BYU Hires Kevin Young as Head Basketball Coach: What You Need to Know

BYU has officially announced the hiring of Kevin Young as the 16th head basketball coach in program history, replacing Mark Pope who departed for Kentucky. Young, a Salt Lake City native, brings a wealth of coaching experience to Provo, having worked in various capacities in both college and the NBA.

Young, born in 1981, played college basketball at Middle Georgia and Clayton State before embarking on his coaching career. He began coaching in Ireland’s Superleague in 2006 and later worked at UVU and Oxford College. In the NBA G-League, Young served as both an assistant and head coach for teams such as the Utah Flash, Iowa Energy, and Delaware 87ers. He made the jump to the NBA in 2016 with the Philadelphia 76ers, where he coached stars like Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler.

Most recently, Young was the associate head coach for the Phoenix Suns, helping lead the team to the 2021 NBA Finals. His success in the NBA caught the attention of BYU, who offered him a seven-year, $30 million contract. Despite finishing out the NBA playoffs with the Suns, Young will begin recruiting efforts and assembling his coaching staff at BYU.

BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe expressed his excitement about Young’s hiring, stating, “Kevin is someone we have had our eye on for a while. He has risen to the top of NBA assistant coaching ranks and has been instrumental in developing top-level NBA talent. Kevin will bring a new perspective with an extensive NBA background to our program. He is a phenomenal fit at BYU.”

With Young’s impressive coaching resume and NBA experience, BYU fans are eager to see how he will lead the program to new heights in the coming seasons.