Snow Canyon star Olivia Hamlin backs out of Nebraska for BYU commitment

PROVO — New BYU women's basketball coach Lee Cummard continued to bolster his resume with recruiting wins in his short time as a collegiate head coach.

The Cougars added Snow Canyon star Olivia Hamlin to the recruiting Class of 2025, flipping the 5-foot-9 guard who averaged 28.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.5 steals and 3.7 assists per game as a senior from a pledge to Nebraska.

The two-time Deseret News 4A Player of the Year who averaged 25.2 points over 100 high school games that included a pair of 4A finals is only the second player in Utah to score more than 2,500 points in her career. Hamlin was on the short list of the best player in the state the last two years, though behind Duke signee and McDonald's All-American guard Emilee Skinner.

Now, the Santa Clara product who initially signed with the Huskers on Nov. 13 over offers from Clemson, UNLV and Virginia Tech, as well as BYU, will stay closer to home.

"After much prayer and consideration I've decided to be released from Nebraska," Hamlin wrote on social media announcing her decision, along with photos of her with the coaching staff and current BYU standouts Delaney Gibb and Marya Hudgins. "Although this is not the path that I had previously envisioned, I know this is the path that the Lord has placed before me.

"Over the past few months I have learned that some doors close and some doors open in life. That being said, I have decided to continue my basketball career at BYU."

Hamlin joins a class that also includes Montana standout Braeden Gunlock, the 6-foot forward who averaged 17.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game at Bigfork High School; and Sydney Benally, the two-time Gatorade New Mexico player of the year and ESPN Top 100 prospect who initially committed to Princeton before flipping to BYU.

Both prospects have remained publicly dedicated to the Cougars during a coaching change that saw former assistant coach Cummard replace fired head coach Amber Whiting following a 13-17 season that included a 4-14 record in Big 12 play. Neither has Mariam Traore, the 6-foot-3 forward from Kati/Bamako, Mali, by way of Bella Vista Prep in Phoenix who signed with the Cougars as part of the 2025 class and enrolled early to take advantage of the program's medical facilities while rehabbing an ACL injury.

Traore is the younger sister of former BYU men's basketball standout Fousseyni Traore.

Related topics