NCAAM News

Home

Teams

Quizzes

Newsletter

Oct 7, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; Atlanta Hawks player Trae Young looks on during a game between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl. This game makes up the 119th rivalry match up. Mandatory Credit: Ricardo B. Brazziell-Imagn Images Ricardo B. Brazziell-Imagn Images

College GameDay Announces Trae Young As Celebrity Guest Picker For Michigan vs Oklahoma Game

Originally posted on Atlanta Hawks on SI
By Kahlil McCuller | Last updated Sep 4, 2025 6:33 PM ET

When it comes to the University of Oklahoma, Trae Young is regarded as not only one of the best to walk the campus or put on a sports uniform, but he is also viewed as a hometown hero for staying home and representing his home College when he could've gone elsewhere. In his time at Oklahoma, Young led the nation in points 27.4 and assists 8.7 and helped lead the Sooners to the March Madness tournament. Today, however, Young announced via social media that he will now return to his home University as the Celebrity guest picker for ESPN College GameDay for the second time in five years.

In the announcement video, Young stated the following:

"Excited to welcome you to my hometown, my home city of Norman, Oklahoma, just a week after Lee Corso decided to hang it up, we’ve got that team from up north coming down here, and I’m not worried at all. I’m ready to set the tone. I know Sooner fans are ready to set the tone. So we know what we gotta do, BOOMER F---ING SOONER.”

"BOOMER F---ING SOONER‼️"

Can't wait to have Atlanta Hawks star and Oklahoma Sooners legend @TheTraeYoung as this week's guest picker in Norman pic.twitter.com/f2MRwqdEYR
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 4, 2025

Not Young's first appearance on Gameday

In 2020, Young was the celebrity picker for the Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State rivalry game, which Oklahoma won 41-13. During that time, a global COVID-19 pandemic was underway, so he made his guest appearance remotely. However, this time, it will surely be an amped-up in-person experience, as Oklahoma fans are known to be supportive and rowdy.

Young has also been known to give back to his university as well, as he recently donated $1 million to the University of Oklahoma after being announced as the university's Assistant GM for men's basketball. Young spoke on the matter, stating:

“The game has changed with NIL. College basketball—the way it’s changed—I think it’s a perfect time for guys to be more involved with the schools that helped make them who they were or pushed them to become who they were.”

For the game itself, this is one of the high-profile matchups of the weekend as the No. 18 Sooners will host the No. 15-ranked team in the country, the Michigan Wolverines, in a must-watch affair. This will also be the first College GameDay hosted without the legendary analyst Lee Corso, who recently set a record with 5.1 million viewers watching last weekend, and this will likely add to the anticipation for Saturday, as fans will want to see how the show will look without him in attendance.

Trae Young will also be hosting his podcast, "From the Point Weekend," where he will have an in-person episode on campus for three days, featuring special guests from Quavo and Jeff Teague, as well as Pickleball, a celebrity game, and a kids clinic. This will all happen over the weekend, and it sounds like a fun, eventful time for Sooner fans, as this marks the second time in the past year that this event will take place.

For fans looking to tune in to or attend College GameDay or the game, College GameDay starts at 9 AM. ET in Norman, Oklahoma, this Saturday, September 6, at the South Oval on campus, and the game begins at 7:30 PM ET on ABC.