University of Connecticut Athletics
Men's Basketball
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach
- Email:
- kimani.young@uconn.edu
Kimani Young joined Dan Hurley’s initial staff at UConn ahead of the 2018-19 season, spent two seasons as an assistant coach and has been the Associate Head Coach of the Huskies since 2020. He completed his seventh season at Connecticut in 2024-25.
Young was on staff for the 2023 and 2024 back-to-back champions and has helped guide the Huskies to five-straight NCAA Tournaments – tying a program record. Both title teams featured First Team All-Conference guards recruited and mentored by Young and boasted top-10 defensive units under his visage. The 2023-24 squad set a program-record with 37 wins and was the dual BIG EAST champions before concluding the most dominant two-year stretch in modern NCAA history.
Young has 14 years of collegiate coaching experience, spending a season at FIU and five years at Minnesota under Richard Pitino before joining the UConn staff. His BIG EAST roots go back even further, spending the 2008-09 season as the video coordinator at St. John’s. He began his coaching career as the athletic director at New Heights Youth in New York City – a non-profit sports-based youth development and education organization - from 2006-08 and 2009-12. Young also worked as the program director for the Aim High Foundation in Brooklyn, a coach for Big Apple Basketball, Inc., and as a rec assistant for Kaplan House, a facility for young men in foster homes. Young was the center director for two centers for the Police Athletic League of New York.
While at UConn Young has played a vital role in all aspects of the program, including recruiting, scouting and player development with an emphasis on the guard position. Under his tutelage the Huskies have produced All-Conference guards including James Bouknight, R.J. Cole, Tyrese Martin, Jordan Hawkins, Cam Spencer, Stephon Castle and First Team All-American, Final Four MOP and Bob Cousy Award winner Tristen Newton. During his seven years in Storrs the Huskies have produced nine NBA players, including four lottery picks.
As a spearhead of UConn’s recruitment, Young has helped the Huskies land four McDonald’s All Americans and reel in a total of five top-10 classes and the top class in the BIG EAST in each of the last three cycles. Out of high school he was the lead recruiter on lottery picks Bouknight, Castle and Hawkins. He led the charge on the recruitments of Final Four MOPs Adama Sanogo and Newton, and out of the portal he ran the recruitment of Newton and BIG EAST Sixth Man of the Year winners Hassan Diarra and Tarris Reed Jr.
The Huskies have compiled an overall record of 165-69 (.705) with Young on the staff and reached every NCAA Tournament since 2021. With Young in the AHC role, the Huskies record sits at 130-40 (.765). He famously took over after a Hurley ejection in a high-profile showdown with No. 8 Villanova in 2022 and led the Huskies to their first top-10 win since 2014.
During his six years at Minnesota and FIU with Richard Pitino, Young helped the Gophers and Panthers to four winning seasons, including a bid in the 2017 NCAA Tournament the 2014 NIT title. He assisted in the progression of a pair of First Team All-Conference picks and two B1G All-Freshman picks while developing a reputation as one of the nation’s top recruiters, particularly in the New York/New Jersey hotbed of talent.
Young starred at Forest Hills High School in his native Queens, N.Y. and was a McDonald’s All-America nominee in 1992. He went on to spend a season at LIU before transferring to UTEP under legendary Hall of Fame coach Don Haskins. While in El Paso he became the program’s 22nd 1,000-point scorer and graudated in 1998 with a degree in criminal justice.
Off the court he was one of the founders of Coaches for Action, a collection of BIG EAST assistant coaches across the conference with a shared mission to use the platform of athletics to educate and bring awareness to social injustices. He has been an active member in Soldiers to Sidelines, mentor and connecting veterans into the coaching ranks.
Young is the father of four children; Kamaal, Khaliq, Salimah and Khari. Khaliq is currently a junior at UConn and team manager for the Huskies.
THE KIMANI YOUNG COACHING FILE
2006-08 – New Heights Youth - Athletics Director
2008-09 – St. John’s - Video Coordinator
2009-12 – New Heights Youth - Athletics Director
2013-18 – Minnesota – Assistant Coach
2018-20 – UConn – Assistant Coach
2020-pres. – UConn – Associate Head Coach
