Kevin Young and the BYU Cougars might just have themselves a local.
Experts Joe Tipton and Pete Nakos at On3 are predicting that former Kentucky guard Collin Chandler is headed to BYU with two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Chandler, a native of Farmington, Utah, and a graduate of Farmington High School, entered the transfer portal with a “Do Not Contact” tag on Wednesday, and as of Thursday, it looks like Chandler’s headed for home.
Chandler played in all 36 games, including 31 starts, as a sophomore this season. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound guard averaged 9.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists while leading Kentucky with 73 made 3-point field goals; He’d finish second in total steals (44), a metric he’d own 14 different times.
Mark Pope and the Wildcats recruited Chandler out of his home state of Utah, even though he was already committed to BYU as of November 2021. Chandler, a four-star recruit out of high school, flipped to Kentucky after serving a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in West Africa and London.
Ironically, Pope, who coached at BYU from 2019 to 2024 before leaving for the Kentucky opening, is potentially losing his former recruit to his former school.
The portal’s already bit BYU this offseason with declarations to transfer coming from Rob Wright III, Kennard Davis, KJ Perry, Xavion Staton, Tyler Mrus and Dominique Diomande.
The future of star freshman AJ Dybantsa, who moved into the No. 1 slot on ESPN’s 2026 NBA Draft Big Board, remains a mystery, but it’s clear Young is already on the recruiting trail and is ready to build around him yet again.
