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PROVO — No doubt about it, recent recruiting developments in football and basketball are a bad look for BYU's two most prominent sports.
With apologies for stating the obvious, Latter-day Saint athletes are the lifeblood of BYU's recruiting in all sports. It stings each time a potential great player gets away, especially those who have recently served a church mission or intend to leave for two years.
It happened twice this week in both sports, each with separate circumstances that outwardly reflect negatively on BYU for different reasons. The new world of college athletics likely played an important part of both "defections."
The week started with Gatlin Bair, an Idaho receiver with blazing speed, not listing BYU among the five finalists going into his senior year. The state's top recruit is considering Boise State, Michigan, Nebraska, Oregon and Texas Christian.
One day later, Steven Ashworth committed to continue his basketball career at Creighton. A Lone Peak High graduate and returned missionary, Ashworth was a sharpshooting guard for a Utah State team that played in the NCAA Tournament last month. BYU did not earn an invitation to either the NCAA Tournament or NIT.
Bair likely will graduate from Burley High in January and then leave on a church mission shortly afterward. He intends to take official visits to the five schools over the summer.
His profile skyrocketed after a scintillating performance last month at the Texas Relays, where he ran at 10.18 in the 100-meter prelims and won the finals at 10.25. The Athletic reported that the lower time was the second-fastest 100 that any high school sprinter has had this year and was good enough to finish sixth at last year's NCAA championships.
"I definitely think the official visits will play a big role," Bair told On3.com. "Everyone I've talked to that's made a decision like this, they said it comes down to feel. The people I talk to, they just say, "When you know, you know.' ... I'm playing it out and sticking with things that are really important to me, like the relationships with the people and that sort of thing. Whichever school really sticks out the most is the school that I'm going to choose."
NIL, in which athletes can benefit financially off their name, image and likeness, may have factored into Bair's decision to not even throw BYU a bone. BYU coaches were well aware that money was a part of the conversation.
Ashworth, who averaged 16.2 points per game and shot 43% on 3-pointers, at least had BYU among finalists that included Utah State, Washington, Virginia Commonwealth and Oklahoma State. Ryan Odom, who coached Ashworth at Utah State the last two seasons, recently took the same position at VCU.
The passion for basketball in Omaha, Nebraska, helped sway Ashworth's choice. Creighton, which advanced to the Elite Eight last season, averaged 17,163 fans over 15 home games compared to BYU's average of 14,117 for 16 games.
Making the announcement on YouTube to Stadium's Jeff Goodman, Ashworth said BYU's inclusion into the Big 12, which is considered the best basketball conference, was attractive. Creighton is in the Big East, which includes reigning national champion Connecticut.
A six-figure NIL deal also likely played a part in the decision. And in the end, Ashworth trusted Creighton coach Greg McDermott more than he did BYU's Mark Pope.
"I love when people have a passion for it like I do, and that's exactly what Omaha has," Ashworth said. "And another huge thing was the teammates, the caliber of guys I'm going to be around. The people at Creighton have a huge sense of character and trust and belief in what they're doing. I think that there's players on that team that are going to help me perform at my highest level."
