Jay Young was named to Steve Pikiell's staff in June of 2005. Young arrived at Stony Brook after five years as the head coach at the University of New Haven.

Arriving at UNH in 2000, Young quickly turned around a program that produced just one winning season in the previous eight years into one of the most competitive programs in the region. Young guided the Chargers to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances (2002-03, 2003-04) for the first time since the 1986-87 and 1987-88 seasons, returning the University of New Haven program to regional prominence while playing in one of the strongest conferences in the nation.

In 2003-04, UNH posted its second straight 21-win season, going 21-9 overall and 17-7 in New York Collegiate Athletic Conference play. The Chargers posted four consecutive winning seasons, compiling a .607 winning percentage and a 47-25 mark in three seasons of conference play. In 2004-05, Young's squad closed his final season with a flourish, winning 11 of its final 13 games and becoming the first No. 8 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed in NYCAC tournament play. In five seasons at New Haven, Young posted a record of 78-66.

Prior to New Haven, Young served as an assistant at Northeastern University for four seasons dating back to 1996. His responsibilities included traditional game day and practice duties, along with recruiting responsibilities. That was his second stint with the Huskies as he served as a graduate assistant at NU under Karl Fogel from 1990-92. After finishing his graduate assistantship with the Huskies, Young accepted the position of head coach at Newbury College in Brookline, Mass. where he remained for four seasons before returning to Northeastern.

In his second season at Newbury, the Knights won the Southern New England Athletic Conference and finished second for the Region XXI Division III title. The following season he led Newbury to the conference and regional championship and the National Junior College Final Four. He was named the District VI Coach of the Year in 1995 and Region XXI Coach of the Year in 1994 and 1995.

Young graduated with a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Marist in 1986. He began his coaching career at Fitchburg State as an assistant in 1987-88. Following Fitchburg, Young joined the staff at Salem State College and worked two seasons (1988-90) as an assistant coach. The Vikings won consecutive MASCAC titles and made two appearances in the NCAA Division III tournament.