Guadalajara," head coach Carrie Roberts said. "It was really cool to compete internationally, and we had one of our better mid-tournament turnarounds at that event. It was fun to see each girl lock in.”
BYU followed that up with the Lady Luck Invitational at Las Vegas Country Club. Barragan tied for 15th in the midst of a 12th-place showing.
The Cougars battled for a 10th-place finish at the Betsy Rawls Invitational, which featured cold, windy and harsh conditions in the first round. Lily McCauley ended with a tie for 22nd at 17-over par in the event.
At the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic, BYU bounced back with its best performance of the season, a runner-up finish at 3-under par, thanks to McCauley, Barragan, Schroeder and Banz all finishing inside the top-20. McCauley was the best of the four with an even-par total, which secured a share of 13th.
The season came to a close with a 10th-place finish at the Big 12 Championship in Dallas. For the third consecutive tournament, McCauley was the lowest-scoring Cougar at 2-over par and tied for 12th.
Barragan wrapped up her season by competing individually in the NCAA Louisville Regional. The junior’s 11th-place finish was one stroke shy of advancing to the NCAA Championship as the low individual.
The Cougars will graduate seniors McCauley and Sunbin Seo, and return eight players to the 2026-27 roster.
Two additional golfers will join the team next season. Freshmen Kate Walker from St. George, Utah, and Tatum Otto from Bellevue, Washington, will join BYU in the fall.
“I’m hoping we can create a culture that thrives in tough environments and advances deep into the postseason,” Roberts said. “We love our seniors and are sad to see them go, but excited for the freshmen to come in and be competitive and push our current players."