Mark Pope

On April 10, 2019, Pope was hired to replace Dave Rose as BYU's 19th men's basketball head coach after Rose retired.[5]

In his first season, Pope led the Cougars to a 24-8 record, the most wins for a first-year coach in program history. He became just the second first-year BYU coach to lead his team into the top 25 and the first to end his debut season ranked. The Cougars entered the top 25 as No. 23 in the AP Poll on Feb. 17 and jumped to as high as No. 14.

In league play, Pope guided the Cougars to a record of 13-3, second in the West Coast Conference (WCC). The 13 wins – which included a 91-78 victory over No. 2 Gonzaga in the Marriott Center – are tied for the most by BYU since joining the WCC in 2011. Gonzaga was the highest-ranked team BYU has defeated in the history of the Marriott Center. The Cougars finished the regular season on a nine-game win streak, the team's longest win streak in WCC play.

BYU boasted one of the most efficient offenses in the nation in 2019-20, evidenced by top 5 national rankings in several statistical categories. The Cougars finished the season ranked No. 1 in 3-point field goal percentage, No. 2 in assist/turnover ratio, No. 3 in field goal percentage, No. 4 in 3-point field goals per game and No. 5 in assists per game. In addition to the national rankings, BYU set program records for 3-point field goals in a single-game, 3-point field goals in a single season and 3-point field goals per game for a season.

In addition to the team success, three players earned All-WCC First Team honors in Yoeli Childs, T.J. Haws, and Jake Toolson. Childs also earned first-team All-District honors from the USBWA and NABC and was a Senior CLASS Award second-team All-American. Haws earned a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team and Toolson was named the WCC Newcomer of the Year.

The team was projected to be a lock for an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament, which would have been their first berth since 2015. However, the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the tournament and prematurely ended the successful season. BYU ended the season at No. 18 in the AP Poll and No. 16 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

Pope gained a reputation for landing transfers in the offseason, including beating out alma mater Kentucky and Texas Tech to get top transfer Matt Haarms from Purdue. He also added Nigerian native Gideon George and UVU guard Brandon Averette, who was a former player of Pope while he was coaching the Wolverines.

Pope's early success with the Cougars continued in 2020-21, although the team was distinctly different in their styles than the previous season. The 2019-20 team mainly relied on their upperclassmen and three-point shooting. While the 2020-21 team is led by their three seniors Barcello, Averette, and Haarms, the team relies more on physical play due to much more size and has a lot more players off the bench to contribute, adding much depth. The team finished 10-3 in WCC play, highlighted by a big win at No. 18 San Diego State and a sweep of Saint Mary's.

The team reached the finals of the West Coast Conference Tournament, losing to Gonzaga 88-78. The team received an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years. They lost their first game to UCLA 73-62.

On January 20, 2022, BYU defeated San Diego 79-71, which marked Pope's 60th career win at BYU and made him the fastest BYU head coach ever to reach that benchmark. The win also gave the Cougars a 16-4 record for the season, which was Pope's best start through 20 games as head coach.[6]

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