The BYU Cougars' unexpected run to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament ended on Thursday night in the Sweet Sixteen at the hands of the Alabama Crimson Tide, who shattered tournament records for both three-pointers attempted (51) and three-pointers made (25) in their 113-88 win. For BYU, even a disappointing ending to the season offers something of a silver lining… before the season began, the Cougars were picked to finish ninth in the Big 12 under first year head coach Kevin Young, but in the end, they were one of just four Big 12 programs to a make it to the Sweet Sixteen.

Kevin Young, who came to BYU after nearly two decades coaching in both the NBA and G-League, went 26-10 in his first season as the team's head coach, leading the program to their first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 2011. After the game, he expressed optimism that this year is just the beginning of what will be a prolonged run near the top of the college basketball world.

“The future at BYU is incredibly bright,” Young told reporters in his postgame remarks, per Will Miller of Sports Illustrated. “I think anyone that pays attention to the sport would agree with that. This was obviously kind of a — just a statement, I think, this season, where it's like, we're a force to be reckoned with in the Big 12 and nationally, led by really good players that we had this year, and we'll continue to try to bring good players in.”

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Even though BYU wasn't considered one of the big winners of the recruiting cycle or the transfer portal, four key additions played major roles for the Cougars this year. Egor Demin lived up to the hype of being the 16th-ranked prospect in the 2024 recruiting class according to 247 Sports, finishing third in the Big 12 in assists and being named to the conference's All-Freshman team. Although he fell out of the rotation by the end of the season, freshman Kanon Catchings had nine games this season with double-figures scoring. Transfers Mawot Mag and Keba Keita were both starters and combined for 14 points and 10 rebounds per game.

Next season, BYU won't sneak up on anyone, though. The highest ranked player in the 2025 recruiting class, 6-foot-9 forward AJ Dybantsa, will be playing for Young next season, as will two additional top 100 ranked players, giving BYU the 11th-best recruiting class in the country, according to 247 Sports. What kind of mark Kevin Young and his staff will be able to make in the transfer portal remains to be seen, but the 43-year-old head coach is optimistic that this season was just the beginning of something special in Provo.

“It's exciting to think what we can build for me and our staff being new in this whole thing. We had a lot of learning we had to do and are still learning, obviously. But we feel like foundationally, we've kind of put out a blueprint of, one, how we want to play. I think our identity is clear,” Young said. “Now we've got to hopefully do a good job to continue to recruit to that identity and continue to try to bring in high-end talent so we can play with the teams who historically have played deep into this tournament. That's our goal.”