Next season, Kahil Fennell, the assistant coach for BYU basketball, will take over as head coach.
Fennell will lead the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley as its new head coach. The Western Athletic Conference’s Vaqueros will compete against teams like Utah Valley and Utah Tech.
Fennell spent two seasons as a staff member at BYU.
At UTRGV, Kahil Fennell will serve as the head coach.
In the previous season, Fennell was appointed as BYU’s defensive coordinator in the team’s inaugural Big 12 Conference campaign. Last season, BYU ranked No. 60 in adjusted efficiency metrics related to defense.
But under Fennell’s direction, BYU’s defense was among the top 25 until the middle of February.
In their first Big 12 season, BYU surprised many by making it to the NCAA Tournament. BYU made its first Big Dance bid since 2021 with this bid.
Guy Bailey, the president of UTRGV, stated of Fennell’s hire, “I think his unique approach will lead to tremendous success for our basketball program.” Fennell is among the most inventive and imaginative coaches he has ever interviewed.
Furthermore, Kahil has a remarkable capacity to communicate, which is essential for his coaching responsibilities as well as for interacting with our community and uniting the Valley behind our sports program. I’m confident that Kahil’s leadership will help us succeed both on and off the basketball floor.
Coach Mark Pope of BYU basketball congratulates Fennell.
Head coach of BYU Mark Pope, who hired Fennell from a prior position as an assistant at Louisville, is in Phoenix this weekend for the Final Four. Pope released a statement regarding Fennell’s hiring at UTRGV.
Pope expressed her excitement for Kahil and his new role as head coach of UTRGV. “The success our program has had over the last two seasons is all his fault.
Our incredibly successful voyage into the Big 12, where we placed fifth in the nation’s hardest men’s basketball conference and made it back to the NCAA Tournament, was made possible in large part by Kahil, Sarah, Ezra, and Koa. He has a fantastic opportunity here, and I wish him more success in the future.