Baylor WBB legend Sophia Young-Malcolm returning to Baylor as assistant coach

WACO, Texas – Two-time Baylor All-American and 2005 NCAA Champion Sophia Young-Malcolm is coming home to Baylor as a part of head coach Nicki Collen’s staff as Assistant AD for Player Development, Collen announced Friday.

Young-Malcolm played on Baylor’s first NCAA Championship team in 2005, was a two-time All-American and one of seven players in BU history to amass both 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career.

"Today is a big day for Baylor women’s basketball as we welcome an all-time great back to the program,” said Collen. “Sophia’s background as a student-athlete at Baylor as well as being a three-time WNBA All-Star, combined with her passion for empowering women, is a perfect fit for this leadership position on our staff.  Our players will be blown away by her desire to help them grow, and I am excited for Sophia, her husband, Jermaine and her two children, Skye and Sevyn to be a part of the Baylor Family."

As Assistant AD for Player Development, Young will serve the student-athletes in the women’s basketball program as the liaison between the Baylor Student-Athlete Center for Excellence (SACE). The SACE department serves student-athletes in two major areas: academic services and character formation. Young will also spearhead the program’s community service efforts and assist in recruiting.

“I am super excited to be coming back home,” Young said. “I am eager to teach, help and inspire our young female student-athletes on how to be Champions For Life.”

Young’s four-year playing career at Baylor spanned from 2002-06. Through the 2020-21 season, Young still ranks fourth all-time in scoring, fifth in field goal percentage, second in rebounds (first in NCAA era), and second in double-doubles.

At the time of her selection, Young was Baylor’s highest-ever draft pick in the WNBA when she was the fourth overall selection of the San Antonio Silver Stars in 2006. The Silver Stars got a solid return on their investment with Young playing 301 career games over nine seasons, including three WNBA All-Star selections. She tallied 4,300 career points and 1,807 rebounds in a career that spanned from 2006-2015 and resulted in a selection to the San Antonio Stars’ All-Decade Team. Young also played overseas in the Euroleague and Eurocup.

After leaving professional basketball, Young continued leading her AAU basketball program called Sophia Young Elite in San Antonio. Her programs produced student-athletes that went to Division I schools that included UTEP, Oklahoma State, Abilene Christian and Indiana, among others. She also coached for two seasons as head coach at the Cornerstone Christian School in San Antonio, collecting a winning record in each of the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. Since that time, she has served the San Antonio community as a realtor.

Young was born in Saint Vincent, West Indies, and she played her high school basketball in Shreveport, La. at Evangel Christian Academy. She was a 2016 inductee into the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame and a 2021 inductee into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

She received a Bachelor of Science in Education at Baylor in 2006, and Young has two master’s degrees, one in psychology from the University of Phoenix Online and one in Christian ministries from Liberty Theological Seminary and her husband Jermaine have two children, Skye and Sevyn.