The University of Colorado Boulder underwent a transformational summer for many of its athletic programs, as a move in conferences from the Pac-12 to the Big 12 left many teams vastly different in structure and identity. However, several CU squads lived up to and exceeded preseason expectations.
While "Coach Prime" led Colorado football to its most wins in almost a decade, the club baseball team grappled with the challenges of playing without a coach. Steady veteran presence guided the soccer team to another NCAA Tournament appearance while both basketball teams dealt with sweeping departures of talent.
Divvied up to several authors, Sko Buffs Sports gave each varsity sport and some club sports a grade for their fall campaigns.
Football: A-
Two years removed from a one-win season, Colorado football had its best season since 2016 and made its first bowl game appearance since 2020. The Buffs, sporting a 9-4 record, also celebrated their first Heisman Trophy winner since the late Rashaan Salaam in 1994, with superstar wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter earning the prestigious honor. Hunter’s two-way dominance resulted in a 1,200-yard receiving season, along with four interceptions and 11 pass breakups on the defensive side of the ball. He along with quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who threw for a program record 4,134 yards, are projected to be top picks in the 2025 NFL draft.
In their first year back in the Big 12, a hail mary leading to an overtime win against the Baylor Bears catapulted the Buffs to a 7-2 record against conference opponents, exceeding many expectations. Heading into their Week 11 game against the Kansas Jayhawks, they controlled their destiny and needed to win just two remaining games to make the Big 12 Championship. Instead, they fell short in a 37-21 loss. While they had already clinched bowl eligibility in Week 8 of the season, they fell flat in the Alamo Bowl against Brigham Young University. The 38-14 loss left a sour taste in Buffs fans’ mouths after an otherwise impressive season.
Despite their late-season struggles, the Buffaloes’ turnaround under Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders has rejuvenated the program. A successful season marked by big wins and individual accolades earns them an A grade. However, an inability to deliver when the lights were the brightest bumps them down to an A-minus grade overall. A strong transfer portal class and high school recruiting class, headlined by five-star prospect Julian “JuJu” Lewis, put the Buffs in prime position to return to glory.
Men's Basketball: C-
By Max Friedl
Following a Round of 32 exit in last season’s March Madness, the departure of three Buffaloes to the NBA and several others to the transfer portal left Colorado with low expectations heading into this season. Ranked dead last in the Big 12 in previous Division 1 minutes, CU lacked experience in a major way.
Picked No. 15 out of 16 in the preseason Big 12 poll, the Buffs began their season 9-2 before playing conference competition. In those games, they played three marquee programs: the Michigan State Spartans (L, 72-56), No. 2 UConn Huskies (W, 73-72) and No. 5 Iowa State Cyclones (L, 99-71). Normally beating the second-ranked team in the country is a difficult task, but the Buffs happened to face the Huskies off a loss and in poor early-season form.
CU’s biggest weaknesses are its turnovers and lack of star power, as Cody Williams, Tristan da Silva and KJ Simpson provided in prior years. However, the Buffs' lack of a centerpiece means that anyone who shows up to gameday in a Buffs jersey can put up 15+ points, and it's proven. In the Buffs' 17 games so far, they have had eight different leading scorers.
Currently, the Buffs stand at 9-8 on a six-game losing streak to open Big 12 play, with notable games against tough opponents and 11 conference games left. The Buffs are not performing to their ceiling and will need to fix their turnovers and rebounding abilities. They cannot control who decides to be their star player or their lack of experience, but if Colorado begins to polish what they struggle with, find their leader and continue to knock down free throws at the conference-leading rate they are, they will win games again.
Women's Basketball: B-
With 11 games left in the regular season, Colorado women’s basketball (12-6, 3-4 Big 12) has matched most expectations. The 2024-2025 Big 12 coaches' poll voted Colorado as the No. 9 team in the conference. They currently hold that spot and are tied with Arizona in the standings. Early on the Buffaloes were successful, only dropping two non-conference games to the Boise State Broncos and then-ranked Louisville Cardinals.
The Buffs have thrived at home with a 9-1 record while struggling on the road going 2-5, already playing three out of four of the top teams in the conference with the second-place Kansas State Wildcats on the horizon.
Frida Formann, Jade Masogayo, and Lior Garzon have provided the bulk of CU's scoring. Impressively, Sara-Rose Smith has been the leading rebounder at only 6-foot-1. Masogayo has also been a presence on the glass and with her blocks (1.1 per game). Consistency with effort and aggressiveness has brought life to a team that lost 13 players to graduation or the transfer portal this past offseason. While not underachieving, there has been nothing exemplary out of the squad to increase the grade.
Women’s Soccer: B
The women's soccer team had a surprise of a season, Finishing 12-5-5 (4-2-5 Big 12). The squad started extremely hot, winning nine of their first 10 games including a win against the No. 12-ranked Oklahoma State Cowgirls. Senior striker Shyra James became the program's all-time leader in goals scored, while head coach Danny Sanchez reached career win No. 300.
Colorado was ranked as high as No. 14 in the nation before being knocked off the rails. The Buffs were humiliated 6-1 at home by the No. 23-ranked TCU Horned Frogs dropping the team from No. 14 to completely unranked. CU then proceeded to drop points in all of their remaining six games. They entered the Big 12 Tournament flailing, but the Buffs stunningly beat the Utah Utes in the first round 2-1 before losing to TCU again, 3-1.
Colorado then headed to the NCAA tournament with hope of breaking the bracket. In the opening round, CU knocked off the Georgia Bulldogs in a spectacular manner. The Buffaloes would then proceed to lose 3-1 against Wake Forest Demon Deacons, effectively ending their season.
Though the team had a rough mid-season falloff, they exceeded expectations and won a game each in both of their tournaments. Players like Jordan Nytes, Ava Priest and Juliauna Hayward had spectacular seasons which propelled the Buffs to be among the best teams in the nation for half of the season.
Volleyball: C+
The women’s volleyball team was always in for a transitional season after the loss of almost every 2023 starter due to graduation and transfer, but even then it was still disappointing to see some of the results this year. They finished 10th in the Big 12 with a 6-12 conference record on their way to an overall record of 13-17.
The tumultuous season also included a six-game losing streak in October where the Buffs simply could not put together a complete game. Colorado struggled defensively, oftentimes giving up hitting percentages over .300, and made more mistakes than they could recover from. The offense was occasionally explosive, but it was never consistently good enough to make up for the defensive performances.
Despite the record, there is still plenty to look forward to for 2025. Sophomores Cayla Payne and Ana Burilović continued their development, and Burilović was rewarded with All-Big 12 second-team honors. An exciting freshman class is inbound, and more experienced returners such as libero Sarah Morton should make a big impact going forward. With a contract lasting through 2027, head coach Jesse Mahoney has the confidence of athletic director Rick George to get this team back on the right track and into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022.
Tennis: B+
By Colby Wyatt
The highlight of the fall tennis season was the doubles team of Anya Nelson and Ema Bubalo. They were the lone pair from CU to make the NCAA Individual Championships. The duo made it as far as the Sweet 16 before losing. Bubalo also was a standout in singles competitions, being the only Buff to win two matches in the last tournament of the regular season.
The team could be more consistent overall, mainly in singles play. But overall, it was a solid season for a team that seems to get better every year and that has already locked down three recruits for next fall. Recruit Lani Brotman is the No. 73-ranked player in the United States, and Heidi Crncn is one of the top-rated youth players from the United Kingdom. Finally, the Buffs landed their first-ever Japanese player, Yukiko Ikedo, a top-ranked talent in Japan.
Cross Country: A-
By Colby Wyatt
New head coach and director Sean Carlson left the Tennessee Volunteers for CU over the summer. He brought several of his old athletes with him, including the team's top men’s and women’s runners, Dean Casey and Jessie Secor. Casey and Secor both put up strong performances. The men’s team was well-rounded and strong enough to qualify for nationals and place 19th at the event. However, the women’s team missed the mark, with Secor being the only women’s runner to compete at nationals.
It was a good first semester for Carlson, and you can imagine the men’s team will show some growth in the years to come. Before the men’s team improves, though, the women’s team needs work. Both teams should be running at nationals, and both teams have a good chance to qualify in the years to come.
Women’s Golf: C
Leadership and Golf Invitational, shooting a collective 20-over. The team quickly turned it around in their next two tournaments, taking fifth in the Colonel Wollenberg Ptarmigan Ram Classic and third in the Ron Moore Intercollegiate with scores of 3-over and 3-under respectively. Freshman Sydney Givens was the key reason for the success. She shot a combined 7-under in these two tournaments, helping lead the squad to their only under-par finish of the season so far.
The last two tournaments of the fall challenged Colorado as they competed against six of the top 25 ranked teams in the nation. The Buffs finished 21-over in the Stanford Intercollegiate (eighth place) and 19-over in the Nanea Invitational (seventh place) to end the calendar year. As a whole, the team tends to struggle in the third round, shooting a combined 30-over in their final rounds of each of the five tournaments this season. The Buffs are currently ranked No. 54 in the nation heading into the spring and need to work through their late tournament struggles if they want to climb the leaderboard.
Men's Golf: B+
The Buffs competed in five tournaments and four rounds of Big 12 Conference match play. Colorado jumped off to a blazing hot start to the fall season placing top 3 in its first four tournaments. The herd finished atop the leaderboard in the William H. Tucker Invitational for their first and only win of the season so far. However, the Buffs managed to place second in both the Palouse Collegiate and the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational. Justin Bower’s collective 30-under in the first four tournaments heavily aided CU’s continued success. The next most contributing Buff in that time frame was senior Dylan McDermott, who shot 21-under.
Although the Buffs dominated in stroke play tournaments, they struggled in Big 12 match play winning just one out of their four matchups. In the final Big 12 match, Colorado lost to No. 94 West Virginia University by a score of 3-2. Despite the Buffs being ranked No. 34 nationally, the team was unable to beat inferior opponents. Led by seniors, Colorado has the potential to be one of the best golf squads in the nation this spring if the black and gold can compete in match play as they do in stroke play.
Hockey
Men's D1: B+
The Colorado men’s Division 1 hockey team started their season with mixed results. After struggling during their opening weekend against Midland University, the team put up big numbers against the once-dominant University of Central Oklahoma Bronchos. Forward Ropolas Marcinkevicius leads his team with 25 points on the season, followed closely by Captain Drew McConaughy with 23 points. Starting goaltender Liam O’Gwen has only allowed 3.51 goals per game with a 0.909 save percentage. The Buffs currently sit at third in the WCHL with 14 wins and 10 losses.
Men's D2: A
The men’s Division 2 hockey team is having an electrifying season thus far, boasting a 14-5 record. Captain Diego Pitones became the all-time leader in points for the Buffs, putting up 29 points in 18 games played. The Buffs’ goaltenders, Caleb Allen, Dylan Lawrence, and Aaron Solomon, have all been defensive stalwarts in the net. The No. 1-seeded BMHC Buffs hold a collective 29 points as they approach the end of the regular season.
Women's: A
The CU women’s hockey team is having its most impressive season in recent years. The Buffs currently hold the number one seed in the WWCHL, winning 13 out of their 16 games played. Forward Jordan Bonk leads the team and conference with 21 points scored. The dynamic duo of Mia Fiscelli and Natalie Ewald have a combined 22 goals and 15 assists. Goaltender Zoe Watson leads the conference with nine wins, 1.34 goals against, and a 0.953 save percentage. The Buffs look to win the conference with seven games remaining in the regular season.
Baseball: B+
The club baseball team’s fall ball season finished with a winning record while adding some accolades in the process. The Buffs finished 6-5, sweeping their series against the Colorado School of Mines Orediggers, splitting two games with the Colorado State Rams, and dropping three-game series to the Air Force Falcons and Metro State Roadrunners.
The biggest storyline during the mini-season was how the team would fare without a coach. Every game the Buffs played was led by student senior president Andrew Garcia and junior vice president Nathan Hoffman. They used a pitching strategy for the first half of the season with a script of arms for innings of the game. This set up sophomore Victor Moreno to become the rotation's ace, throwing for the most innings last fall (16.1) while shoving the lowest ERA (3.14) and WHIP (1.34).
While the pitching might be a sore this spring, the Buffs thrived offensively. Seven players batted over a 1.000 OPS, highlighted by Zach Andrews. The junior led the team in nearly every hitting stat, being an on-base machine with 10 hits in his 17 at-bats. Additionally, player-coach Hoffman would slash a .454 average and 1.056 OPS, recently being honored as an NCBA Now preseason All-American for the spring.
NCBA Now has ranked the Buffs as the No. 15 team in the nation, with rival CSU at No. 11. With a group that scrounged together the 15th-best team in the NCBA without a coach, they deserve a B+. The 2025 NCBA season will begin this February with high hopes for Buffs baseball.
Women's Club Soccer: A
The three women’s club soccer teams put together another great season, adding to the club’s illustrious history. The CU Black team won the 2024 National Open Tournament, giving women’s club soccer its fifth national title. That team was led by two nominated US College Club Soccer All-Americans, Ellie Deshano and Anna Arnold.
They also added two more regional tournament wins in the CU Black and CU Gold teams. Both sides would win the brackets and advance to nationals, where CU Black would ultimately reign supreme. The final team, CU Silver, put together a great effort, finishing in fourth place in the A-Division League.
Comments