BYU coach Mark Pope announced Thursday the hiring of a new assistant coach — Kahil Fennell, who spent the past four years at the University of Louisville.
Fennell replaces Chris Burgess, who took a job as Craig Smith’s assistant at Utah last month.
“With our last year in the WCC and our subsequent move into the Big 12, it’s an incredible time for BYU basketball. We have had a historic three-year run and we are determined to get better,” Pope said in a statement. “Kahil Fennell makes us so much better. He is an excellent communicator, elite-level recruiter and has an insatiable work ethic. Cougar Nation is going to fall in love with Kahil, his wife Sarah, and their two boys, Ezra and Koa. Let’s go!”
An Oakland, California, native, Fennell served as the director of basketball operations at Louisville — an Atlantic Coast Conference program — for three seasons before becoming an assistant coach in 2021-22.
“I am incredibly excited and grateful for the opportunity to join a program such as BYU,” Fennell said in a statement. “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 was on Chris Mack’s staff at Louisville. Mack was fired last January.
During Fennell’s time at Louisville, the program posted a 70-47 record, including a berth in the NCAA Tournament in 2019.
Before Louisville, Fennell was an assistant coach at Portland State under Barret Peery, now an assistant coach at Texas Tech. Fennell also coached at UT Permian Basin in 2016-17, starting as an assistant coach before becoming the head coach there. The Falcons claimed the Lone Star Conference regular-season and tournament championships while ranking No. 1 in NCAA Division II men’s basketball in rebounding and No. 12 in scoring.
As a player, Fennell starred at Thousand Oaks High, then he spent one season at Penn State New Kensington before playing for three years at the University of the Redlands.