Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- BYU basketball player Marya Hudgins was baptized into the LDS Church.
- Hudgins was inspired by her teammates' conduct and BYU's community values.
- Her decision was supported by her family and BYU's players and coaching staff.
PROVO — Just one day after a 68-64 upset victory over then-No. 20 Oklahoma State, BYU women's basketball had even more to celebrate Sunday evening when the Cougars came together at a local church building for BYU guard Marya Hudgins, who was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Hudgins, who will medically redshirt the 2024-25 season due to injury after just seven games and return for her final two years in 2025-26, made the decision to be baptized about three weeks ago after an invitation to read the faiths' Book of Mormon, attending church meetings for the first time with teammate Amari Whiting, and meeting with local missionaries.
But mostly, it was the culmination of a long pull Hudgins felt toward BYU and its players.
Hudgins said her teammates and coaches never pushed their religion on her, and head coach Amber Whiting and associate head coach Lee Cummard stressed to KSL.com that the program tries its best not to force the university's sponsoring faith on non-member athletes.
They try to be as clear as possible about the faith's tenets, particularly the honor code and what will be expected of them if they decide to enroll at BYU. But conversion to the church is not an expectation, Cummard said.
Still, Hudgins, who played two seasons at Santa Clara alongside Orem native and Utah Valley graduate post Danja Stafford Collins, wanted to have conversations about God, about the church, and about a group of people that she wanted to be more like.
"Coming in, I was really inspired by my teammates, the way they are and the way they carried themselves," she told KSL.com. "I came from a school where we were given a bit more leeway (off the court) and coming here was a big culture shock.
"Everyone was so nice, so respectful, and just great people," Hudgins added. "I think it kind of set off a little spark in me; I wanted to be like that, too. Wearing BYU across my chest, I know there are a lot of eyes on us and I was inspired by them."
Cummard, in particular, has been drawn to the 6-foot guard from Aurora, Colorado, who averaged 7.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game mostly off the bench as a sophomore at Santa Clara. He and his wife Sarah have an open invitation to every player for Sunday dinner, though it's usually international and far-flung athletes who take him up on the invite.
Early in her BYU career, Hudgins started going to the family's home. And then she kept going back.
"If it's not every Sunday, it's every other Sunday she's come over," he said. "Other than sleeping, she's probably at my house more than I am."
Still, the family rarely — if ever, save for one Monday lesson — talked about the church, or religion in general. Instead, the Cummards have tried to live their faith by action, and those actions caught Hudgins' attention, eventually calling Lee Cummard — the Cougars' associate head coach who baptized her — "like a second father to me."
"I always felt a tie to BYU," said Hudgins, who played AAU basketball with BYU teammate Emma Calvert and Kailey Woolston, who is serving an 18-month mission for the church in Baltimore, Maryland following a breakout freshman season with the Cougars. "I knew from the start that I wanted to be here, and even when I was at a different school, I was talking about how awesome this place is. It felt like there was always a tie, and I feel like that was God."
When Hudgins went home during Christmas break, she voiced for the first time her desire to be baptized. Drake and Amber Hudgins raised each of their four children in a Christian home, but wanted to leave the decision to be baptized to each one of them as they got older.
A moment bigger than the game.
— BYU Women's Hoops (@byuwbb) February 17, 2025
We're grateful for the opportunity to support Marya Hudgins at her baptism today!
Congratulations Marya, we're so happy for you🫶 pic.twitter.com/NYUJJT6w1C
When Hudgins told her parents about her decision, they were excited for their daughter — and in large part because of the relationship they had forged with Cummard since he bantered with Drake Hudgins on a visit.
"Marya comes from a great situation, with high-character parents and they grew up going to church," Cummard said.
"There was such a genuineness about her process and her journey, about turning her life over to Christ," he later added. "I think she's being her genuine self as far as who she feels like she's supposed to be."
After Cummard performed Hudgins' baptism, Whiting's husband Trent confirmed her a member of the church, and Calvert and Whiting spoke during the service, Hudgins' also addressed the service for about five minutes.
She shared a powerful story about coming to BYU, about her conversion to the church, and how the decision had been building for years.
"She killed it," Whiting said. "It was really powerful.
"That's what it's all about, right there, for me," she added, her voice straining with emotion. "I'm about wins and losses, 100%. ... But when you get to see and hear a life-changing story like that, that's what it's about."
