Four-star small forward Kanon Catchings, the No. 38 recruit in the 2024 class per 247 Sports and a projected 2025 NBA lottery pick, committed to BYU on Tuesday.
Catchings, who committed to Purdue after his sophomore year but was released from his letter of intent on June 6, also visited NC State and Florida State before a recent trip to Provo, Utah, led him to join the Cougars.
“My family and I met with (BYU) coach (Kevin) 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.”
Young took over the reins after Mark Pope left for Kentucky in April.
Catchings has strong basketball bloodlines as the nephew of Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings, the 2011 WNBA MVP, a 10-time All-Star and four-time Olympic gold medalist. His mother, Tauja, played at Illinois and was drafted by the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury in 2000, while his grandfather, Harvey, had an 11-season NBA career.
A 6-foot-8, 185-pound small forward, Catchings averaged 15.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game last season with Overtime Elite in Atlanta. Current BYU assistant Tim Fanning coached him at Overtime Elite and helped recruit him for the Cougars.
BYU will return three starters — Trevin Knell, Dallin Hall and Fousseyni Traore — from an NCAA Tournament team in its first Big 12 season. Along with backups Dawson Baker and Richie Saunders returning to the fold, the Cougars reeled in a pair of Power 5 transfers in Rutgers’ Mawot Mag and Utah’s Keba Keita from the portal.
Catchings is also joining international star Egor Demin, a projected 2025 first-round pick who committed to BYU last month.
–Field Level Media
