Brigham Young University introduced Kevin Young as its new men’s basketball head coach at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah, on Wednesday, April 17.
Working as the associate head coach for the NBA’s Phoenix Suns when he accepted the position at BYU, the 42-year-old Young was hired to replace Mark Pope, who recently left to become the new head coach at the University of Kentucky.
Young, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has coached with the Suns since 2021 and also spent time on the Philadelphia 76ers’ staff. Outside of the NBA, Young has served as head coach for three G-League teams from 2010-16 and was an assistant at both Utah Valley University and Oxford College. He began his coaching career in Ireland’s Superleague in 2006.
Born in Salt Lake City in 1981, Young played college basketball at Middle Georgia and Clayton State. He married BYU graduate Melissa Bailey, of Omaha, Nebraska, in the Salt Lake Temple in 2011. The two met when she was a a student at BYU and he was living in on-campus housing at BYU and coaching the Utah Flash of the then-NBA D League (now the G League). They are the parents of two sons and a daughter, Jude, Van and Zoey.
Young said he considered several factors in his decision to come to BYU.
“The thing that really moved the needle for me and my wife was the environment that we’re going to be in here at BYU. What this university stands for, what the mission of this university is. I’m a lifelong member of the Church, and so to be able to do what I love at the highest level from a career standpoint and blend that with my faith and being able to be with my wife and my little ones, that’s why we came here,” he said at his introductory press conference.
“On top of that, the thing that has blown me away is just the level of support from the athletic department, from the university, from many people with the resources that this place has. The fact that this is the Big 12, the highest level of college basketball, there was a lot of things that played a role in coming here,” he continued.
“This is a very desirable place to be. I look forward to teaming up with a lot of elite people that we’re going to get in here and do this thing together.”
Before becoming fully engaged in his work at BYU, Young will continue in his job as the lead assistant coach of the Phoenix Suns while they are in the NBA playoffs. Once the Suns end their playoff run, he won’t look back.
“Once I realized how special this place was, it became easier and easier to be honest with you,” Young said. “... Truth be told, it’s never actually been my dream to be a head coach in the NBA. I love basketball, I love working with young players, and I love developing players and building relationships. To be able to do all those things at a place that has the family atmosphere that I so desire for my kids and my wife to be around, it actually became a really easy choice.”
BYU President C. Shane Reese said Young emerged as the clear choice during the interview process.
“We have, in Kevin Young, an incredible family man who is dedicated to the family he’s developed,” he said. “We have, in Kevin Young, a man who is a humble follower of Jesus Christ, and that is a beautiful thing in this era. And we have, in Kevin Young, an absolutely brilliant basketball mind who is going to take the Cougars to the next level.”
BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe spoke of Young’s character and experience.
“Kevin is not someone who just came to us out of the blue. We had our eye on him for quite a while,” he said. “His character is impeccable. It is incredible how well-regarded he is by individuals all throughout college basketball and throughout the NBA. Kevin is a remarkable fit here at BYU. He understands what we’re all about here at BYU. He’s committed to doing the right thing.”
BYU’s previous basketball coach, Pope, was named the head coach at Kentucky on April 12. Also a Latter-day Saint, he was a captain of the Wildcats’ 1996 national championship team.
In five years at BYU, Pope compiled a 110-52 record, which included two trips to the NCAA Tournament. He guided the Cougars to a 23-11 record and fifth-place finish in the school’s first season in the Big 12 Conference.
