Kansas Aims for Back-to-Back Big 12 Tournament Championships Saturday Night Against BYU

Saturday, November 8

Waco, Texas

7 p.m. CT

University of Kansas

BYU

Kansas Aims for Back-to-Back Big 12 Tournament Championships Saturday Night Against BYU

11/7/2025 12:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Watch Live Stats Kansas Game Notes Nate Lie Media Availability

No. 7 Kansas (14-4-3) vs. No. 8 BYU (10-6-4)
When	Saturday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. CT
Where	Waco, Texas // Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field
Watch	ESPN+
Live Stats	Stats
Social Media	@KUWSoccer \| @kansassoccer \| Facebook

WACO, Texas – No. 7-seeded Kansas will be looking to win back-to-back Big 12 Tournament titles on Saturday as the Jayhawks will meet the No. 8-seeded BYU Cougars at Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field in Waco, Texas. The match is slated to begin at 7 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Kansas (14-4-3) will be seeking its third Big 12 Tournament Championship in program history after claiming the title in 2019 and 2024. The Jayhawks advanced to the championship match of the Big 12 Tournament for the second straight year with a 2-1 victory over No. 3-seeded Colorado on Wednesday evening. The Jayhawks have won six straight Big 12 Tournament games dating back to last season and have won two straight games against ranked opponents.

"You have to adjust to being on the road," Kansas head coach Nate Lie said. "Our last two matches were on Monday and Wednesday, which is a shorter turnaround than we've had to deal with all year. The biggest challenge for me and for the coaching staff is having the players understand the stakes and using those to our advantage and our motivation, but not letting those circumstances weigh us down or make us play tight."

The Jayhawks faced a 1-0 deficit at halftime against Colorado on Wednesday evening, before Saige Wimes scored her fourth goal of the season to tie the match in the 55th minute. Freshman Lydia Viets scored her first career goal, also the game-winning goal, in the 74th minute of the match to lift Kansas to the 2-1 victory.

Saturday night will be the fourth appearance for Kansas in the title game and the first time in back-to-back seasons ever. KU has knocked off the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in the Big 12 Tournament to qualify for the championship match. Last season, Kansas beat the No. 1, 2, 3 and 11 seeds to win the tournament title. The Jayhawks will be looking to become the first team to win the Big 12 Tournament Championship in back-to-back seasons since West Virginia in 2013-14.

Kansas has had several players step up in this year's tournament, with Mackenzie Hammontree and Viets each scoring their first career goals. The goal by Viets was the game-winner in the semifinal match. Jocelyn Herrema also scored her first goal of the season in the quarterfinals of the tournament.

Four Jayhawks received All-Big 12 honors on Tuesday. The four selections is the most in a season for Kansas since 2016. Caroline Castans was named Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was named All-Big 12 First Team for the second straight year. Watts was also named to the All-Big 12 First Team for a second year in a row. Midfielders Jillian Gregorski and Langfelder were picked as All-Big 12 Second Team selections. It was Langfelder's first career All-Big 12 selection. Gregorski received her second All-Big 12 accolade after she was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team last season.

ABOUT BYU
BYU is the No. 8 seed in the tournament and improved to 10-6-4 this season with a 4-0 win over No. 4-seeded Baylor on Wednesday night in the semifinal round. BYU is led by Ellie Walbruch, who has scored 15 goals and has tallied 31 points on the season. She is tied for second in the Big 12 in goals scored and third in the conference in points this season. BYU had six players receive All-Big 12 accolades this week, with Lucy Kesler and Ellie Walbruch earning first team honors.

SERIES HISTORY
Kansas and BYU will meet for the second time this season, following a 3-1 Jayhawks win in Provo, Utah, on Oct. 23. BYU leads the all-time series 4-2-1, including a 1-0-0 record in games played at a neutral site.

HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Saturday's match will be broadcast on ESPN+, with Lincoln Rose (play-by-play) and Katie Goodman (analyst) on the call. Fans can watch by clicking here.

Live statistics can be found here, while live updates will also be provided on the team's official X page at @KUWSoccer.

UP NEXT
Kansas will automatically qualify for the NCAA Tournament with a win or will await its fate to see if it's one of the 64 teams selected for the NCAA Tournament. The 2025 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Selection Show will air on Monday, Nov. 10 at 3 p.m. CT on NCAA.com.