The BYU women’s golf team won the Red Raider Invitational title at The Rawls Course in Lubbock, Texas, on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. The Cougars secured their first tournament victory since the USF Invitational in April 2025, with all five starters finishing in the top 25.
Freshman Kate Walker finished as the individual runner-up at 2-under par, marking the first top-five finish of her career. This performance was the best individual finish for a Cougar since María José “MJ” Barragán won the 2025 USF Invitational. Walker shot a 1-over 73 in the final round after starting with a birdie on No. 1 and recording bogeys on Nos. 3 and 9.
Other notable individual performances included Whitney Banz, who finished tied for fifth at 2-over par after an even-par 72 in the final round. María José “MJ” Barragán tied for ninth at 4-over par, marking her 11th career top-10 finish. Tatum Otto tied for 13th at 7-over, while Berlin Long tied for 25th after a 2-under 70 in the final round.
Head coach Carrie Roberts stated that the team was excited about the win and noted that the players contributed to the victory, which should build confidence moving forward. Competing as an individual, Nya Palmer tied for 42nd at 16-over par.
In other news, BYU men’s golfer Kihei Akina received a sponsor exemption for the PGA Tour’s Bank of Utah Championship at Black Desert Resort, held Oct. 1-4. This will be Akina's third consecutive appearance in the tournament.
BYU women’s golf is scheduled to compete at the PD Intercollegiate at Wichita Country Club in Wichita, Kansas, on Oct. 5-6. Meanwhile, Utah Valley men’s soccer has been ranked as high as No. 21 in the College Soccer News Coaches Poll and No. 24 in both the United Soccer Coaches and TopDrawerSoccer rankings.
