BYU Basketball Hires Chris Burgess Away from Utah

Burgess is returning to Provo after a brief stint at Utah

Dec 31, 2022; Stanford, California, USA; Utah Utes assistant coach Chris Burgess talks to a referee / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

On Wednesday, Kevin Young and the BYU basketball program announced the hiring of Chris Burgess as an assistant coach. The Cougars hired Burgess away from rival Utah where he was also an assistant coach. This will be Burgess' second stint at BYU. He was an assistant at BYU from 2019-2022 under head coach Mark Pope.

Adding Burgess is a major addition to the BYU coaching staff. Prior to Kevin Young's hiring, Burgess was one of the top candidates to be the head coach at BYU. Instead, BYU got its top target in Kevin Young and was also able to lure Burgess away as an assistant.

Burgess is one of the best recruiters in the state. He was a major reason why BYU lost a few head-to-head battles against Utah. Adding his experience on the staff will be critical. He will bring his recruiting prowess with him, and he is the only coach on BYU's staff that has experience as a college coach in Utah.

Now Kevin Young and staff will turn their attention to filling out the rest of the roster. BYU still has multiple scholarships to fill. The end of day on Wednesday is the last day for college basketball players to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal.