It’s not an easy feat to leave behind family, friends, and an entire home country to go play Division I basketball.
For six different athletes on the BYU women’s basketball team, that’s exactly their reality.
That kind of sacrifice deserves to be recognized, and that’s why the BYU coaching staff decided to implement a small but meaningful change for this past 2025-26 season.
Fans who arrived before tipoff may have spotted it. On the sleeves of the international players’ warm-up shirts, small patches displayed the flags of their respective countries.
Kyle Purvis, the team's equipment manager, was one of the people who helped bring the idea to life. When the coaching staff presented the concept to Purvis, he understood the vision.
“It was something to make them feel more welcome here at BYU,” Purvis said.
Players from the United States were also given the option to add the American flag to their warmups.
“They decided they didn’t want to,” Purvis said. “It was more about inviting the new girls to belong.”
There was one exception, however: freshman standout Sydney Benally. Although she is from New Mexico, she is, more importantly, a member of the Navajo Nation.
Benally represents more than the United States — she carries a rich indigenous heritage. It only makes sense that the Flag of the Navajo Nation was a necessary addition to her warm-up.
Indigenous heritage doesn’t end with Benally either.
Arielle Mackey-Williams, another BYU guard, is from New Zealand, but you won’t find the country’s traditional flag on her sleeve. Instead, she wore the flag representing the Māori, the Indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand — or, as they call it, Aotearoa.
With her family living so far away, the flag acted as an important reminder of their presence.
“Every time I put my warmup top on … I know that they’re still with me,” Mackey-Williams said. “Whether that’s through watching games or listening on the radio.”
“It’s really important to me to represent not just myself but also my family and my ancestors, which is really big in our culture,” she continued.
Another Cougar far from home is Bolanle Yussuf, the freshman forward who repped the green and white stripes of the Nigerian Flag.
Yussuf was thankful for the chance to showcase her roots.
“It reminds me that I’m carrying more than just myself,” Yussuf said. “I’m carrying my family, my community and everyone who has helped me to get to where I am today.”
Yussuf’s influence on this bigger stage of the basketball world was also an inspiration to the young girls of Nigeria with big dreams.
“Whatever they put their mind to … they should keep pursuing it and run towards that,” Yussuf said. “Me getting here was never easy, but here I am today.”
Another Cougar inspiring young girls from Africa was Mariam Traore, who is originally from the country of Mali.
Starting senior Lara Rohkohl, who is originally from Germany, is another forward who provided essential power in the paint for the Cougars this past season.
Her reminder of home helped her connect with teammates and teach them more about her background.
“I explain the differences between how we play in Germany and how we play in the U.S.,” Rohkohl said. “The rules are a little different, and the playing style.”
Despite those differences, she saw the team’s diversity as a strength that actually brought the players closer together.
“It’s cool to see that there are other internationals within the team … we have so many different cultures represented,” she said.
Rohkohl expressed that leaving Germany to compete at a higher level can be challenging, especially since basketball is not among the country’s most popular sports.
“The main sport is soccer,” she said. “People don’t care as much for basketball.”
Still, she hopes young girls in Germany who love the game of basketball won’t be discouraged.
“There’s a bigger stage out there…they want to see you play,” she said. “Never give up on your dream. If you want it … you got to make it happen.”
Canada is also represented on the Cougars' roster.
Both sophomore guard Delaney Gibb and senior forward Hattie Ogden call our northern neighbors home.
Ogden echoed her teammates’ sentiments and expressed appreciation for the uniform change.
“It’s honestly more of a reminder for me than anything — a part of who I am,” Ogden said. “It’s really cool that it gets to be part of what I do every day.”
She added that the flag patches often sparked meaningful conversations inside the team.
“For some reason, seeing it visually makes you wonder a little bit more, like, ‘What was their life like before college?” she said. “I’ve had a lot of good conversations with some of my other teammates.”
Ogden said those simple conversations and trying to understand one another carried over onto the court as well.
“When you know someone’s background — where they’re from, what’s important to them and how they grew up — it helps you feel more connected,” she said.
What started as a small addition to a warm-up uniform became something more.
And for BYU’s international players, their patches weren’t just flags — they were precious reminders of home, the sacrifices they made, and their challenging journeys that eventually brought them to Provo.
They’re also proof that no matter where you come from, goals can always be reached.