BYU lands nephew of WNBA legend Catchings

Kanon Catchings, a projected first-round pick in 2025, told ESPN he has committed to BYU.

“My family and I met with Coach Young and the coaching staff last week and we immediately clicked,” Catchings told ESPN. “I knew right away this was the best fit for me.”

Catchings, who committed to Purdue following his sophomore year of high school, elected to reopen his recruitment earlier this month. He visited Florida State and North Carolina State as well as BYU before picking the Cougars.

He is the nephew of Naismith Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings, who was named WNBA MVP and a 10-time All-Star in a decorated career with the Indiana Fever that also included four Olympic gold medals.

Kanon’s mother, Tauja, played college basketball at Illinois and was a WNBA draft pick, while his grandfather, Harvey Catchings, spent 11 seasons in the NBA.

Catchings is the second projected one-and-done first-round pick incoming head coach Kevin Young has reeled in, along with Russian wing and Real Madrid player Egor Demin. Young left an associate head-coaching position with the Phoenix Suns to replace Mark Pope, who departed for Kentucky after John Calipari left for Arkansas.

Catchings, a 6-foot-10 forward, played his senior year of high school at Overtime Elite in Atlanta, averaging 15.3 points and 6.2 rebounds. He shot 37% from 3 for the Cold Hearts and was coached by current BYU assistant coach Tim Fanning, who also had a significant role in recruiting Demin in his first month on the job in Provo, Utah.

BYU returned three starters from a team that made the NCAA tournament in its debut season in the Big 12 in Trevin Knell, Dallin Hall and Fousseyni Traore. Key backups Richie Saunders and Dawson Baker, a former All-Big West player who missed nearly all of last season with a foot injury, are back as well.

The Cougars also landed two Power 5 starters from the transfer portal in Keba Keita from Utah and Mawot Mag from Rutgers.

“Coach Young emphasizes building relationships and I have complete trust in him,” Catchings said. “I’m excited to learn from him and improve as a player. We have a great group of guys on the roster and we all share the same goal. I can’t wait to get started.”

Jonathan Givony is an NBA draft expert and the founder and co-owner of DraftExpress.com, a private scouting and analytics service used by NBA, NCAA and international teams.