BYU Football Lands Commitment From Orem’s Kaue Akana
Jul 1, 2025, 9:14 AM
Orem High Athlete Kaue Akana commits to BYU Football. (Isaac Hale, Deseret News)
(Isaac Hale, Deseret News)
PROVO, Utah – The latest in-state standout committed to BYU football is Orem High’s Kaue Akana.
Akana made his commitment official on Tuesday morning to kick off the month of July.
The 6-foot-2.5 200-pound athlete is the 10th ranked prospect in the state of Utah by the 247Sports Composite. Akana is the 48th overall athlete in the class of 2026 in the Composite.
COMMITTED!! @CoachJayHill @kalanifsitake@BlairAngulo @BrandonHuffman#GoCougs #byucougars #cougarnation #provo #BYU pic.twitter.com/DWEfGWhcH4
— Kaue Akana (@akana_kaue) July 1, 2025
Kaue Akana commits to BYU football
Akana could play on the defensive side of the ball at safety, or he could play wide receiver or tight end. He’s a versatile player who has been highly productive in his prep career the past two years at Orem.
It’s noteworthy he tagged BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill in his post as Hill coaches the safeties for BYU and has made that position a priority in the 2026 cycle.
Akana picked BYU over reported offers from Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Boise State, Kansas, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Oregon, SMU, Texas A&M, UCF, UCLA, USC, Utah, Tennessee, and others.
The Orem High star took official visits to Utah and UCLA before a final visit to BYU last month.
Akana has a relationship with BYU’s five-star quarterback commit Ryder Lyons. The two were teammates on Colde Hearts, part of Overtime’s 7-on-7 football league, OT7.
During Akana’s official visit last month, he recorded a TikTok with Lyons inside the locker room at LaVell Edwards Stadium that gained over a million views on the social media platform.
@ryderlyons @kaueakana#ryderlyons #fyp #foryoupage ♬ Bricks – Gucci Mane
BYU football climbs into the Top 25 of the 2026 recruiting rankings
Akana joining BYU’s 2026 recruiting class sends the Cougars into the Top 25 of the 247Sports team recruiting rankings. Since Kalani Sitake became head coach in 2016, BYU has not had a Top 25 recruiting class.
Last season at Orem, Akana had 58 tackles, six tackles for loss, two interceptions, and one sack on the defensive side.
Then on offense, Akana had 76 receptions for 1,227 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns.
Akana is the third player within the top 10 recruits from the state of Utah to commit to BYU. Half of BYU’s 16 commitments are from the Beehive State.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
