Young began his junior year (2005–06) as BYU's starting power forward. He started the season slowly, but picked up his game as the season wore on. He scored in double figures in 15 of BYU's last 23 games, including his first 20-point game as a Cougar (against San Diego State). BYU improved dramatically as a team, finishing with a 20-9 record and a birth in the National Invitation Tournament. Young was a major reason for the team's improvement. He finished the season with averages of 10.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, and his field goal percentage (52.3 percent) ranked fifth in the Mountain West Conference (MWC). For his efforts, he was named Third Team All-MWC and First Team All-Utah by a local newspaper (the Deseret Morning News).