Boise State adds athletic safety to 2025 class. Basketball back in Cayman Islands Classic

The latest player to join the Boise State football team’s 2025 recruiting class is a tall, athletic safety.

McKinney (Texas) High School’s Ja’Bree Bickham verbally committed to the Broncos on Tuesday. He’s the third safety to join the class, following Dominik Calhoun and Josiah Alanis. He’s also the fourth defensive back in the class, which includes cornerback Christopher Solis-Lumar, who committed on Saturday.

Bickham is a 6-foot-4, 180-pound dual-threat athlete who also plays wide receiver at McKinney. He’s a member of the track and field team and ran the 100-meter dash in 10.9 seconds as a junior.

Boise State has had luck recruiting lanky, athletic safeties in the past. JL Skinner (6-4, 220) was a four-year starter for the Broncos and finished his college career with 208 tackles and seven interceptions. He was picked by the Denver Broncos in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Bickham, who made an official visit to Boise State last weekend, is a three-star recruit and the No. 193 overall recruit in Texas, according to 247Sports. He chose the Broncos over scholarship offers from several schools, including Michigan State, where he was recruited by former Boise State running backs coach Keith Bhonapha.

Bhonapha left Boise State in January 2023 to join Jonathan Smith’s staff at Oregon State. He followed Smith to Michigan State late last year.

Bickham also has scholarship offers from UTEP, Bowling Green, Louisiana and Arkansas State, according to 247Sports.

Broncos back in Cayman Classic

The Boise State men’s basketball team is heading back to the Cayman Islands Classic this year, having last played in the tournament in 2018.

The event will be held Nov. 24-26 at John Gray High School in George Town, Grand Cayman. The Broncos went 2-1 in the event six years ago, with their loss coming to eventual champion Creighton.

Boise State will be in the field with Boston College, Duquesne, Hampton, High Point, Missouri State, Old Dominion and South Dakota State.

Duquesne and South Dakota State both joined the Broncos in the NCAA Tournament earlier this year. The Jackrabbits won the Summit League’s regular season and tournament championships; they fell to No. 2 seed Iowa State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and finished 22-13.

Duquesne earned a No. 11 seed and advanced to the second round after knocking off No. 6 seed BYU in the opening round. The Dukes fell to Illinois in the second round, finishing the season 25-12. A surprise winner of the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament last season, they are under the direction of new head coach Dru Joyce III this year.

Boise State made its third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament but fell to Colorado in the First Four, dropping to 0-10 in the Big Dance. The Broncos finished the season 22-11 after going 13-5 in the Mountain West.

Boston College posted 20 wins last season, including a victory over Providence in the first round of the NIT. High Point went 27-9 and 13-3 in the Big South Conference but got upset in its league tournament. The Panthers fell to Seattle University in the championship game of the College Basketball Invitational Tournament.

Missouri State, Hampton and Old Dominion all have new head coaches this year. Cuonzo Martin took over a Missouri State squad that went 17-16 last season. Ivan Thomas is at Hampton, which went 9-24, and Mike Jones took over at his alma mater after Old Dominion finished last season with a 7-25 record.

Boise State football 2025 recruiting class

WR Quinton Brown, 5-8, 155, Liberty Christian High, Argyle, Texas

S Dominik Calhoun, 6-1, 191, Pittsburg (California) High

S Josiah Alanis, 6-2, 185, Evergreen High, Vancouver, Washington

WR AJ Jones, 6-2, 175, Vista Murrieta High, Murrieta, California

CB Christopher Solis-Lumar, 6-2, 175, Glendora (California) High

S Ja’Bree Bickham, 6-4, 180, McKinney (Texas) High