Amid the NCAA’s most prized possession, March Madness, the Oklahoma Sooners found a way to further the excitement beyond the tournament. Late March brought fans a final surprise as Oklahoma made official the hiring of Trae Young.
The former Oklahoma guard became an assistant general manager to the Sooners' men’s basketball program. This comes only a week after Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors joined his former alma mater, Davidson College, with the same title as Young.
This move is quite tactical by the Sooners’ squad, to hire someone who has a familiar background with Norman, Oklahoma. Young, an active player for the Atlanta Hawks, was a very profound individual in his time on the court. Sooners fans would have a good recognition for his past dominance that the program now seeks to reestablish.
"Trae is a son of Norman, Oklahoma, and he's given so much to our city and its people," OU Athletic Director Joe Castiglione said. "He has a strong affinity for this place and his commitment to ensuring our community is a thriving one is truly unmatched. He's also an OU legend who, in his time here and since, continues to achieve excellence both on and off the court. With this appointment, we're taking his commitment to Norman and to OU to the next level, dedicating our mutual support together to the success of our men's basketball program. His mind is made for this game, and we're incredibly fortunate he's in our corner wanting to put his talents and innovative thinking toward strengthening our program.”
In addition to Young’s wealth of basketball allure, the school will welcome a generous surplus of money. Trae Young pledged $1 million to support “championship efforts” of the program.
“I’m excited to announce that I took a role with OU Basketball, in being an assistant GM, as well as making a million dollar donation to help kickstart this thing,” Young stated on ESPN's NBA Today. “So, it’s exciting to be a part of this, being from Norman, and playing there obviously, it’s exciting times and I’m looking forward to it.”
With this move, Young became the second-ever active player to take an administrative role while playing in American professional sports. This inclusive role brings about a real trend in college sports. Aside from Steph Curry, Young was the focal point of one of America’s best programs not too long ago.
Young was a national sensation and became the first NCAA Divison I player to lead the nation in scoring (27.4 ppg) and assists (8.7 apg). Furthermore, he went on to National Freshman of the Year honors. His 2017-18 season was Young’s lone time in college before declaring for the 2018 NBA Draft, where he was selected 5th-overall by the Dallas Mavericks.
Ultimately, this is not a shocking move. It’s a move that will likely bring about a trend in college athletics. With the looming NIL and transfer portal era fully set in stone, even programs as good as Oklahoma are being forced to adapt. This change looks ahead to the future while remaining focused on the current state of the program.
“I think obviously today–the game has changed with NIL, and college basketball the way it's changed–I think it’s the perfect time for guys to be more involved with the schools who helped make them who they were,” Young said. “I know for someone like Steph and me, we represent our schools off the court, and in the locker room, and talk trash all the time. So now, to be able to represent even more, it’s going to be even more special.”
Oklahoma was one of 14 SEC teams to reach the NCAA Tournament in 2025, however, the team was bounced in round one after losing to No. 8 UConn, 67-59. Since that loss, a handful of Sooner players have entered the portal. Most notably, star freshman guard Jeremiah Fears is expected to declare for the upcoming NBA Draft.
Head coach Porter Moser went on record stating that Oklahoma would have to win recruiting battles if they wanted to win games in March. To a broader extent, Trae Young will help out with that. The hire may not look all too significant at this moment, although soon enough, time will tell when other programs start copying and pasting this idea.