Coming off a 26-10 record and regional semifinal finish in the NCAA tournament, BYU is making sure men’s head basketball coach Kevin Young will be in Provo, Utah even longer.
The school announced that Young had signed a “long-term contract extension,” though the years added to his deal were not revealed. He originally agreed to a seven-year contract for a reported $30 million to replace Mark Pope, who left BYU for Kentucky. Young was an associate head coach with the Phoenix Suns, earning the highest salary among NBA assistant coaches, before taking the Cougars job.
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The timing on Young’s extension seems curious, especially considering he had another six years to go on his initial contract. Though he wasn’t mentioned among the candidates for the Suns’ head coach opening, it’s possible that enough interest was shown that BYU felt it had to make an even stronger commitment.
Young’s extension was announced one day after Phoenix hired Jordan Ott as its new head coach. The New York Knicks are currently looking for a head coach after firing Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday, but Young hadn’t been reported as a candidate for that position either.
In addition to winning two NCAA tournament games and a third-place finish (14-6) in the Big 12, Young also landed the nation’s No. 1 recruit in forward A.J. Dybantsa. Dybantsa reportedly received close to $7 million in NIL money, including deals with Red Bull and Nike, to sign with the Cougars, but that demonstrates the commitment that BYU and its boosters are making to basketball.
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Young also signed four-star center Xavion Staton from Nevada to the 2025 recruiting class.
BYU lost Egor Demin to the NBA Draft (ranked No. 22 on Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor’s big board), but leading scorer Richie Saunders is returning for his senior season. Saunders averaged 16.5 points per game and shot 43% on 3-pointers, earning Big 12 most improved player and first-team all-conference honors.