BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff will start the 2025 football season and his self-described quest to make it to the Heisman ceremony in New York in December with a college degree in hand.
The rising senior (in eligibility) from Corona, California, who became a national curiosity last season as the first Jewish quarterback in BYU history , is one of 112 student-athletes who are graduating Thursday, according to a list released by the school.
Retzlaff is getting his degree in exercise and wellness, easily the most popular degree among BYU student-athletes.
BYU's 2025 commencement is Thursday at 10 a.m. in the Marriott Center on campus. The student-athlete graduates will be honored at a senior banquet Wednesday.
All 122 student-athlete graduates had a graduation date ranging from December 2024 to August 2025.
Retzlaff is one of 22 former, or current, BYU football players who will receive their degrees in this cycle. Last year, there were 19 . The year before (2023), there were 24.
One of the graduates from BYU's football program who will walk is Rob Daniel, who played defensive back for the Cougars in 2013 and 2014 before stints in the NFL and the Canadian Football League.
When his contract with the Toronto Argonauts expired in February 2024, Daniel returned to Provo to finish his degree and work with the football team as a defensive consultant.
Along with Retzlaff, these players will be back in 2025 with degrees: safety Talan Alfrey; cornerback Jayden Dunlap; tight end Ethan Erickson; defensive end Logan Lutui; receiver Chase Roberts; and defensive tackle Josh Singh.
Star safety Tanner Wall, who is returning in 2025, graduated in 2024 with a degree in finance and is working on his MBA. Another returner, cornerback Mory Bamba, graduated last spring with a degree in business.
Several football graduates will be watching the NFL draft Thursday through Saturday after getting their degrees, with hopes of hearing their names called. That list includes receiver Darius Lassiter, defensive tackles Blake Mangelson and John Nelson, offensive lineman Connor Pay and tight end Mata'ava Ta'ase.
Star defensive end Tyler Batty graduated last spring, in communications, and defensive end Isaiah Bagnah graduated in sociology.
Two members of BYU's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 basketball team this past season, center Fousseyni Traore and guard Dawson Baker, have also earned their degrees, Traore in business management and Baker, who is expected to return to the team next season, in sociology. Trevin Knell and Trey Stewart graduated last spring.
On the women's basketball side, center Emma Calvert is getting a degree in information systems.
Baseball — 6
Hayden Coon, Business Management
Tate Gambill, Finance
Brett Hansen, Economics
Jaden Harris, Exercise and Wellness
Jake Porter, Sociology
Cooper Vest, Exercise and Wellness
Men's basketball — 2
Fousseyni Traore, Business Management
Dawson Baker, Sociology
Women's basketball — 1
Emma Calvert, Information Systems
Football — 22
Talan Alfrey, Exercise Science
Rob Daniel, Global Studies
Sam Dawe, Exercise and Wellness
Jayden Dunlap, Global Studies
Ethan Erickson, Communication Studies
Cade Fennegan, Communication Studies
Josh Larsen, Facility and Property Management
Darius Lassiter, Global Studies
Tysen Lewis, Human Resource Management
Tyler Little, Exercise and Wellness
Logan Lutui, Exercise Science
Blake Mangelson, Family Studies
Keelan Marion, Global Studies
Isaac Matua, Construction Management
John Nelson, Communications Studies
Connor Pay, Entrepreneurial Management
Jake Retzlaff, Exercise and Wellness
Dalton Riggs, Business Management
Chase Roberts, Business Management
Josh Singh, Global Studies
Ethan Slade, Business Management
Mata'ava Ta'ase, Communication Studies
Men's golf — 2
Cole Ponich, Psychology
Max Brenchley, Business Management
Women's golf — 1
Adeline Anderson Wach, Human Development
Gymnastics — 9
Sydney Benson, Exercise and Wellness
Anna Bramblett-White, Exercise and Wellness
Eliza Crossman, Neuroscience
Sophie Dudley, Psychology
Karsyn Foster, Exercise Science
Rebecca Leach, Health Science
Mina Margraf Benson, Exercise and Wellness
Olivia Matem, Exercise ande Wellness
Elease Rollins, Elementary Education
Women's soccer — 1
Tarah Warner, Physical Education Teaching/Coaching (K-12)
Softball — 4
Alyssa Aguilar, Sociology
Lauren Flanders, Computer Science
Keila Kamoku, Journalism and Sports Media
Violet Zavodnik, Physical Education Teaching/Coaching (K-12)
Men's swimming and diving — 10
Abraham Barragan, Latin American Studies
Cody Dreesen, Construction Management
Emerson Edwards, Human Resource Management
Chase Hindmarsh, Information Systems
Fletcher Madsen, Microbiology
Tony Puertas, Global Supply Chain Management
Luigi Riva, Economics
Mickey Strauss, Physical Education Teaching/Coaching (K-12)
Jordan Tiffany, Human Resources Management
Abraham Zimmerman, Physical Education Teaching/Coaching (K-12)
Women's swimming and diving — 13
Megan Bergstrom, Exercise and Wellness
Makayla Cazier, Journalism and Sports Media
Kylee Conrad, Finance
Regan Geldmacher, Dietics
Kate Hansen, Health Science
Tahis Ibanez, Plant and Landscape Systems
Hailey Johnson, Bioinformatics
Brooklyn Clouse, Psychology
Mackenzie Miller-Lung, Communications Studies
Jess Nyborg, Psychology
Sofia Pusceddu, Environmental/Occupational Health
Jeremiah Lhea Tandingan, Experience Design and Management
Halli Williams, Exercise Science
Women's tennis — 2
Yujia (Bobo) Huang, Marketing
Kendall Kovick, Sociology
Men's tennis — 1
Wally Thayne, Psychology
Women's track and field — 8
Anastaysia Davis, Elementary Education
Emily Ellis-Dalley, Biology
Rebekah Erikson, Computer Science
Marren Garnett, Dietics
Lexy Halladay-Lowry, Health Promotion
Sami Oblad, Tourism Studies
Cate Phipps Louis, Exercise and Wellness
Mayci Taylor, Public Relations
Men's track and field — 11
Lucas Bons, Mechanical Engineering
Danny Bryant, Exercise and Wellness
Austin Cox, Exercise Science
Dallin Draper, Data Science
Sebastian Fernandez, Chemical Engineering
Eli Hazlett, Exercise and Wellness
Trey Jackson, Information Systems
Joey Nokes, Exercise Science
Josh Taylor, Construction Management
Aidan Troutner, Professional Accountancy
Garrett Stanford, Strategic Management
Women's volleyball — 3
Alyssa Montoya Erickson, Exercise and Wellness
Elyse Stowell, Psychology
Kalia Thunstrom, Enterpreneurial Management
Men's volleyball — 4
Ethan Grant, Strategic Management
Noa Haine, Global Supply Chain Management
Miks Ramanis, Communication Studies
Teon Taylor, Biology
Cougarettes — 6
Ellsie Tueller, Human Development
Brynn Belka, Dance
Audrey Haskell Barney, Dance
Madison Bay Cenname, Exercise and Wellness
Halle Larsen, Experience Design and Management
Elena Wright, Exercise and Wellness
Cheer — 3
Gavan Allen, Construction Management
Abby Haws, Nutritional Science
Kennedy Liljenquist, Public Relations
Dunk Team — 3
Gabby Doman, Family Life
Derek Johnson, Information Systems
Jonas Wright, Journalism and Sports Media
