BYU Freshman Kanon Catchings Earns Weekly Big 12 Recognition
Jan 30, 2025, 3:38 PM | Updated: 3:39 pm
PROVO, Utah – The perfect performance from BYU forward Kanon Catchings received a weekly honor from the Big 12 Conference.
Catchings’ 23-point night against Baylor on Tuesday earned him “Bench Performer of the Week” in the Big 12.
The 6-foot-9 Catchings came off the bench and knocked down all eight of his field goal attempts in the 93-89 win over Baylor.
Kanon Catchings: Big 12 Bench Performance of the Week
January 3⃣0⃣ @OldTrapper #Big12MBB Bench Performance of the Week 🏅
Kanon Catchings | @BYUMBB pic.twitter.com/at6fQolImQ
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) January 30, 2025
This is the first honor from the Big 12 that Catchings has received this season.
Catchings’ perfect night was the first of its kind from a Division I freshman in the 21st century.
In the postgame after the win over Baylor, the Brownsburg, Indiana native said it was his first perfect game of shooting from the field in his basketball career.
It’s a memorable performance for a player who was moved from BYU’s starting lineup to the bench two weeks ago. After an adjustment period, Catchings has settled into his new role, and he put together his best game of the year on a night when 30+ NBA scouts were in attendance at the Marriott Center.
“You don’t miss a shot; I guess you can call that a breakout game. He was tremendous,” said BYU head coach Kevin Young on Catchings’ performance against Baylor. “But, happy for him because he stayed the course. I think my coaching staff has done a good job of just staying in the trenches with him, keeping him positive, and he’s done a good job of just keeping his head down and working. He was unbelievable tonight.”
What’s interesting is that Catchings didn’t play in the overtime period against the Bears. Kevin Young pointed to defensive matchups as a reason for keeping the sharp-shooting freshman out.
Kanon Catchings is averaging 9.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assists on 43.2% shooting from the field this season.
A former four-star recruit in the 2024 recruiting cycle, Kanon Catchings is one of the highest-rated recruits BYU has signed in program history.
Up next for Kanon Catchings and BYU basketball
Kanon Catchings and the Cougars return to action this Saturday when they travel to the East Coast to take on the UCF Knights at 2 p.m. (MST) on ESPN+ and KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM).
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
