BYU Basketball 2026-27 Preview: Robert Wright III, Delaney Gibb and the Cougars' Big 12 Season

BYU enters 2026-27 with both basketball programs coming off postseason runs and both led by guards named to the Big 12's preseason all-conference teams. The men open on Monday, November 2, against Ohio State at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City at 7 p.m. MST on FS1. The women open on Tuesday, November 3, against Idaho State at the Marriott Center at 7 p.m. MST. This preview covers BYU men's basketball and BYU women's basketball, from BYU's official rosters, schedules and releases read on October 16.

Who coaches BYU basketball in 2026-27?

Kevin Young coaches the men, entering his third season. His BYU biography lists records of 26-10 in 2024-25 and 23-12 in 2025-26, a 49-22 career mark, and says he led BYU to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first two seasons and produced back-to-back NBA lottery picks, including AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Lee Cummard coaches the women. BYU introduced him as the eighth head coach in program history on March 31, 2025, and his first team went 26-12, which his biography calls the second-most wins in a season in program history.

Men: Robert Wright III and a homecoming class

BYU went 23-12 and 9-9 in the Big 12 last season. It beat Kansas State 105-91 and West Virginia 68-48 in the Big 12 tournament before losing to Houston, then lost 79-71 to Texas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Portland on March 19.

Junior guard Robert Wright III is the headline returner. He started all 35 games last season and averaged 18.1 points, 4.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 46.7 percent from the field, 41.0 percent from three and 82.1 percent from the line, per his BYU biography, which lists him as an All-Big 12 Third Team and NABC Second Team All-District pick in 2026 with a career-high 39 points against Colorado. On October 15 he was named a unanimous preseason All-Big 12 selection, and in September the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook named him a preseason first-team All-American and its Big 12 preseason player of the year, per BYU.

Junior forward Khadim Mboup of Dakar, Senegal, also returns after playing 34 games and pulling down 14 rebounds against Kansas State in the conference tournament. Draper's Brody Kozlowski is back after redshirting last season through injury, and fifth-year guard Dawson Baker is a two-time Academic All-Big 12 pick.

Two newcomers come home to Utah. Collin Chandler of Farmington made a team-high 73 three-pointers as a sophomore at Kentucky, per his BYU biography. Jaxon Kohler of American Fork arrives from Michigan State as an All-Big Ten honorable mention who averaged 12.5 points and a team-high 8.9 rebounds. Both played in BYU's 72-61 exhibition win over Nebraska on October 16 before 15,864 at the Marriott Center: Chandler scored 19, Wright had 17 points and seven assists, freshman Bruce Branch III scored 15 and Kohler had 10 points and 10 rebounds, per BYU's recap.

Women: Delaney Gibb and the best preseason pick since joining the Big 12

BYU's women went 26-12 last season. They beat Houston and Utah in the Big 12 tournament, then won four WBIT games, over Alabama A&M, Missouri, Stanford and Kansas, before losing the final to Columbia in Wichita on April 1, per BYU's schedule.

Junior guard Delaney Gibb of Raymond, Alberta, was an All-Big 12 First Team pick in 2026. BYU's October 8 release says she averaged 18.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.2 steals last season, was a unanimous preseason All-Big 12 selection, and that BYU was picked seventh in the Big 12, its highest preseason ranking since joining the league. Her career high is 37 points at Utah on February 21.

The supporting cast is young and proven. Sophomore guard Olivia Hamlin of Santa Clara, Utah, made the Big 12 All-Freshman Team and the All-Big 12 honorable mention list after scoring 490 points. Sophomore guard Sydney Benally started all 38 games and set BYU's freshman record with 148 assists. Junior Brinley Cannon also started all 38 games, and forward Bolanle Yussuf returns after 191 rebounds and 33 blocks as a freshman. Newcomers include Australian Prasayus Notoa and North Carolina transfer Liza Astakhova.

Preseason dates and the opening stretch

The men play one more exhibition, at UNLV on October 24 at 2 p.m. MDT on MW+. As of Oct. 16, the Ohio State opener is the eighth meeting between the programs and the first since a 72-65 BYU win in 1997, per BYU's ticket release; public sale opens October 19. BYU also plays Northwestern at the Delta Center on December 5, the Maui Invitational from November 23 to 25, and San Diego State at Acrisure Arena on December 19. As of Oct. 16, Utah visits the Marriott Center on January 16.

The women host Western Colorado in an exhibition on October 27. BYU's August 3 release listed 10 home games, two neutral-site games at the St. Pete Showcase and one road game at Oregon State; the schedule now also lists a trip to Utah Valley on November 24.

How to watch BYU basketball

The men's opener is on FS1, with BYU Radio and StatBroadcast live stats linked from the schedule. BYU's women's release says Oklahoma State on January 16 is on CBS Sports Network and the game at TCU on January 23 is on FS1, and that all other BYU home games stream on ESPN+. BYU's how-to-watch page and ticket office carry the details, and the Utah sports schedule lists every BYU game day.

Key facts:

• Men's opener: vs. Ohio State, Mon., Nov. 2, 7 p.m. MST, Delta Center, Salt Lake City, FS1
• Women's opener: vs. Idaho State, Tue., Nov. 3, 7 p.m. MST, Marriott Center, Provo
• Coaches: Kevin Young (men, 49-22 in two seasons); Lee Cummard (women, 26-12 in his first)
• Conference: Big 12
• 2025-26 records: men 23-12, NCAA Tournament first round; women 26-12, WBIT runner-up
• Men's player to know: Robert Wright III, 18.1 points a game, unanimous preseason All-Big 12
• Women's player to know: Delaney Gibb, 18.3 points a game, All-Big 12 First Team, unanimous preseason All-Big 12
• Preseason picks: men sixth, women seventh in the Big 12