Andy Young arrived at the University of West Georgia in the fall of 2000. His impact over these past 24 seasons has been immense in a tenure that has included roles as player, administrator, and coach.
The 203-24 season marked the 17th campaign as a full-time member of the UWG coaching staff, including 10 years as the top aide to former head coach Michael Cooney. He also had a pair of years as a graduate assistant under former head coach Ed Murphy, and one season as an administrative graduate assistant within the UWG Athletic Department.
During his time on staff at UWG, he has been instrumental in recruiting many of the 17 All-Gulf South Conference players and 4 All-Americans who played at UWG while he was on staff, including the 2022 class that featured Camron Donatlan, Kolten Griffin, and Zawdie Jackson who helped catapult UWG to their third trip to the NCAA South Regional Semifinals in the past four years.
However, before all of his coaching efforts, Young first made his mark on the floor for West Georgia. As a junior in 2000-01 he was a top backcourt performer as UWG earned a bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament. Young was even better in his senior season as he helped West Georgia to the GSC title, the NCAA Division II South Region crown, and to the program’s first and only appearance in the Elite Eight.
Young earned plenty of honors during his playing career. He was named to the All-Gulf South Conference Team in both of his 2 seasons at UWG, and named to the All-South Region Team for his on-court prowess to cap off his senior campaign in 2002. In the classroom, Young was a two-time member of the GSC Academic Honor Roll, and was named in 2002 to the GSC All-Academic Team. The New Philadelphia, OH native was inducted into the UWG Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.
Prior to transferring to UWG, Young began his collegiate career in Laramie, WY as a point guard at the University of Wyoming. Young played 2 seasons under NBA-experienced head coaches for the Cowboys, in 1996-97 under Coach Joby Wright and 1997-98 under coach Larry Shyatt. He was a member of the 1997-98 National Invitational Tournament squad, which handed NCAA Runner-Up University of Utah 1 of their 4 losses in the season.
Injuries forced Young to forgo his junior and senior seasons in Laramie, and instead transfer to West Georgia where he finished out his playing career. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Sport Management from UWG in 2002. He then pursued his master’s degree while serving as a graduate assistant, both in basketball and administratively, before becoming a full time Assistant Coach in 2005. Young is married to the former Jill Zehr. The couple resides in Carrollton, and have three children: Max, Molly, and Maggie.
