Chris Burgess was hired as an assistant coach in April 2019. Burgess came to BYU from Utah Valley where he was an assistant to Mark Pope. He played at the highest levels of college basketball and enjoyed a lengthy professional career overseas. Burgess has also worked previously at Indian Hills Community College, Salt Lake Community College and Utah.

In 2020-21, BYU went 20-7 making a return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015 as a No. 6 seed. Under Burgess guidance, BYU was one of the top rebounding teams in the country ranking fifth in defensive rebounds per game, 22nd in rebound margin and 25th in rebounds per game. 

Matt Haarms became the first Cougar in program history to be named the WCC Defensive Player of the Year after leading the conference in blocks. The center from Amsterdam, Netherlands ranked 29th nationally in blocks and 32nd in blocks per game.

In his first season at BYU, Burgess helped the Cougars finish 24-8 overall and second in the West Coast Conference at 13-3. BYU was ranked as high as No. 15 – its first season ranked in the top 25 since 2010-11 – and finished the season No. 18/16. Nationally, BYU boasted one of the most efficient offenses in the nation, finishing 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.

Hired as part of Pope’s initial staff at Utah Valley in 2015, Burgess helped the Wolverines improve from 12 wins in 2015-16 to a program-record 25 victories in 2018-19. During his tenure, UVU made three-straight postseason appearances (2017, 2018, 2019) and registered back-to-back 20-win seasons (2017-18, 2018-19) – both program records.

The Wolverines also set several offensive records from 2015-19. UVU rewrote the top four spots in scoring average in the school record book, including a record 78.1 points per game in 2017-18. The Wolverines also claimed four of the top five spots for 3-point field goals made while setting the record with 300 in 2016-17.

Under Burgess’ tutelage, a pair of Wolverine big men earned All-WAC honors the last two seasons as Akolda Manyang was named to the WAC All-Defensive Team in 2017-18 and Wyatt Lowell was named the 2018-19 WAC Freshman of the Year. In addition to the conference honors, UVU big men were ranked among the most efficient offensive players in the country per Synergy Sports.

Burgess began his coaching career as a student assistant at Utah in 2013-14 while finishing his degree. He then worked as a volunteer assistant at Salt Lake Community College during the summer of 2014 before being hired as an assistant coach at Indian Hills Community College for the 2014-15 season.

As a prep athlete, Burgess was the No. 1 recruit in the country and a McDonald’s High School All-American at Woodbridge High School in Irvine, California. He went on to play two seasons for Mike Krzyzewski at Duke where he helped the Blue Devils earn No. 1 rankings each year and reach the Elite Eight in 1998 and the NCAA National Championship game in 1999. Burgess concluded his collegiate career playing for Rick Majerus at Utah, helping the Utes reach the NIT in 2001 and the NCAA tournament in 2002.

After college, Burgess enjoyed an 11-year professional career that saw him travel the world, making stops in Turkey, Australia, the Philippines, South Korea, Egypt, Ukraine, Puerto Rico, Poland and the United Arab Emirates. He also played with several franchises in the NBA Summer League.

Burgess and his wife Lesa, a former Utah soccer player, have five children, Kelli Jo, Zoey, Ava, Beckham and Zachary. He completed his bachelor of science in speech communication from Utah in 2014.

Pope on Burgess
“Chris was one of the most highly touted recruits out of high school, played in a national championship game at Duke and was coached by one of the most fundamentally sound coaches at Utah in Rick Majerus. He pulls from his own personal experiences as a collegiate athlete and extensive experience as a professional career to not only teach these young men the fundamentals of the game but to also help them grow as a players and people.”