2026 Football Roster
Jersey Number 8
Keali'i Ah Yat
- Class:
- Redshirt Junior
- Height:
- 6-1
- Weight:
- 200
- Position:
- QB
- Hometown:
- Kaneohe, Hawaii
- High School:
- Kamehameha HS
2026 (R-Jr.)
Ah Yat returns in 2026 as one of the most prolific quarterbacks in Montana history after a breakout sophomore campaign… Enters the year with 5,462 career passing yards, already No. 11 in program history with two seasons to play… Holds a .664 career passing percentage (463/697), starting the year as the third-best in program history… Has thrown for 41 career TDs, a top 10 mark in program history… Has made 21 careers starts and played in 31 career games in two seasons of action… Ah Yat is now 17-4 as a Grizzly starter, needing 11 more wins to enter UM's top five all-time starting QB wins tally. He also needs just 12 more wins to tie his dad Brian's career total of 29. Dave Dickenson holds UM's win record at 33.
2025: (R-So.):
• Walter Payton Award Finalist
• Stats Perform First Team All-American
• Sports Illustrated/FCS Football Central Second Team All-American
• Associated Press All-America honorable mention
• First team All-Big Sky Quarterback
• Voted team’s Offensive MVP by the coaches
• 2-Time Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week (9/22 & 10/18)
Ah Yat was a breakout star for the Grizzlies in 2025, leading a record-setting offense, earning All-America honors and a first team All-Big Sky nod as well – a first for the Griz since Craig Ochs in 2004…. The legacy Griz became just the second player in program history to eclipse 4,000 passing yards in a season with 4,070 that led to 33 TDs over the air – a top three season total at UM… It's also the most passing yards in the FCS at the end of the Grizzlies' season and made Ah Yat one of only two QBs in all D-I football to pass the 4k mark behind Drew Mestemaker of North Texas… 2025 was one of the most accurate seasons for a passer at UM as well, completing 325 of his 470 attempts with just nine interceptions for a new school record .691 completion percentage, surpassing Ochs' 2004 record of .686 and just shy of the Big Sky record of .704…. Those 325 completions are also a school record, beating Ochs' and Dave Dickenson's tied record of 309… Ah Yat's accuracy led directly to a dearth of turnovers on the year, giving up just nine interceptions – tied for the fourth fewest in modern program history dating back to 1991…. Earned the starting job at UM as a sophomore during fall camp... Set new career highs for passing yards in each of the first three games of the season... Earned Big Sky Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career with 313 passing yards on 22 completions with two touchdowns and another rushing touchdown against Indiana State... Earned Big Sky Player of the week once again in week 8 after throwing for 5 touchdowns and rushing for 1 in a win against Sacred Heart.
2024 (R-Fr.):
• Tied school record with 4 TD runs vs WCU
Started 6, and saw action in 11 games as a redshirt freshman under center… Generated 1,280 yards of total offense (116.4 YPG) with 1,121 passing and 159 rushing on 246 total snaps… Responsible for 14 total TDs, split evenly with 7 rushing and 7 passing… Was third on the team in scoring with 7 rushing TDs and a two-point conversion accounting for 42 points… Tied a school record with 4 rushing touchdowns in a game vs Western Carolina… Set a new career high 57 rushing yards against Western Carolina as well… Passed for two TDs in two different games (at UNC and at SDSU)… Completed 112 of 189 passes with 6 INTs on the season…
2023 (Fr.): Saw action in three regular season games and two playoff games as a true freshman to retain his redshirt status… Showed poise and promise after completing 26 of 38 passes (.684) for 271 yards and one TD… Threw his first career TD against Northern Colorado in his first career appearance as a Grizzly on 10/28… Had a career-high day with 131 passing yards and a career-long pass of 39 yards at Portland State… Went 6-of-7 (.857) for 47 yards passing in the FCS title game vs. South Dakota St.
High School: As a senior Ah Yat threw for 1,249 yards and nine touchdowns, completing 117 of 210 passes in eight games… Rushed for 104 yards and four touchdowns on 66 attempts… As a junior threw 10 touchdowns and ran for three more… Threw for a career high 346 and four touchdowns against the storied Saint Louis Crusaders program out of Honolulu… Named All-Hawaii Open Division honorable mention as a junior.
Personal: Father Brian Ah Yat is a Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame and All-America quarterback who led Montana to the 1996 1-AA national championship game.
Career Single Game High
Passing Yards: 350 (at Idaho State, 2025)
Passing Touchdowns: 5 (vs Sacred Heart, 2025)
Passing Completions: 27 (vs Cal Poly, 2025, and vs Sacred Heart, 2025)
Longest Pass: 76 (vs Central Washington, 2025)
Rushing Yards: 57 (vs Western Carolina, 2024)
Rushing Touchdowns 4 (vs Western Carolina, 2024) *Tied school record
Pronounced: KAY-ah-LEE-ee Ah YACHT
Ah Yat returns in 2026 as one of the most prolific quarterbacks in Montana history after a breakout sophomore campaign… Enters the year with 5,462 career passing yards, already No. 11 in program history with two seasons to play… Holds a .664 career passing percentage (463/697), starting the year as the third-best in program history… Has thrown for 41 career TDs, a top 10 mark in program history… Has made 21 careers starts and played in 31 career games in two seasons of action… Ah Yat is now 17-4 as a Grizzly starter, needing 11 more wins to enter UM's top five all-time starting QB wins tally. He also needs just 12 more wins to tie his dad Brian's career total of 29. Dave Dickenson holds UM's win record at 33.
2025: (R-So.):
• Walter Payton Award Finalist
• Stats Perform First Team All-American
• Sports Illustrated/FCS Football Central Second Team All-American
• Associated Press All-America honorable mention
• First team All-Big Sky Quarterback
• Voted team’s Offensive MVP by the coaches
• 2-Time Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week (9/22 & 10/18)
Ah Yat was a breakout star for the Grizzlies in 2025, leading a record-setting offense, earning All-America honors and a first team All-Big Sky nod as well – a first for the Griz since Craig Ochs in 2004…. The legacy Griz became just the second player in program history to eclipse 4,000 passing yards in a season with 4,070 that led to 33 TDs over the air – a top three season total at UM… It's also the most passing yards in the FCS at the end of the Grizzlies' season and made Ah Yat one of only two QBs in all D-I football to pass the 4k mark behind Drew Mestemaker of North Texas… 2025 was one of the most accurate seasons for a passer at UM as well, completing 325 of his 470 attempts with just nine interceptions for a new school record .691 completion percentage, surpassing Ochs' 2004 record of .686 and just shy of the Big Sky record of .704…. Those 325 completions are also a school record, beating Ochs' and Dave Dickenson's tied record of 309… Ah Yat's accuracy led directly to a dearth of turnovers on the year, giving up just nine interceptions – tied for the fourth fewest in modern program history dating back to 1991…. Earned the starting job at UM as a sophomore during fall camp... Set new career highs for passing yards in each of the first three games of the season... Earned Big Sky Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career with 313 passing yards on 22 completions with two touchdowns and another rushing touchdown against Indiana State... Earned Big Sky Player of the week once again in week 8 after throwing for 5 touchdowns and rushing for 1 in a win against Sacred Heart.
2024 (R-Fr.):
• Tied school record with 4 TD runs vs WCU
Started 6, and saw action in 11 games as a redshirt freshman under center… Generated 1,280 yards of total offense (116.4 YPG) with 1,121 passing and 159 rushing on 246 total snaps… Responsible for 14 total TDs, split evenly with 7 rushing and 7 passing… Was third on the team in scoring with 7 rushing TDs and a two-point conversion accounting for 42 points… Tied a school record with 4 rushing touchdowns in a game vs Western Carolina… Set a new career high 57 rushing yards against Western Carolina as well… Passed for two TDs in two different games (at UNC and at SDSU)… Completed 112 of 189 passes with 6 INTs on the season…
2023 (Fr.): Saw action in three regular season games and two playoff games as a true freshman to retain his redshirt status… Showed poise and promise after completing 26 of 38 passes (.684) for 271 yards and one TD… Threw his first career TD against Northern Colorado in his first career appearance as a Grizzly on 10/28… Had a career-high day with 131 passing yards and a career-long pass of 39 yards at Portland State… Went 6-of-7 (.857) for 47 yards passing in the FCS title game vs. South Dakota St.
High School: As a senior Ah Yat threw for 1,249 yards and nine touchdowns, completing 117 of 210 passes in eight games… Rushed for 104 yards and four touchdowns on 66 attempts… As a junior threw 10 touchdowns and ran for three more… Threw for a career high 346 and four touchdowns against the storied Saint Louis Crusaders program out of Honolulu… Named All-Hawaii Open Division honorable mention as a junior.
Personal: Father Brian Ah Yat is a Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame and All-America quarterback who led Montana to the 1996 1-AA national championship game.
Career Single Game High
Passing Yards: 350 (at Idaho State, 2025)
Passing Touchdowns: 5 (vs Sacred Heart, 2025)
Passing Completions: 27 (vs Cal Poly, 2025, and vs Sacred Heart, 2025)
Longest Pass: 76 (vs Central Washington, 2025)
Rushing Yards: 57 (vs Western Carolina, 2024)
Rushing Touchdowns 4 (vs Western Carolina, 2024) *Tied school record
Pronounced: KAY-ah-LEE-ee Ah YACHT
Thursday, June 11
Thursday, June 04
Friday, May 01
Monday, March 30
