BYU hires Kahil Fennell as new men’s basketball assistant coach

BYU men’s basketball has hired former Louisville assistant Kahil Fennell to its coaching staff, the school announced Thursday.

Fennell will replace Chris Burgess on Mark Pope’s staff, with Burgess having left to take an assistant position at Utah in April.

“I am incredibly excited and grateful for the opportunity to join a program such as BYU,” Fennell said. “My family and I have felt tremendous support from Coach Pope, Brian Santiago and the administration in welcoming us into the BYU community, and we look forward to joining the university family. I’m thrilled to be a part of such a high-level staff and am excited to compete for championships in the future.”

Fennell spent the past season as an assistant at Louisville after serving as director of basketball operations for the Cardinals for three seasons. Louisville went 70-47 during Fennell’s tenure, earning an NCAA tournament berth in 2019. Fennell has also spent time at Portland State and Division-II UT Permian Basin in his coaching career.

News of Fennell’s expected hiring broke more than two weeks ago, but both Fennell and the program waited for a formal campus visit and interview to both be conducted last week before announcing anything official.

Pope referred to Fennell as an “excellent communicator” and “elite level recruiter” with an “insatiable work ethic,” trusting in Fennell’s ACC and general basketball background to assist in preparing the Cougars for life in the Big 12 and beyond.

“With our last year in the WCC and our subsequent move into the Big 12, it’s an incredible time for BYU basketball,” Pope said. “We have had a historic three-year run and we are determined to get better. Kahil Fennell makes us so much better.”