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BYU men's basketball coach Kevin Young oversees practice at the Moda Center in Portland, Ore., on Wednesday, March 18, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Athletics

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BYU men's basketball head coach Kevin Young reacts against UC Riverside in a men's college basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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BYU men’s basketball held a media interview availability on Tuesday, presenting top guards Rob Wright and Kentucky transfer Collin Chandler, both revealing newly-cropped hair while being asked a bevy of questions. Other players were there, too, although the focus, as it has been for several months now, was surrounding who wasn’t there.

As far as BYU coach Kevin Young is concerned, he’s used to the focus — and indeed, the angst — over the lack of a notable ‘big’ on his roster.

“I’ll just hit it right ahead, because I get asked it every day … where I’m at with the ‘big’ situation,” Young said prior to revealing the possibility of announcing at least one notable addition in the near future. “We’ve been in lockstep with what really is one specific guy for a while, (But) there’s a lot of logistical things that have to get ironed out on some of these guys, giving them, you know, academic situation, and where they’ve played, and stuff like that. So, we’ve been locked in with one guy in particular, (but I) can’t really say too much about it.”

So the Cougar fan base is made to wait a bit while longer, while trusting in the process outlined by Young along with his proven ability to attract top talent to the Cougar program. The third-year Cougar coach made mention of the extent of the search for quality bigs, stating it’s not an easy process with regards to finding eligible players, while assuring, “We’re looking at all avenues.”

So Young and his staff remains confident of fielding at least one addition to the roster to help fill the void of departing big men Keba Keita (who played out his eligibility) along with Abdullah Ahmed and Xavion Staton, who opted to transfer elsewhere.

What specific type of player is Young looking at to man the center position?

“Obviously, a little bit more size would be good, but more than that, for me it’s just a skill set,” Young said. “You’re trying to pair Rob (Wright) up with someone that can play away from the basket a little bit more, not just shooting, but just functionality wise. We’ve been going after something very specific at that position, so we’ve casted a very wide net there and looked at a lot of different things.”

Young also mentioned some “mis-reporting” by the media with regards to players who BYU sought, but ultimately failed to bring into the program.

The good news is regarding who Young has managed add to the program outside of the center position, beginning with Chandler, who brings with him a lot of potential and expectations following his two years playing for the Wildcats.

“He’s a guy that can do a lot of things offensively,” Young assessed. “I think just naturally he’s going to get compared to Richie (Saunders) and I think they have some similarities in the fact that both prolific shooters. I think what intrigued me about Colin was his ability to play with the ball in his hands as a playmaker. I think he’s really good passer. I think that he can do some things creation-wise that interests me, but just the play making on top of this shooting, He’s not obviously the rebounder that Richie was, so they have some differences.”

Other key additions to the roster include Clemson transfer and former Timpview High standout Jake Wahlin, who expected to play at the stretch-4 position, guard Brooks Bahr, who recently returned home from his two-year mission service for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints along with top incoming freshmen such as Bruce Branch and Dean Rueckert. Key returners include Wright, along with fellow guard Dawson Baker, forward Khadim Mboup and Nate Pickens, who sat out all of last season due to injury.

“I like the blend, you know, having the older guys that can show the younger guys the ropes,” Young said. “So I do like the sort of battle-tested nature of a lot of the guys, including Rob, and yeah, it does give me confidence. There’s just more know-how out there, which (we) don’t have to spend as much time on some of the small things. They kind of have a pretty good feel for what they’re doing there.”

Young mentioned that both Baker and Pickens are practicing with the team and appear to be ahead of schedule with their respective recoveries from injury, although Brody Kozlowski, who has battled injury throughout his collegiate career, may need a bit more time.

“Brody, he’s had a tough go,” Young said. “He’s trying to do everything he can to get back out there. I think, yes, he will. It’s just a matter of when.”

BYU will begin the 2026-27 basketball season on October 9 with the schedule blue-white scrimmage before playing its first game at Nebraska on Oct. 18.