Introduction
Michael Kent Young (born May 1, 1963) is an American college basketball coach and currently the head men's basketball coach at Virginia Tech.He was hiredon April 7, 2019 after a 17-year stint where he went 299–244 (.545) as the head coach at Wofford College.
Born in Radford, Virginia, Young played collegiately at Emory and Henry College.After completing his career, which included serving as team captain during his junior and senior seasons, Young began his coaching career as an assistant coach at his alma mater.In 1988, he left Emory and Henry to serve one year as an assistant to Oliver Purnell at Radford University.
In 1989, Young began his tenure as an assistant coach at Wofford.He would go on to spend the next 13 years at the school, helping to guide the Terriers in their transition from Division II to Division I independent status, and finally to a spot in the Southern Conference, where the Terriers compete today.
In December 2001, Wofford announced that then-head coach Richard Johnson would be promoted to athletic director, leaving Young to take control of the team starting for the 2002–03 season.His first six years were fairly uneventful, with high points of a .500 conference record in his first season, and overall records of .500 during the 2004–05 and 2007–08 seasons.
However, 2008–09 saw new school records in the Division I era, marking the Terriers' first winning season as a Division I school and the first winning SoCon record in school history.In 2009–10, Young continued to build on this success, leading the Terriers to both the Southern Conference regular season and tournament championships, which earned Wofford its first bid to the NCAA tournament.In recognition of his achievements, Young was named the 2010 Southern Conference Coach of the Year [2], as well as the Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year [3].
On December 21, 2017, Young led Wofford to a stunning 79-75 win over #5 North Carolina, giving the program their first ever win over a top 25 team. The next season, they defeated Seton Hall 84-68 in the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament for the first NCAA Tournament win of Young's career. On November 5th, 2019, Young recorded his 300th win, and first win as Virginia Tech's men's basketball coach, by defeating Clemson 67-60.
On November 20, 2019, Young led Virginia Tech to a 100-64 win over Delaware State, giving the program a new school record and also set an ACC record with its 21 3-pointers made.On November 25, 2019, Young led Virginia Tech to a 71-66 victory over No. 3 ranked Michigan State in the Maui Invitational Tournament, Young's first victory over a ranked team as head coach of the Hokies.
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wofford Terriers (Southern Conference) | |||||||||
| 2002–03 | Wofford | 14–15 | 8–8 | T–3rd (South) | |||||
| 2003–04 | Wofford | 9–20 | 4–12 | 5th (South) | |||||
| 2004–05 | Wofford | 14–14 | 7–9 | 5th (South) | |||||
| 2005–06 | Wofford | 11–18 | 6–9 | 5th (South) | |||||
| 2006–07 | Wofford | 10–20 | 5–13 | 5th (South) | |||||
| 2007–08 | Wofford | 16–16 | 8–12 | 4th (South) | |||||
| 2008–09 | Wofford | 16–14 | 12–8 | 4th (South) | |||||
| 2009–10 | Wofford | 26–9 | 15–3 | 1st (South) | NCAA Round of 64 | ||||
| 2010–11 | Wofford | 21–13 | 14–4 | T–1st (South) | NCAA Round of 64 | ||||
| 2011–12 | Wofford | 19–14 | 12–6 | T–2nd (South) | CBI 1st Round | ||||
| 2012–13 | Wofford | 13–19 | 7–11 | T–3rd (South) | |||||
| 2013–14 | Wofford | 20–13 | 11–5 | T–3rd | NCAA Round of 64 | ||||
| 2014–15 | Wofford | 28–7 | 16–2 | 1st | NCAA Round of 64 | ||||
| 2015–16 | Wofford | 15–17 | 11–7 | T–3rd | |||||
| 2016–17 | Wofford | 16–17 | 10–8 | T–4th | |||||
| 2017–18 | Wofford | 21–13 | 11–7 | T–4th | CIT 2nd Round | ||||
| 2018–19 | Wofford | 30–5 | 18–0 | 1st | NCAA Round of 32 | ||||
| Wofford: | 299–244 (.551) | 173–124 (.582) | |||||||
| Virginia Tech Hokies (Atlantic Coast Conference) | |||||||||
| 2019–20 | Virginia Tech | 16–16 | 7–13 | T–9th | Postseason not held | ||||
| Virginia Tech: | 16–16 (.500) | 7–13 (.350) | |||||||
| Total: | 315–260 (.548) | ||||||||
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