Amber Whiting hired as new BYU women’s basketball coach

BYU has hired Amber Whiting as its new women’s basketball head coach, the school announced Wednesday.

“I am thrilled to have Amber Whiting leading our BYU women’s basketball team,” BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe said. “Through our hiring process we discovered a coach with a well thought out, specific plan for the future of this team. Amber has had a unique and widespread experience in basketball, has a great feel for the women’s game and the direction it is heading at BYU, in the Big 12 and nationally.”

Whiting replaces Jeff Judkins on the BYU sideline, with Judkins having announced his retirement in April after 21 seasons and more than 450 wins in Provo. Whiting comes to BYU from Burley High School in Idaho, where she was named the 4A Idaho Statesman Coach of the Year and led the Bobcats to the 2022 state championship and back-to-back region titles.

“I am super excited about the opportunity to be the head coach at BYU,” Whiting said. “I’ve been in basketball my whole life playing, coaching and developing players, and I am looking forward to doing it again at this level.”

Whiting posted a 70-37 record in four seasons at Burley, including a 25-1 mark in this past season’s championship run. The Ogden native has also directed the Utah Hard Knox AAU program, which consistently produces Division I men and women’s basketball talent.

In her playing career, Whiting earned All-American honorable mention honors in 1999 at Snow College before transferring to play a season at Weber State and then finish at BYU. Whiting and her husband Trent — a former BYU hoops all-conference selection — have two children: Boise State signee Jace and rising senior Amari, who is committed to play at the University of Oregon.

Whiting, the seventh head coach in school history, inherits a BYU program which finished 26-4 this past season with an NCAA tournament berth and WCC regular season conference title. Whiting will be tasked with handling BYU’s strong returning core — headlined by veteran All-Americans Shaylee Gonzales and Lauren Gustin — and preparing the Cougars for the Big 12 and beyond.

“Coach Judkins established a great tradition of winning and a strong culture with some incredible players,” Whiting said. “I can’t wait to get on board and continue that legacy and surround myself with a great staff. I am ready to get to work.”