Rose announces 2016-17 roster

PROVO, Utah – BYU basketball coach Dave Rose announced the 2016-17 Cougar roster and two changes to his coaching staff today.

The 2016-17 roster features seven returning lettermen, including sophomore guard Nick Emery, who earned All-West Coast Conference Second Team and Freshman Team honors in 2015-16. Also returning are senior forward Kyle Davis, who started all 37 games last season, and sophomore forward Eric Mika, a starter in 2013-14 and All-WCC Freshman Team honoree before serving an LDS mission in Italy.

A pair of transfers in guards Elijah Bryant and L.J. Rose will make their Cougar debuts in 2016-17. Bryant sat out last season at BYU due to NCAA transfer rules after earning Colonial Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year honors at Elon. Rose comes to BYU as a graduate transfer from Houston where he led the Cougars in assists as a sophomore and junior.

Other notable additions to the roster are freshmen Yoeli Childs, Payton Dastrup and T.J. Haws. All three were ranked in the top 100 of the their respective graduating classes by ESPN.com. Childs was the Utah 5A MVP last season while leading Bingham High School to the 5A state title. Dastrup earned all-state honors in Arizona while averaging a double-double as a junior and senior at Mountain View High School. Haws was the 2014 Utah Mr. Basketball, a four-time 5A state champion and a three-time first-team all-state honoree while playing at Lone Peak High School.

BYU will have two seniors, three juniors, four sophomores and six freshmen on the roster in 2016-17.  The Cougars will represent six states, including: Arizona, California, Georgia, Idaho, Texas and Utah.

“We’re very excited about the depth and talent of our roster,” Rose said. “We have a great mix of experienced players to provide leadership and plenty of young guys that are hungry to make their mark on our program. This is a great group and we have high expectations for them, and more importantly, they have high expectations for themselves.”

Rose has also made two changes to his coaching staff, including the promotion of Terry Nashif to assistant head coach and the addition of Lee Cummard as a graduate assistant.

Nashif has been a member of Rose’s staff since he was hired in 2005. He began his coaching career as director of operations and was named an assistant coach in 2007. A gifted tactician, Nashif provides the offensive game prep for BYU each game. Under his direction, BYU has been ranked in the top 10 in points per game in each of the last three seasons.

“Terry has been valuable in so many positions for our program,” Rose said. “As a player, director of operations, assistant coach and now assistant head coach, Terry has proven to be loyal and capable of anything we ask of him. He does an excellent job of helping us score in so many ways. I’m excited to see what he will do with this current roster.”

Cummard returns to BYU after a seven-year professional career overseas that included stints in France, Japan and Belgium, where he played the last four seasons. From 2005-09, Cummard was one of the most versatile players in program history. He helped lead BYU to three-straight conference titles and three-straight trips to the NCAA tournament. In 2008 he was the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year.

“Lee is one of the greatest competitors to come through BYU,” Rose said. “We’re excited to help him start his coaching career. He has a lot to offer. Our players will benefit from his experience and knowledge of the game.”