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Top 25 Moments of 2025

Top 25 Moments of 2025

Moments 16-20

As the calendar year wraps up, Boise State Athletics wanted to celebrate some of the amazing accomplishments achieved by our student-athletes in 2025.  After thorough conversation and discussion, the sports communications staff compiled a list of 25 of the top moments from 2025. Here are those Top 25 Moments. 

For Moments 25-21, click here.

MOMENT NO. 20:

Broncos Claim Paradise Jam Title

Boise State left the waters of St. Thomas with more than memories, capturing the inaugural Harbor Division title at the Paradise Jam behind two complete performances that showcased the Broncos’ senior leadership.

The championship run began with a dominant 65-45 victory over North Dakota on Thanksgiving. After an early back-and-forth first quarter, Boise State asserted control with a decisive 13-3 run sparked by Tatum Thompson and Dani Bayes. The Broncos’ defense tightened after halftime, holding the Fighting Hawks scoreless for nearly seven minutes in the third quarter and limiting them to just five points in the fourth. Thompson finished with 16 points and Bayes added 15 points and six steals. Boise State forced 24 turnovers to pull away.

One day later, the Broncos faced a test from Tulane in the championship game. Boise State answered with strength, placing four seniors in double figures during an 81-76 win. Bayes led the way with 20 points to earn all-tournament honors, while Thompson scored 19 and was named tournament MVP. Natalie Pasco and Mya Hansen chipped in 15 and 10 points, respectively.

Boise State built a 36-23 halftime lead and exploded offensively in the third quarter, shooting nearly 53% while knocking down five 3-pointers. Tulane mounted a late comeback, cutting the deficit to four in the final minute, but the Broncos sealed the win at the free-throw line.

“This team competed hard all week,” head coach Gordy Presnell said. “It’s exciting to win a championship.”

MOMENT NO. 19:

Track & Field Claims Indoor and Outdoor Titles

Boise State track and field claimed two titles at the 2025 Mountain West Indoor Championships. Landon Helms was the first Boise State student-athlete to win the heptathlon since the 2012 campaign. 

Kaiya Robertson, Alyssa Cullen, Janiah Brown and Yasmin Marghini bested the relay field in the distance relay.

In the championships, Helms recorded personal bests in both the 60-meters and 60m hurdles as he posted a total score of 5,650 which improved his personal best and was second in Boise State history.

Robertson collected a medal finish in the women’s mile (second-consecutive season). She was the highest Boise State finisher in the mile since the 2019 campaign.

Helms guided the men’s team to a seventh-place finish with 41 points. On the women’s side Robertson captured a spot in the top-three within three different events. This included the Distance Medley Relay, Mile Qualifying and the Mile Finals.

Overall, the Blue and Orange registered 13 personal-bests throughout the duration of a three-day event that concluded the indoor track and field season with the Mountain West Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico inside the Albuquerque Convention Center.

Helms, a transfer from Texas A&M, bested his previous Heptathlon score of 5394 which he earned at the Stan Scott Invite and Multis taking place on Jan. 30-Feb. 1, hosted by Texas Tech. He has had immense success in the Key City, posting three different splits at the Red Raider open in the 60m hurdles (8.30), 4x400m (3:16.21, 49.27 split) and pole vault (16-2/4.93m).

At the Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Robertson has etched herself in the record books. At the NCAA Outdoor National Championships, she recorded the best finish by a Bronco since the 2022 campaign by finishing 53rd in a field of 254 total runners.

Robertson was the first Bronco woman to earn All-America honors in the 1,500 since 2019 (Emma Bates). Hanna Ackermann also posted a top finish while in Eugene. Ackermann recorded a time of 9:54.21 in the steeplechase. The time was the third-fastest time in Boise State history.

Helms registered a score of 7,696 in the decathlon. His mark ranks third in Boise State school history and improved his previous mark in the decathlon at the 2025 Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field Championships which were hosted by Fresno State in Clovis, California.

MOMENT NO. 18:

Golf Programs Win Team and Individual Titles

The 2025 fall season for the Boise State golf programs were a massive success, with both teams posting above .500 records during the slate. In five events, the men’s team notched a 49-31-2 record, while the women amassed a 46-32-1 mark.

Among the many accomplishments for each squad, a rare occurrence took place. In the same stretch of days in mid-October, both clubs not only collected first-place finishes as a team in their respective tournaments, but in each event, the Broncos crowned individual champions.

In the Oregon State Invitational (Oct. 14-15), the Boise State men’s golf team shot 866 (+2) and notched the 19th team tournament win in program history and second with head coach David Trainor at the helm. The Broncos finished ahead of 13 teams, including two Mountain West foes (Wyoming and Colorado State) and Idaho, the team’s in-state rival.

From an individual perspective, Cole Rueck paced the field and collected his seventh career victory. He carded rounds of 75, 70 and 67, and ended the competition one stroke ahead of second place.

Competing in the New Mexico State Golf Iconic Classic (Oct. 13-15), the Boise State women’s golf team had identical success. Registering the second-lowest 54-hole total in program history, the Broncos collectively shot an 851 (-13) and finished six strokes ahead of runner-up Northern Arizona.

Shooting 9-under, Leia Chung earned her third career victory and second of the season. She became the first Bronco since Samantha Martin to win two tournaments in a single season and the only Bronco in program history to win two tournaments in the same fall campaign.

To quantify the rarity of collecting a team and individual championship in a single tournament for both programs in the same season, it last happened in 2018. The Boise State women’s team won the Ptarmigan Ram Classic on Sept. 19, 2018, with Tara Finigan as the individual champion, while the men were victorious in the Bill Cullum Invitational on Oct. 16, 2018, with Brian Humphreys taking home top honors.

MOMENT NO. 17:

Track & Field All-Americans

At the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, a trio of Broncos earned All-America honors.

The first Boise State decathlete to complete at nationals in over a decade, Landon Helms placed ninth to become a Second Team All-American. Helms recorded three personal bests and tied two others during the 10 events.

A native of Emmett, Idaho, Helms accumulated a personal-best 7,696 points, the third-highest total in school history.

Hanna Ackermann was also a Second Team All-American. She finished 16th in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase.

Ackermann notched a time of 9:54.21, a personal best and third-fastest in school history. A Bichl, Germany native, she became the first Bronco in six years to garner All-America honors in the event.

Landon Helms 2025 NCAA Outdoor T&F Championships
Hanna Ackermann 2025 NCAA Outdoor T&F Championships

The only Boise State student-athlete to compete at the 2024 NCAA Cross Country Championships and 2025 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Kaiya Robertson completed her year with an honorable mention All-America accolade.

Robertson competed in the women’s 1,500 meters and came across the line in 4:15.31 to place 22nd. Like Ackermann, the Portland, Oregon native became the first Bronco in six years to earn All-America status in her event.

Kaiya Robertson 2025 NCAA Outdoor T&F Championships

MOMENT NO. 16:

Boise State Men's Basketball Participates in Inaugural College Basketball Crown

Last season, the Boise State men’s basketball team produced one of the more successful single seasons in program history. The team won 26 games, advanced to the final of the Mountain West Championship and placed two players on the All-Mountain West teams.

While not selected to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth-consecutive season, the Broncos’ postseason hopes were not lost. Produced by FOX Sports, Boise State was invited to play in the inaugural College Basketball Crown, a 16-team, single-elimination tournament in Las Vegas.

Comprised of teams mostly from the Big Ten, Big 12 and Big East, the Broncos were one-of-five wild card teams invited to partake. Boise State was the lone program represented from the Mountain West.

In the first round of the tournament, Boise State matched up with George Washington, signifying the first head-to-head meeting between the Broncos and Revolutionaries. Collecting an 89-59 victory, the Broncos recorded 16 steals, the most in a game in team history, en route to their fifth 30-point win of the season.

Advancing to the quarterfinal round, Boise State squared off against Butler, who defeated Utah, 86-84, in the round of 16. The Broncos scored 100 points for the second time in a conference/postseason game and notched their first win against the Bulldogs.

Posting a 2-0 record to start the College Basketball Crown, Boise State was tasked with one of its toughest opponents of the year in the quarterfinals. Despite a valiant effort, the Broncos came up short against Nebraska, losing to the Cornhuskers, 79-69, to conclude the 2024-25 campaign.

Though not advancing to play Central Florida in the championship for a $300,000 payout, the experience in a first-of-its-kind event was a success. Boise State walked away with a monetary prize that was divvied up amongst the team and Tyson Degenhart made program history, becoming the first Bronco to eclipse 2,000 career points.