The wait is over.
BYU has hired Phoenix Suns associate head coach Kevin Young as its new head basketball coach, the school announced Tuesday.
ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnaworski was first to report the news.
Young will replace Mark Pope, who left the Cougars for Kentucky this past week after five years at the helm of the program.
The 42-year-old Young is currently the NBA’s highest-paid assistant coach and was in the running for a number of head coaching jobs around the league prior to his hiring in Provo.
“We are excited to announce Kevin as our new head men’s basketball coach and welcome him and his family to BYU,” BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe said in a statement. “We had a variety of excellent candidates and a lot of interest in this position. Kevin is someone we have had our eye on for a while. He has risen to the top of NBA assistant coaching ranks. He has been a lead candidate for NBA head coaching jobs 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. He is humble, fun and super intelligent. Cougar Nation is going to love getting to know Kevin.”
Young has been an associate head coach for 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 UVU and Oxford College.
Matt Norlander of CBS Sports has reported that while the “process is not through yet,” Young will be given a seven-year, $30 million contract.
According to Robby McCombs of Vanquish the Foe, BYU alums and current Utah Jazz officials Danny Ainge and Ryan Smith were “instrumental” in Young’s hiring. McCombs also reported that Young was the only candidate formally interviewed by the school.
Young will remain with the Suns throughout the NBA playoffs but will immediately begin recruiting efforts at BYU along with assembling his coaching staff, which could reportedly include UNLV’s Barret Peery and Utah’s Chris Burgess.