Top Five Candidates to be the Next BYU Basketball Head Coach

Mark Pope is off to Kentucky, who could replace him?

Dec 31, 2022; Stanford, California, USA; Utah Utes assistant coach Chris Burgess before the game / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

It happened fast. Really fast. On Thursday morning, Kentucky was targeting Baylor head coach Scott Drew to be its next coach. By mid morning, Drew had removed himself from the running to remain at Baylor. By Thursday evening, Kentucky and BYU head coach Mark Pope were finalizing a deal for Pope to become the next head basketball coach at Kentucky.

Pope's departure comes at a bad time for BYU who was recently projected in the top 25 by multiple national outlets. BYU will need to act fast. Here are the top five candidates to replace Mark Pope at BYU.

1. Chris Burgess

Utah assistant coach Chris Burgess will certainly be one of the first phone calls that BYU AD Tom Holmoe will make. Burgess spent time as an assistant coach at BYU from 2019-2022 before leaving to become an assistant at Utah.

Burgess is an excellent recruiter and he probably gives BYU its best chance to keep the existing roster intact. He also gives BYU the best chance at retaining former signee Collin Chandler who is set to return home from his mission soon.

Burgess doesn't have head coaching experience, but he does have BYU experience. BYU is a unique place and Burgess already has experience navigating that. Even though he doesn't have the best resume on this list, there's an argument to make that he would be the best hire.

2. Mark Madsen

February 22, 2024; Berkeley, California, USA; California Golden Bears head coach Mark Madsen during / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Cal Head Coach Mark Madsen is certainly a qualified candidate. He did very well at UVU before leaving UVU for Cal. Madsen just wrapped up his first year at Cal and it was a successful one. Under Madsen, Cal improved their conference record from 2-18 in 2022-23 to 9-11. On paper, Madsen is the best candidate.

The biggest hurdle to hiring Mark Madsen is his buyout. He signed a two-year extension last month through 2030. His buyout amount is not confirmed, but it's likely that BYU would need to pay a buyout of $5M or more to get Madsen in Provo.

Update: Mark Madsen is no longer a candidate after removing himself from consideration.

3. Barrett Peery

UNLV assistant coach Barrett Peery is on the shortlist. Peery has ties to Utah - he coached at UVSC, SUU, and Snow College in the late 90's. He was the head coach at Portland State and he had a successful stint at Texas Tech as an assistant coach.

4. K.C. Beard

Houston assistant coach K.C. Beard started as a video coordinator for Houston in 2014. He has been with Houston during their rise to national prominence including trips to the Final Four and Elite Eight. On the bright side, Beard has experience in the Big 12. The downside is Beard's only collegiate experience is in Texas.

5. Nick Robinson

Assistants Cody Fueger and Nick Robinson are candidates to replace Pope. Fueuger would probably be the top candidate. However, he is not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Hiring Fueuger is not impossible, although BYU has never hired a basketball coach that is not a member of the Church. That makes Nick Robinson the more likely candidate to replace Pope.