Kevin Young signs contract extension to stay at BYU

Kevin Young is set to stay in Provo for the foreseeable future.

Late Thursday afternoon, ESPN’s Shams Charania first reported on X that the BYU Cougars’ men’s basketball head coach has signed a “long-term contract extension” with the program.

An official announcement was released by the school a short time later.

“My family and I have loved our first year at BYU, being surrounded by great people, at a great university with shared values,” Young said in a statement.

“I’m excited to continue to build a program based on trying to help young men prepare for the NBA, win at the highest level, and do it at BYU. This is an exciting time for all of BYU Athletics with Brian Santiago recently being named athletic director. I look forward to continuing to work with Brian and am excited to be in lock step with his leadership.”

Young, 43, has transformed the program since being hired to replace Mark Pope in April 2024.

Having arrived in Provo with eight years of experience in the NBA as an assistant coach and nine years of experience in the NBA D-League/G League before that, Young has had immediate success both on the court and in recruiting.

He brought in several top prospects — led by future NBA first-round draft pick Egor Demin — before even coaching a game, landed the commitment of AJ Dybantsa — the top prospect in America in 2025 — and led the Cougars to the Sweet 16 of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

There was some speculation that Young could return to the NBA this offseason, as the Phoenix Suns — his employer from 2020 until he took the BYU job — fired head coach Mike Budenholzer. On Wednesday, however, the Suns hired former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach Jordan Ott to the position.

With many projecting BYU to be a top-10 team in the country next season, the Cougars have also been putting together what will almost surely be the best nonconference schedule in program history.