Derrick Young Jr. is entering his first season as the Men’s Head Track and Field Coach for Northwestern Oklahoma State University after serving two seasons as the Women’s Assistant Coach.
Young Jr recruited and signed 43 male athletes in 3 months from 16 U.S. States and 4 Countries to build the Men’s roster from scratch after a 27-year hiatus from the university.
In two seasons with the women, Young Jr recruited 30 athletes, and coached true freshman Brianna Brantley to 2 Great American Conference Championships the first in running events in school history. In addition to Brantley, Young Jr. coached (1) 2nd place finisher and (3) 3rd place finishers in the GAC. His athletes achieved 12 First team All-Conference, 16 Second team All-Conference, and 10 Honorable Mention awards. The Lady Ranger sprinters finished ranked 23rd in 2023 USTFCCCA Division II event squad rankings in the 100-meter dash. Northwestern also had their first NCAA Division II Provisional Qualifier in school history in long jump. Young Jr. coached 51 Great American Conference Performances.
Young Jr. previously spent five seasons at Bemidji State University where he made an immediate impact in recruiting and coaching sprinters. Young Jr recruited 51 athletes over that four-year span and the sprinters ranked top 13 in America from 2018-2020 USTFCCCA event squad rankings. Young Jr coached Sprinter Venice Stewart to NSIC All Conference Status in 2018 the first Bemidji athlete to do so since 2012 and also NCAA Division II Indoor National championships the first athlete from Bemidji State since 2011. Young Jr coached (1) conference champion, (2) 2nd place finishers, and (3)3rd place finishers, 7 NCAA DII Provisional Qualifier athletes and oversaw 14 school records and 55 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Performances. BSU improved in team standings from 15th place to 7th from 2017 to 2019 and had their highest finish of 6th place in 2021 at the Northern Sun Conference Indoor Championships.
Young Jr was the Head Cross Country Track and Field Coach at Salem International University for the 2016 season. Young Jr increased the team roster from 3 athletes to 15 in five months. During his tenure, he completed sponsorship for the cross-country season after starting the program up. Three athletes achieved 3 personal records.
Prior to Salem International University, Young Jr. Coached at Notre Dame College of Ohio for two seasons where he was the recruiting coordinator sprints, hurdles, jumps, and in charge of fundraising and academics. Young Jr recruited 74 athletes in 8 months, increasing the roster from 26 athletes to 100 athletes. That recruiting class saw one of the most decorated athletes in school history, Toure McCully. McCully was a 2x Division II All-American (60-meter hurdles and 110-meter hurdles) and Mountain East Conference Athlete of the Year in 2016. Young Jr coached seven NCAA provisional mark athletes, 6 Mountain East Conference Champions, (9) 2nd place finishers, and (4) 3rd place finishers. Young Jr was responsible for 71 All Mountain East Conference Performances.
Young Jr began at Tiffin University as a graduate assistant for facilities, intramural sports, and recruiting for the track and field team. The men finished 5th at the 2014 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships and saw the school's first National Champion. That season saw 10 All-Americans and 20 conference champions.
Young Jr is USATF Level One certified in Sprints, Hurdles, and Jumps.
Young Jr graduated with a BBA in 2013 from Tiffin University. In 2014 he graduated with his MBA in Sports Management from Tiffin University.
