Mike Young (basketball)

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 hired on April 7, 2019, after a 17-year stint where he went 299–244 (.545) as the head coach at Wofford College.[1]

Mike Young
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamVirginia Tech
ConferenceACC
Record92–66 (.582)
Biographical details
Born (1963-05-01) May 1, 1963 (age 60)
Radford, Virginia, U.S.
Playing career
1982–1986Emory & Henry
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1986–1988Emory & Henry (assistant)
1988–1989Radford (assistant)
1989–2002Wofford (assistant)
2002–2019Wofford
2019–presentVirginia Tech
Head coaching record
Overall391–310 (.558)
Tournaments1–7 (NCAA Division I)
1–2 (NIT)
0–1 (CBI)
0–1 (CIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Awards

Career edit

Born in Radford, Virginia, Young played collegiately at Emory & 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 & 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 30 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 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 [1], as well as the Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year [2].

On December 21, 2017, Young led Wofford to a stunning 79-75 win over #5 North Carolina, giving the program its first ever win over a top 25 team.[2] The next season, it 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 5, 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.[3] On November 25, 2019, Young led Virginia Tech to a 71-66 victory over No. 3 Michigan State in the Maui Invitational, Young's first victory over a ranked team as head coach of the Hokies. At the close of the 2020–21 regular season, Young was named the ACC Coach of the Year.[4]

On March 12, 2022, Young led the Hokies to the ACC Tournament title for the first time in school history.[5] The tournament final was played against Mike Krzyzewski's Duke Blue Devils in Coach K's final ACC tournament game. Tech, the seven seed, won 82-67 and only reached the final after beating Clemson, Notre Dame, and North Carolina in consecutive nights. The Hokies were the first seven seed to win the tournament in its long history.

Head coaching record edit

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Wofford Terriers (Southern Conference) (2002–2019)
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 Division I Round of 64
2010–11 Wofford 21–13 14–4 T–1st (South) NCAA Division I Round of 64
2011–12 Wofford 19–14 12–6 T–2nd (South) CBI First Round
2012–13 Wofford 13–19 7–11 T–3rd (South)
2013–14 Wofford 20–13 11–5 T–3rd NCAA Division I Round of 64
2014–15 Wofford 28–7 16–2 1st NCAA Division I 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 Second Round
2018–19 Wofford 30–5 18–0 1st NCAA Division I Round of 32
Wofford: 299–244 (.551) 173–124 (.582)
Virginia Tech Hokies (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2019–present)
2019–20 Virginia Tech 16–16 7–13 T–9th Postseason not held
2020–21 Virginia Tech 15–7 9–4 3rd NCAA Division I Round of 64
2021–22 Virginia Tech 23–13 11–9 7th NCAA Division I Round of 64
2022–23 Virginia Tech 19–15 8–12 11th NIT First Round
2023–24 Virginia Tech 19–15 10–10 T–8th NIT Second Round
Virginia Tech: 92–66 (.582) 45–48 (.484)
Total: 391–310 (.558)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References edit

  1. ^ "Tournament-tested coaching veteran Mike Young named Tech's men's basketball coach". Virginia Tech Athletics. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  2. ^ Wofford vs. North Carolina - Game Recap - December 20, 2017 - ESPN
  3. ^ "Hokies set school record in victory over Delaware State".
  4. ^ "ACC Announces Men's Basketball Awards". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. March 8, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  5. ^ "Virginia Tech vs. Duke - Game Summary - March 12, 2022 - ESPN". ESPN.com.

External links edit