BYU President Shane Reese discusses Cougars' NCAA Tournament run

BYU President Shane Reese gives two thumbs up during BYU's first round NCAA Tournament victory over VCU Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Denver.

DENVER — When Kevin Young was hired as the men’s basketball coach 11 months ago, Brigham Young University President Shane Reese described him as “an absolutely brilliant basketball mind who is going to take the Cougars to the next level.”

Today, Young’s Cougars are fresh off earning the program’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32 since 2011. It’s safe to say that “next level” has arrived, and Reese is admittedly ecstatic about it.

“I think all of Cougar Nation is so thrilled with this team and how they’ve performed,” Reese told the Deseret News Friday in BYU’s locker room at Ball Arena in Denver. “They’ve been unbelievable, and the way we also talk about how this team has represented the university in addition to making such amazing things happen on the basketball court, it’s been as good as it could possibly be.

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“We knew that there was something special in Kevin Young. I was surprised how few people had Kevin Young on their board of possible candidates for the replacement for Mark (Pope),” Reese continued. “I will just say, you know, we are grateful for all the things that Mark Pope did and thought he did some amazing things with our program, but to see this next level that KY has taken (the program) to, it’s been unbelievable. We think that the future is only brighter as we go forward. Getting this win in the first round of the NCAA feels like an incredible collective sigh of relief for all of Cougar Nation, and so we’re just excited and bullish on the future.”

For Reese, a “sigh of relief” is right. Much like other BYU fans scarred by past March Madness heartbreak, Reese “never got ... fully comfortable” during the Cougars’ Thursday victory over the 11 seed VCU Rams until the clock had hit zero.

But now that the dust is settled, Reese understands just how truly meaningful it was to bury the program’s tournament troubles.

“Maybe the most visible aspect of the university that happens outside of academics is our athletic program,” Reese said, “so for them to be on the big stage yesterday and have this opportunity to say, ‘No, we’re not the one and done (team) all the time,’ like how our recent history has shown, is a remarkable thing for all of Cougar Nation.”

Following a 2-4 start to Big 12 play this season, BYU flipped the script and caught fire to win 13 of its final 16 contests heading into the NCAA Tournament.

Similarly, after starting somewhat slow Thursday against the Rams, the Cougars rattled off a 30-10 run across a nine-minute stretch that proved to be the difference in their 80-71 triumph.

“This is an amazingly resilient team,” Reese said. “We’ve seen it happen so many times this year where they had to find different ways to win basketball games.

“It wasn’t all the same formula, so you sort of felt like if things weren’t going right, our coaching staff was going to be able to help these guys adapt to it, and and we saw that happen (against VCU).”

Amid the sea of royal blue-clad Cougar fans in Denver, Reese had a front row seat to Thursday’s action, with notable BYU figures such as Jimmer Fredette, Taysom Hill, Diljeet Taylor and Danny Ainge all nearby to support Young’s squad.

“I took a picture with my wife, my advancement vice president (Keith Vorkink) and Taysom Hill. We were all in it, and off in the distance was Danny Ainge, and I thought, ‘How amazing is it that you have an an NFL legend in our picture and we’re still being photobombed by an all-time NBA great in Danny Ainge?’” Reese said.

“But to have this support from Cougar Nation, from alumni of the athletic program and all throughout the world, it was incredible. As you looked back up the stands, it was an all-star lineup of people who are committed to Cougar athletics and to the university. It was just an amazing day.”

BYU President Shane Reese is photographed alongside his wife, Wendy, University Advancement Vice President Keith Vorkink and former Cougars football star Taysom Hill at Ball Arena in Denver on Thursday, March 20, 2025. BYU basketball great Danny Ainge can be seen over Hill's shoulder. | Nate Edwards

With a background in sports analytics and statistics, Reese has no shortage of what his students might call “ball knowledge.” In order to knock off 3 seed Wisconsin on Saturday and advance to the Sweet Sixteen, he feels that BYU’s fast break attack will be crucial.

“I’ve got to believe that for us, a big deal is going to be our transition game. If we can keep up that transition game and keep the pace high, I like our chances,” Reese said.

“There’s always going to be shots that go in and don’t go in, but if you can keep the pace up with our transition game, I like our chances.”

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