Kalani Sitake talks QB situation, his 2025 team, recruiting the 2026 class and more

The stunning, sad and disturbing developments regarding starting quarterback Jake Retzlaff notwithstanding, May was an encouraging month for the BYU football program as it continued preparations for its third season in the Big 12.

The Cougars began the month connecting with their fans in Idaho and Southern Utah with Fan Fest celebrations in Idaho Falls and St. George, and ended the month signing players from the transfer portal and high school ranks who should be able to make big impacts on the team as soon as this season.

Most notably, coach Kalani Sitake and his staff landed quarterback Bear Bachmeier and receiver Tiger Bachmeier from Stanford, and flipped lineman Alai Kalaniuvalu from Oregon. The Bachmeier brothers will join the team this summer, while Kalaniuvalu is currently on a church mission in Colorado and will enroll at BYU before the 2027 season.

“It was a perfect fit for us, and I think that is how a lot of the guys going into the portal are looking at it now.”

June could be similarly profitable, as some of the top prep prospects in the West — guys like California quarterback Ryder Lyons, Lone Peak receiver Jaren Pula, Oregon running back LaMarcus Bell and Idaho lineman Jax Tanner — are scheduled to make their official campus visits.

Sitake spoke to reporters at the recent Big 12 meetings in Orlando and then again Monday at the Coaches Legacy Invitational golf scramble benefitting the National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho at Hidden Valley Country Club in Sandy, and politely declined to talk about the civil lawsuit filed against Retzlaff on May 21 alleging the rising senior assaulted a Salt Lake County woman 18 months ago.

However, Sitake beamed Monday when he was asked about acquiring the Bachmeier brothers. Tiger is a graduate transfer who played in 24 games for the Cardinal, started in 13 as a 6-foot-1, 190-pound receiver, and caught 46 passes for 476 yards and two touchdowns. Bear is a 6-2, 225-pound quarterback who graduated from Murrieta Valley High in California last winter and participated in 2025 spring practices at Stanford before entering the transfer portal.

Bear’s signing is particularly fortunate for BYU in light of the Retzlaff situation; McCae Hillstead, Treyson Bourguet and incoming Bountiful High freshman Emerson Geilman are the other QBs in the room as of now.

Sitake said the key was that BYU coaches had established relationships with the brothers from their high school days, and when they went into the transfer portal, that familiarity paid off.

“When we contacted them, they said they wanted to be in a place that was a lot like they remembered us having,” Sitake said. “We had a relationship with them before. So I think it was an easy adjustment with the things they had to deal with at Stanford.

“So I am glad that they are part of our team,” Sitake continued. “It was a perfect fit for us, and I think that is how a lot of the guys going into the portal are looking at it now. They are trying to find a place where they can take advantage of the environment and be at their best on and off the field.”

As for Kalaniuvalu, Sitake said it was a classic case of not burning bridges when the four-star offensive lineman flipped from Oregon to BYU, and then back to Oregon, before last February’s Signing Day.

“How our (assistant) coaches treat people matters,” he said.

With a 94 ranking by 247Sports.com, Kalaniuvalu becomes the top recruit in BYU’s 2025 signing class, which now is ranked 59th in the land by 247Sports and 41st in the composite rankings, which is the average ranking from ESPN, On3, Rivals and 247Sports.

Kalaniuvalu is just ahead of Clovis, California, linebacker McKay Madsen, a mission-bound four-star who made headlines by winning state championships in both the shot put and discuss last weekend for the second straight year. He is the first California athlete to accomplish that feat in more than 100 years.

Madsen has received a mission call to Argentina for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the faith that sponsors and supports BYU.

Still bullish on his BYU team

Whatever happens with Retzlaff, Sitake still talked Monday like a coach who is bullish on his team, reiterating what he said when spring camp wrapped up a little more than two months ago. He said early indications are that the players haven’t let their 2024 success go to their heads.

In fact, he said, there is a belief that they should have gotten more out of their 11-2 record than they did, and that is driving them to go the “extra mile” in their offseason workouts.

“I feel great about the team. I feel really good about the way it is moving and the leadership that we have in our program,” he said. “I am really thankful that I was able to keep our coaching staff intact. That is always a difficult thing to deal with, and knowing that we have another year going with these guys all staying, and not losing any of our full-time coaches was a good thing for us to have.

“I am glad that (new athletic director) Brian Santiago and the rest of the administration saw it the same way, and we were able to retain our coaches, which I think is going to be a huge help for us going into this fall.”

Sitake still loving the job

The ever-changing college sports landscape has made Sitake’s job harder as he enters his 10th season at BYU, but he’s not complaining. Not in the least. He said he still loves it, even with NIL, the transfer portal, revenue sharing and all the other administrative tasks that take him away from recruiting and coaching.

“Head coaches have a lot more to do now than they did before, with the rules now,” he said. “But you still have to be able to change and move. … We tried to move and tried to get our roster at 105, and we don’t even know if that is going to be an issue now. We just have to be able to adjust and adapt to it.”

After the season and then again after spring camp, coaches began the task of trimming the roster to 105 players in anticipation that the NCAA’s House settlement court case would necessitate roster cuts. But a federal judge in California still hasn’t approved the settlement, and she has suggested that perhaps roster limits aren’t acceptable.

“We are going to do whatever we feel is right for the program, but at the same time be in compliance with what the NCAA requires of us,” Sitake said. “With that being said, no complaints from me. Everybody has to deal with the same stuff I have to deal with as a head coach. It is just more work, but I actually don’t mind my job. I don’t mind at all.”