A look into the 3 recruits that have signed with BYU women's basketball

Over the past few weeks, BYU women’s basketball has signed three new recruits.

The first is Kennedy Woolston, the No. 92 ranked player in the class of 2026. She will join the program for the 2028-29 season after completing an 18-month mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Woolston played for Lone Peak High School, helping the Knights win three consecutive 6A girls basketball state championships in Utah. During the 2024-25 season, she averaged 14.2 points per game and earned first-team all-state honors in 2025.

“Kennedy is an extremely good shooter who needs little time and space, but has developed into much more than that,” coach Lee Cummard said. “She has become a very good defender who has great instincts on the defensive side of the ball to go along with her offensive prowess.”

Woolston is also the sister of BYU guard Kaylee Woolston, who was a standout freshman before taking an 18-month leave of absence to serve a mission. Kaylee is expected to return for the 2026-27 season, meaning the sisters will eventually play together for the Cougars.

The second signee is Illinois native Stella Sakalas, ranked as the No. 3 senior in the state by Prep Girls Hoops.

“Stella is an elite three-level scorer,” Cummard said. “She can shoot it, drive it, play effectively off the ball and score with her back to the basket. She comes from a football family, so she has an innate toughness that will be a great addition to our BYU basketball family.”

The 6-foot-2 senior averaged a double-double during her junior year with 18 points and 12 rebounds per game. She earned Class 4A All-State first-team honors in 2025, was named to the second team in 2024 and received honorable mention recognition as a freshman in 2023.

The third recruit is Australia native Vahayliah Seumanutafa, a 5-foot-10 guard from Queensland. She has competed for Queensland’s U16 and U18 state teams in 2021, 2022 and 2024.

Seumanutafa earned a spot on the U19 Australian World Cup squad after averaging 25.2 points per game at the 2024 Basketball Queensland State Championships.

“Vahayliah is a hard-working point guard who is tenacious on the defensive end and a very good playmaker offensively,” Cummard said. “She has an innate competitive nature, which our coaching staff loves to see.”

With her signing, Seumanutafa will become the first member of her family to attend college.

The trio marks the first set of recruits to officially sign under Cummard and should add depth to BYU’s future roster.