Suns' Kevin Young Named BYU HC After Mark Pope Replaces John Calipari at Kentucky

BYU has found its next men's basketball coach in Phoenix Suns assistant Kevin Young.

Young will replace Mark Pope, who departed to take the Kentucky job after John Calipari left the Wildcats for Arkansas.

According to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, "BYU is ready to put a deal on the table worth approximately $30 million and for seven years" for its next coach.

It is quite the deal from the Cougars, although ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski noted Young was the highest-paid assistant coach in the NBA and someone who was seen as "a significant candidate" for head coaching jobs across the league in recent years.

He previously interviewed with the Suns, Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Houston Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets and Brooklyn Nets, so it likely took a significant commitment from BYU to convince him to join the collegiate ranks.

There is also a connection in place with the state, as Young was born in Salt Lake City and previously coached the Utah Flash in the NBA G League.

He also coached the Iowa Energy and Delaware 87ers in the G League in addition to assistant roles with the Suns and 76ers.

Wojnarowski reported the plan is for Young to remain with Phoenix through the playoffs before fully transitioning to his role with the Cougars. However, he will put together a coaching staff that will immediately start recruiting during an important time of the college basketball calendar when it comes to roster building.

Pope built a strong foundation and led BYU to the NCAA tournament in two of his five seasons. It would have been three of his five seasons if the 2020 Big Dance wasn't canceled because of COVID-19, as the Cougars were 24-8 and ranked at different times during the season.

Young will look to take the next step, though, considering Pope lost in the first round of each of his tournament appearances.

The 2024-25 season will be BYU's second in the Big 12 conference, and it quickly found success with a 23-11 overall record and a 10-8 mark in the league in its first. While the season ended with an upset loss to 11th-seeded Duquesne in the first round of the tournament, it was an impressive overall showing following 12 years in the West Coast Conference.