LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky men’s basketball team has added the first piece to Mark Pope’s coaching staff with the hiring of Cody Fueger (pronounced FEE-gurr) as assistant coach it was announced on Monday.
“Cody Fueger and I have been together for 11 years now,” Pope said. “I’ll never forget taking the job together at Utah Valley and trying to imagine how we were going to build a program that had just recently moved into Division I. If you had told us we were going to get to walk into the Joe Craft Center and coach at Rupp Arena, neither of us would have ever believed it.
“Cody is one of the most innovative offensive minds in all of college basketball. He has a grounded, wild creativity that is pushing the envelope in how this game is growing. He has been the most loyal friend who has delivered in massive ways for our team. Cody builds incredible relationships with our players and nothing makes me happier than having him, Danielle and their family join the Big Blue Nation.”
Fueger has been a nine-year member of Pope’s staffs, first serving as an assistant coach at Utah Valley and then transitioning to BYU. The connection began when they were on the BYU staff together when Pope was an assistant coach and Fueger served as the director of basketball operations.
“I am extremely excited to be joining the storied Kentucky men’s basketball program,” Fueger said. “I want to thank Mitch Barnhart, Mark Pope and the entire UK staff for this opportunity. I also want to thank my family for their continued love and support.
I look forward to continuing to work with Coach Pope as we chase banners and carry on the tradition at this premier program. Helping players grow on and off the court has always been a passion of mine, and I’m honored to get to continue that passion with the greatest fan base in the country.”
Fueger began his career as a student assistant coach and video coordinator at Utah under Rick Majerus. Following graduation, Fueger served as the director of basketball operations at Louisiana Tech (2007-11), UC Riverside (2011-12), Utah State (2012-13) and BYU (2013-15) before being elevated to assistant coach under Pope at Utah Valley in 2015.
Named one of the most impactful mid-major assistant coaches in Division I men’s basketball by Silver Waves Media in 2022 and 2023, Fueger has been instrumental for Pope’s squads. BYU ranked 14th in offensive efficiency in 2023-24, while ranking third in the nation in made 3s and assists per game. The Cougars led the Big 12 in scoring at 81.4 per game in their first season in the conference. Picked to finish last in the preseason selections, BYU capped the regular season in fifth with wins over No. 7 Kansas, No. 11 Baylor and No. 24 Iowa State.
Under Fueger’s tutelage, Jaxson Robinson was named the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year after pacing BYU in scoring off the bench at 14.2 points per game.
In all, Fueger and the Cougars went 110-52 during five seasons, with three postseason appearances, including two trips to the NCAA Tournament. Three of those five teams concluded the season ranked inside the top 20 of the Ken Pomeroy efficiency rankings.
At Utah Valley, the Wolverines increased their win total during every season with Fueger on the staff. They finished 25-10 overall and were runners-up in the Western Athletic Conference in 2018-19 with the 25 wins marking a program record. Furthermore, Utah Valley enjoyed a 30-2 mark at home and made three straight postseason appearances from 2017-19. Wyatt Lowell was tabbed the WAC Freshman of the Year in 2019, while Jake Toolson earned WAC Player of the Year.
As director of operations at BYU, the Cougars made consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament and had seasons with 23 wins in 2013-14 and 25 in 2014-15.
Fueger and his wife, Danielle, have three children, Isabella, Andrew and Ana. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s in parks, recreation and tourism-sports management from Utah.
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