BYU Basketball Coach Mark Pope Listed as Candidate for USC Job

BYU basketball head coach Mark Pope is receiving interest from other jobs across college basketball. Pope, who is coming off a season in which BYU exceeded expectations in their first Big 12 season, was mentioned as a candidate for the Louisville and Washington jobs before those were filled. In the last week, he's been mentioned as a candidate for the USC job.

In a report from CBS Sports' Matt Norlander, pope is mentioned as a candidate alongside Arkansas' Eric Musselman, Texas A&M's Buzz Williams, TCU's Jamie Dixon, Kansas State's Jerome Tang, and Colorado State's Niko Medved.

This isn't the first offseason that Pope has been linked to other jobs. The most recent season, however, was BYU's best season since 2021, making Pope a much more attractive candidate to big-name programs like USC. "Interest" can mean a variety of things, it's unclear which coaches USC is prioritizing most in their search.

Losing Pope at this point in time would be a major blow to a BYU basketball program who has a brighter future ahead. BYU has played with a relatively young team over the last two years, so most of the roster is expected to be back next year. If BYU is able to plug a few holes via the transfer portal, BYU would have a roster capable of making a run in the tournament, especially is Jaxson Robinson returns to BYU.

Now that BYU is in the Big 12, it makes the BYU job both more difficult and more attractive. It makes the regular season much, much more challenging, but it also gives BYU a lot of opportunities to pick up Q1 and Q2 wins to qualify for the tournament. Time will tell whether Pope views himself as a long-term fit at BYU.