BYU WR Cody Hagen medically retires from football
May 22, 2026, 5:00 PM | Updated: 5:03 pm
PROVO – BYU wide receiver Cody Hagen is medically retiring from football.
A source aware of the situation confirmed Hagen’s decision to KSL Sports. BYU has since confirmed that Hagen is moving on from football.
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound receiver from Draper, Utah, was preparing for his junior season with the program. However, he was not at full strength during spring practices this past March.
Cody Hagen medically retires from the BYU football program
Last year, near the end of the 2025 season, Hagen suffered a knee injury. It was a separate injury from the setbacks he dealt with in his freshman campaign.
Hagen is expected to remain a student at Brigham Young University.
A former four-star recruit and Utah Gatorade Player of the Year from Corner Canyon High School, Hagen picked BYU over the likes of Michigan, Stanford, Utah, and USC.
Hagen displayed elite speed coming out of high school, posting a 10.52 100-meter dash at the BYU Invitational in 2022.
That speed showed itself at the beginning of last year in his sophomore campaign as he had two rushing touchdowns on jet sweeps in the first month of the regular season.
“He’s so talented, man,” BYU football head coach Kalani Sitake said of Hagen in September 2025. “He’s got speed and quickness and agility, but he also has amazing ball skills. He’s got great vision. That’s why he’s our kick returner. So he can do a lot of things with the ball in his hands.”
In two seasons at BYU, Hagen totaled 15 receptions for 126 receiving yards.
Last year, Hagen was BYU’s leading kick returner, totaling 409 yards on 18 returns for an average of 22.7 yards per return, which included a 44-yard return against Portland State and a 35-yard return in the regular season finale versus UCF.
BYU WR unit moves forward without Hagen
BYU will have a new-look wide receiver unit in 2026 without Hagen, Chase Roberts (Las Vegas Raiders), and Parker Kingston (dismissed).
The one holdover at receiver with production from last season includes junior Jojo Phillips, who was the No. 1 receiver in spring ball, according to BYU Passing Game Coordinator Fesi Sitake in an interview with KSL Sports during spring practices.
BYU also brings back senior receiver Tiger Bachmeier, a former Stanford transfer and the older brother of QB Bear Bachmeier.
Other receivers to watch for BYU in 2026 include Oregon transfer Kyler Kasper, redshirt sophomores Tei Nacua and Reggie Frischknecht, along with freshmen Jaron Pula, Legend Glasker, Terrance Saryon, and returned Latter-day Saint missionary Jett Nelson.
BYU football opens the 2026 season on September 5 against Utah Tech.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSL and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE). Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.
Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.
