BYU Women’s Basketball Coach Jeff Judkins Tests Positive For COVID-19
Nov 23, 2021, 5:16 PM
BYU Women's Basketball head coach Jeff Judkins. (BYU Photo/Jaren Wilkey)
(BYU Photo/Jaren Wilkey)
PROVO, Utah – BYU women’s basketball head coach Jeff Judkins has tested positive for COVID-19, according to BYU officials. Judkins was not on the bench during the Cougars 101-74 win over Utah State on Tuesday as he awaited his COVID test results.
Now the results are official, the 21-year head coach will be in quarantine while his team moves forward.
#BYU women's basketball head coach Jeff Judkins has tested positive for COVID-19. Lee Cummard will assume head coach responsibilities this weekend in the St. Pete Shootout. Will face No. 17 Florida State on Thursday.#BYUWBB @kslsports
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 24, 2021
BYU assistant coach Lee Cummard assumed the head coaching role for Judkins during Tuesday’s win against the Aggies. The former BYU basketball star will continue to assume head coaching duties of the undefeated squad while Coach Judkins is in quarantine.
BYU Women’s Basketball gearing up for a big weekend
Judkins’ positive case of COVID-19 comes at a time where BYU is gearing up for a Multi-Team Event in Florida. BYU is set to face the No. 17 ranked Florida State Seminoles in the St. Pete Showcase on Thanksgiving Day in Saint Petersburg.
Former #BYU great @LeeCummard was the interim head coach in @byuwbb’s win over USU today.
Jeff Judkins was out for precautionary reasons. #BYU is awaiting results on a COVID test for Juddy.
Cummard would love to one day have a chance to be a full-time head coach.@kslsports pic.twitter.com/TPZcPRHzhn
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 23, 2021
According to a BYU spokesperson, the remainder of BYU’s team has been tested and it’s been determined by BYU’s sports medicine staff that they are safe to travel with no other positive tests in the team travel party.
Shortly after the win over the Aggies on Tuesday, BYU players and staff (minus Judkins) traveled to the airport.
Lee Cummard assumes responsibility
Cummard was a former BYU basketball great for the men’s program under the direction of Dave Rose. A native of Mesa, Arizona, Cummard helped lead BYU to back-to-back Mountain West Conference Championships as a player.
He began his coaching career in 2016 as a graduate assistant on Rose’s staff. Rose then elevated Cummard to a full-time assistant role in the 2018-19 season. After Rose retired, Cummard was not retained on the men’s staff, and quickly landed a role on Judkins’ staff.
Cummard explained when Judkins told him that he would be assuming the head coach role.
“Late last evening [I found out], Juddy called and kind of said, ‘hey, you might be in charge tomorrow,'” said BYU assistant Lee Cummard on when Judkins informed him to assume head coach responsibilities. “I talked with him, then we talked as a staff, and then we talked with the players. We didn’t know for sure or not, but thought it could be a real possibility.”
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
