BYU’s Kevin Young Named Finalist For Coach Of The Year Award
Mar 4, 2025, 1:52 PM
BYU basketball first-year head coach is a finalist for the Joe B. Hall Award. (Isaac Hale, Deseret News)
(Isaac Hale, Deseret News)
PROVO, Utah – BYU basketball coach Kevin Young is a National Coach of the Year award finalist.
Young was named a finalist for the Joe B. Hall Award, a recognition given to the top first-year head coaches in college basketball.
BYU is on a six-game winning streak and has a record of 21-8 overall and 12-6 in Big 12 Conference play.
Young is one of 16 coaches named a Joe B. Hall Award finalist. He’s the only finalist coaching at a Power Conference program.
Before being hired as BYU’s headman last April, Young was a longtime assistant coach in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns. Before that, he was a head coach in the NBA D-League (now G-League). But he had never been a head coach in college basketball.
BYU basketball under first-year coach Kevin Young
Young’s first BYU team has become one of the top offenses in college basketball this season. As of March 4, the Cougars boast the 12th overall offense in adjusted efficiency in KenPom’s ratings.
They are averaging 81 points per game this season.
The Joe B. Hall Award is named in honor of longtime Kentucky head coach Joe B. Hall, an assistant coach before being promoted to head coach of the Wildcats following Adolph Rupp.
Among the programs with Joe B. Hall Award finalist coaches, BYU is one of two teams on the list that Bracket Matrix currently projects into the NCAA Tournament. The other is Drake, who Ben McCollum coaches.
Another notable finalist on the list is former BYU assistant coach Kahil Fennell. Fennell was on BYU’s staff under former head coach Mark Pope for two seasons (2022-2024) before accepting the head coach position at UT Rio Grande Valley.
The Vaqueros are 16-15 overall and 8-12 in the Southland Conference in Fennell’s first season.
Kevin Young has BYU ranked in the AP Top 25 poll at No. 23, entering the final week of the regular season.
Joe B. Hall Award Finalists for 2024-25 season
- Patrick Carey II, Florida A&M
- Mike DeGeorge, Cal Poly
- Ethan Faulkner, Youngstown State
- Kahil Fennell, UT Rio Grande Valley
- Cornelius Jackson, Marshall
- John Jakus, FAU
- Jon Jaques, Cornell
- Mike Jones, Old Dominion
- Donny Lind, Mount St. Mary’s
- Jonathan Mattox, Morehead State
- Ben McCollum, Drake
- Gerry McNamara, Siena
- Hank Plona, Western Kentucky
- Clint Sargent, Wright State
- Ivan Thomas, Hampton
- Kevin Young, BYU
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.
