Photo Credits: Destini Nguyen
Pictured: Logan Young, #12
Moving to a new school in second grade is not that bad. Seven-year-olds are not exactly concerned with first impressions.
When making friends is as easy as asking, “Want to be my friend?”
Imagine your new friend at this school says she plays basketball and asks you to join. Her mom and your dad coach the Upward Basketball team, and you end up falling in love with the sport. Fast forward 11 years and you’ve started every game this season on your college team.
This is only a small sliver of Logan Young’s story.
The 2025-26 ATU Golden Suns basketball team is 13-3 (conference 9-3). On the team, one player was just named GAC Offensive Player of the Week on Jan. 19, and she is just getting her college career started.
Young is a freshman health and exercise science major from Dover, Arkansas, who plays forward. She is the team leader in points (averaging 16.9 per game), blocked shots (averaging 1.0 per game), field goal percentage (.561), and free throw percentage (.848). But she is not planning on getting complacent in her success any time soon.
“One of the things I love most about basketball is that there is always room for improvement,” said Young. “Basketball has allowed me to set goals, which always push me to strive to be better and never settle.”
Young’s former coach at Dover, Mike Heath, says Young was an absolute pleasure to know as a person and as a basketball player. He first started working with her in fifth and sixth grade.
“I had heard good things about her as a basketball player but did not believe the hype until I got to know her better and see her grow and develop on and off the floor,” said Heath. “What’s funny is that even in seventh grade, she did a lot of dominant things on the basketball floor, but I really didn’t believe at that time she would turn out as great as she did. I just felt like she was just more athletic and gifted than a lot of the other kids and that they would grow and catch up to her.
“And really up to that point in my long tenure at Dover, we had a lot of really good players but none that had the desire and dedication like I had to be a college and maybe potentially a pro player but man, oh man, did she prove me wrong.”
Heath said she was a player that made everyone else around her better. The type that was so good that even when there were mistakes on the floor, she would save the team from those mistakes or even correct them.
“For example, a kid might turn the ball over, bringing the ball the other way for a sure layup but then Logan would steal it back and go score while I was turned around frustrated,” laughed Heath. “Now don’t get me wrong, she was human and made mistakes. I’m just trying to point out some things that made her stand out even more. She was just that type of player.”
Young’s last year in high school saw her team going into the finals against Lamar at 34-0. While they did not win, they finished with an astounding win-loss record.
“I’ve told coaches that my last year at Dover was like an absolute dream. Like, I was coaching the dream team,” said Heath. “I would converse with other coaches and ask them, ‘Do you ever wonder what it would be like to coach Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, And Michael Jordan or that Olympic Dream Team?’ And then I told them, ‘Well, that is what it’s like coaching this Dover girls’ team.’”
There have been some changes for Young going from high school basketball to college basketball.
“You practice for more hours, play with girls who are just as skilled as you are, and must balance school and basketball, which was challenging at first, but I have found my way here,” said Young. “Playing at ATU has taught me the importance of keeping your confidence up. There are times when I mess up or I’m feeling down, but I can’t allow that to get in my head because everything will start going downhill. I forget about the mess up and look forward to the next play.”
But not all the changes were as serious as time management. WNBA player Diana Taurasi said a pre-game nap is “huge.” NBA player Kyrie Irving burns sage before games to cleanse the energy. Young’s routine? She eats a chicken bacon ranch sandwich.
“I didn’t have any pre-game rituals or traditions of my own before coming to ATU, but I quickly learned that a game-day Subway trip is always on the schedule,” said Young. “Sometimes it’s Subway at 9 a.m., but I still enjoy it.”
So, if you stumble into a Russellville Subway at 9 in the morning and hear a player listening to “My Way” by Fetty Wap, you may be looking at the future of the Golden Suns team. Grab some sunglasses because it is bright.
For more information on Logan Young or the Golden Suns basketball team, visit arkansastechsports.com.
