- Lee Cummard's first season as BYU women's basketball head coach emphasizes continuity.
- Freshman Delaney Gibb returns, having excelled in 15 statistical categories last season.
- Cummard retained key staff and added recruits, ensuring team chemistry and stability.
PROVO — No coaching change is ever easy, but the BYU women's basketball coaching transition from Amber Whiting to Lee Cummard proved to be fairly seamless.
The former Cougars star nicknamed "Spider-Man" for his long, rangy frame was named the program's eighth head coach last spring, and it didn't take long for Cummard to get right to work retaining his roster, adding a few pieces from the transfer portal and cementing a recruiting class that included a few top recruits in the region.
One thing he didn't have to wait on: bringing back BYU's rising star, freshman Delaney Gibb, who earned a spot in the program record books with top-five finishes in 15 statistical categories, including 17.48 points, 2.58 3-point makes and 4.17 assists per game.
Gibb admitted that a return to BYU during the coaching change wasn't always a given — and in today's era of college basketball, it would be a significant upset if the unanimous Big 12 freshman of the year weren't enticed by other programs.
But Cummard's promotion as a first-time head coach at his alma mater seemed to seal Gibb's fate, too: The Raymond, Alberta, native was all in on BYU.
"Coach Cummard has been recruiting me since eighth grade," Gibb said Wednesday during BYU women's basketball media day. "It's been a long while.
"I love Utah and I love BYU," she added. "Obviously, I was looking to do what's right for me. But, ultimately, I love it here. I was super excited when Lee was announced for the job, and I'm excited for what the future holds."
Cummard admitted he's "always had a great relationship with Delaney." But more important than their relationship was her relationship with the program and university, he added of the "lengthy" conversations they had about her role on the team — even before Cummard got the job.
"Whether I was going to be here or not, I always expressed to her that I felt like she should wear BYU blue and take on the challenge of the Big 12 era at BYU," he said. "I think she wants that challenge."
Gibb wasn't alone in her loyalty; only two players transferred away from BYU following last season's 13-17 campaign that included a 4-14 mark in Big 12 play that ultimately led to Whiting's firing.
That included Amari Whiting, the former starting point guard, who transferred to Oklahoma State; and Naia Tanuvasa, the walk-on guard from Lone Peak who moved up the road to Utah Valley.
But in addition to Gibb, the Cougars returned starters Kambree Barber and Brinley Cannon; reserve wing Hattie Ogden; guards Marya Hudgins and Ari Mackey-Williams from injury; and walk-on reserve Heather Hamson in the post.
Cummard then added forward Lara Rohkohl, a tough rebounding 6-foot-3 senior from Hanover, Germany, by way of College of Charleston via the portal; and a freshman class led by top prep talents from Utah (Olivia Hamlin), Montana (Braeden Gunlock) and New Mexico (Sydney Benally) and Mariam Traore, the younger sister of former men's basketball standout Fouss Traore who recently completed his collegiate career.
The chemistry of a returning core has already shown itself through offseason workouts, Cummard noted.
"It's a group that really likes each other," he said. "They like being around each other."
Perhaps equally as important as continuity of roster is continuity of staff, where Cummard retained assistant coaches Jordan Loera, Keilani Unga and Josh Edwards, and transitioned John Wardenburg into a chief of staff role while adding two new coaches.
That includes former BYU star Paisley Johnson-Harding, who played for Cummard under former coach Jeff Judkins and returns to blue a year after accepting her first collegiate assistant job at nearby Utah Valley.
But the first-time head coach retained nearly everybody, right on down to former graduate assistant and one-time practice squad player Dallin Hucks, the former teammate of BYU alum Spencer Johnson at American Fork who was promoted to a video, strategy and analytics role.
"I think that speaks to this place, and the uniqueness of it," Cummard said. "A lot of people within the program really respect this university, what it stands for, and how we align with this place — or what it's done for us in our life.
"And the Big 12 doesn't hurt, either: competing at the highest level. But we want people to be here that want to be here. We need to fit those people just as much as they need to fit us."
BYU opens the season Tuesday, Oct. 28 with an exhibition game against Division II Western Colorado before the regular-season opener Wednesday, Nov. 5 against Coastal Carolina at the Marriott Center.
