Following a remarkable inaugural season in Provo, BYU basketball coach Kevin Young has secured a multi-year contract extension to continue leading the team.
In April 2024, BYU brought in Kevin Young from the NBA with a seven-year contract reportedly valued at $30 million. After an exceptional debut season—guiding the Cougars to the Sweet 16 and securing the nation’s top high school recruit, AJ Dybantsa—the university’s leadership is now prepared to extend his contract even further.
The timing couldn’t be better for the Cougars. When BYU hired Kevin Young, he was the highest-paid assistant coach in the NBA, and it seemed inevitable that he would soon become an NBA head coach. After the Phoenix Suns, the NBA team Young left, fired their head coach Mike Budenholzer in April, they took a long time searching for a replacement. Although the Suns’ coaching vacancy was never a serious threat to pull Young away from Provo after just one season, it still made BYU fans nervous—making this new contract extension a much-needed reassurance.
It’s safe to say that Kevin Young has far surpassed all reasonable expectations in his role. He promised to turn BYU into a pipeline for NBA talent, and he’s making good on that promise. Egor Demin is expected to be an NBA lottery pick later this month after his one-and-done season at BYU, and AJ Dybantsa could potentially be the top overall pick in next year’s NBA draft.
In just one recruiting cycle, Young and his staff assembled the best recruiting class in BYU history. The three freshmen set to join the team in 2025—AJ Dybantsa (No. 2 overall), Xavion Staton (No. 37), and Chamberlain Burgess (No. 97)—help the Cougars boast the No. 3 recruiting class nationwide.
Even the most hopeful BYU fans couldn’t have predicted the program’s rapid rise in just 16 months under Kevin Young’s leadership.
Luckily for BYU supporters, it looks like he’s here to stay for the long haul.
