BYU spent the summer trying to make its center room playable. Jaxon Kohler’s commitment gives the Cougars a chance to make it good.
Kohler, a 6-foot-10, 245-pound forward from American Fork, committed to BYU for a fifth college season Thursday. His agent, Adam Godes, confirmed the decision to ESPN. Deseret News also reported that Kohler shared the commitment publicly and chose BYU after considering Kentucky, Louisville and Kansas.
This is the late-August addition Kevin Young needed, but the useful part is more specific than “BYU found a big.” Kohler arrives with 69 starts, 312 rebounds last season and a 38.9% mark on 149 3-point attempts. Those are established high-major jobs, not a projection from a highlight reel.
The move also changes the question around Keba Keita’s possible return. BYU can still have room for Keita. It no longer needs Keita to rescue the position.
Kohler fixes two problems at once
Michigan State’s official record gives BYU the cleanest picture of what it added. Kohler started all 35 games in 2025-26 and averaged 12.5 points, 8.9 rebounds and 27.8 minutes. He shot 50% from the floor, made 58 of 149 3-pointers and earned honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition from the league’s coaches.
The rebounding is the first answer. Kohler ranked third in the Big Ten at 8.9 per game, with 2.89 offensive rebounds per game, and produced 12 double-doubles. BYU does not have to guess whether he can hold up on the glass for a full high-major season.
The shooting is the second answer, and it changes the geometry of Young’s offense. Kohler’s 149 attempts last season were enough volume to demand attention. A center who makes 38.9% of those shots can pull a rim protector away from the paint, leaving cleaner downhill space for Robert Wright III and more room for cutters.
That does not make every lineup automatic. Kohler still took most of his shots inside the arc, and one strong shooting season does not guarantee the same percentage at BYU. It does mean opposing centers cannot treat him like a non-shooter until he proves otherwise.
| 2025-26 receipt | Kohler’s Michigan State line | What BYU can reasonably expect |
|---|---|---|
| Starts | 35 in 35 games | A center accustomed to a full-season role |
| Rebounds | 8.9 per game, 312 total | Proven work on both backboards |
| 3-point shooting | 58 of 149, 38.9% | Real perimeter gravity, not a token attempt |
| Double-doubles | 12 | Repeatable scoring-and-rebounding production |
| NCAA tournament | 11.3 points, 7.7 rebounds per game | Experience that survived beyond the regular season |
Urbaniak becomes a complement, not the entire plan
When BYU added Jakub Urbaniak in July, it found an experienced, mobile big with professional and Polish national-team minutes. It did not find proof that one 6-foot-9 center should handle every Big 12 matchup.
Kohler removes that burden. Young can now use Urbaniak for movement, screening and quicker frontcourt combinations without asking him to be the only answer against larger teams. Kohler brings the stronger high-major rebounding record and the clearer shooting receipt. Urbaniak brings a different professional background and enough mobility to keep the position from becoming one-dimensional.
There is overlap. Both players can screen, move and threaten away from the rim. That is useful overlap because it lets BYU preserve its offensive shape when one sits. It also leaves room for Young to use them differently rather than declaring a permanent starter and backup in August.
Kohler’s history says he can carry the larger role. It does not say BYU has already assigned it.
The Keita decision is different now
Two days ago, Keita’s reported plan to enter the portal looked like the cleanest answer to BYU’s unfinished center search. Kohler’s commitment changes that calculation without closing the door.
Deseret News reports that BYU now has one roster spot remaining. If Keita chooses Provo and the eligibility and compliance pieces hold, the Cougars could build a three-big group with clear differences: Kohler’s shooting and rebounding, Keita’s rim protection and above-the-rim finishing, and Urbaniak’s mobility.
That would be a deep room. It would also require honest minute management. Kohler averaged 27.8 minutes last season. Keita averaged 21.8 across his two BYU seasons and started every game. Urbaniak did not come to Provo merely to fill a practice jersey. Three playable centers can protect against foul trouble and matchup swings, but they cannot all be promised the same job.
The last roster spot could serve another need instead. BYU may prefer another wing, a developmental player or flexibility for later in the season. The public commitment does not tell us how Young has ranked those choices, and it does not establish a Keita decision.
That is the biggest change from Thursday night: BYU can evaluate Keita as a luxury and a tactical option rather than recruiting him from panic. If he returns, the staff can explain a specific role. If he goes elsewhere, Kohler and Urbaniak still give BYU a credible center plan.
The homecoming part is useful, not magical
Kohler grew up in American Fork and played at American Fork High before finishing his prep career at Southern California Academy. Coming home should reduce some of the ordinary relocation friction. It does not erase the work of changing programs in late August.
He spent four years in Tom Izzo’s system. BYU’s terminology, spacing rules and defensive coverages will be new. The official Michigan State profile shows 127 career games and four seasons of development, but experience in one program does not provide instant fluency in another.
There is also an eligibility qualifier. ESPN reports that Kohler received a temporary restraining order in a California case after Class of 2022 players challenged the NCAA’s four-season limit. He had already gone undrafted and played NBA Summer League for the Utah Jazz under an Exhibit 10 contract. The court order opened this fifth-year path, while broader eligibility litigation and possible NCAA appeals remain active.
So the commitment is real, and the legal setting is still unfinished. Those facts can sit in the same sentence.
BYU’s own public roster had not added Kohler at publication time. We will treat an official roster entry, enrollment detail or school announcement as the next administrative confirmation rather than inventing a jersey number or reporting date.
What BYU bought in August
Kohler gives the Cougars something that rarely appears this late: a center whose recent production answers the exact questions on the roster.
He rebounded at a top-three Big Ten rate. He made enough 3-pointers to change how teams guarded him. He started every game for a Sweet 16 team and averaged 11.3 points and 7.7 rebounds in the NCAA tournament. None of that guarantees the same line in Provo, but it creates a much higher floor than BYU had Wednesday morning.
The center search is no longer about finding one playable body. It is about choosing how much depth to build behind a proven one.
That makes the final roster spot more interesting than it was before. Kohler solved the urgent problem. Now Young gets to decide whether Keita, another position or simple flexibility is the better last answer.
Sources and further reading
- ESPN, Aug. 20: Kohler commits to BYU after receiving a fifth-year court order for the agent confirmation, eligibility setting, 2026 production and Utah Jazz Summer League context.
- Deseret News, Aug. 20: BYU lands former Michigan State big Jaxon Kohler for the public commitment, schools considered, Utah prep background and one-remaining-spot report.
- Michigan State Athletics: Jaxon Kohler official player record for his listed size, starts, shooting totals, rebounding ranks, double-doubles, career games and NCAA tournament production.
- BYU Sport Nuts context: Keba Keita’s active college choice, Jakub Urbaniak’s center fit, men’s basketball hub, current roster and 2026-27 schedule map.
