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Here's a fun twist near the end of this year's carousel cycle: An HBCU has hired a Heisman Trophy winner to run its men's basketball program.
Charlie Ward signed a five-year deal with Florida A&M this week, giving the SWAC some extra swagger and pop. Ward was an electric football player at Florida State in the early 1990s, but he made his money in basketball. Imagine winning college football's most prestigious individual award, then going pro for a decade-plus in a different sport. That's exactly what Ward did. A first-round NBA Draft pick in 1994 by the Knicks, Ward spent 11 seasons in the NBA.
He spent the past seven years coaching high school basketball in Florida. Now he enters the Division I ranks and will try to get the Rattlers to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007.
Previously ...
Creighton has its next men's basketball coach — though it will be some time before he officially gets the job.
High Point's Alan Huss agreed to a contract that will make him the coach-in-waiting under Greg McDermott, the school announced after CBS Sports reported the news. Huss, McDermott, Creighton athletic director Marcus Blossom and Creighton president Daniel Hendrickson were in communication on the succession plan for weeks, sources said. After serious deliberation, Huss made up his mind and agreed to a deal to return to his alma mater.
"Returning to Creighton, my alma mater, to work alongside Coach McDermott and contribute to the future of this program is an extraordinary opportunity and, honestly, my dream job," Huss said in a statement.
The decision was delayed because Huss was a candidate at multiple high-major openings, in addition to having some hesitation over leaving High Point. Huss' choice to leave a high-end mid-major was aided by some assurances from McDermott that he wouldn't be coaching into the end of the 2020s at Creighton. No concrete decision has been made on when the 60-year-old McDermott will coach his final games with the Bluejays, but sources said the expectation is two more years at most. Huss likely would not have agreed to the deal to leave High Point if there was an indefinite long-term timeline moving forward with McDermott.
Huss, who has deep ties to the Midwest and played at Creighton from 1997-2001, was previously an assistant under McDermott at CU from 2017-23 and helped build out the program to one of the best in the Big East during that span. Creighton is pivoting to an atypical hiring arrangement. There have been hand-picked successors in college basketball over the years, but this is a rare situation in which a former assistant has opted to leave a head job at another school to come back and theoretically wait multiple seasons before taking over.
It's happening because Huss has a high-end reputation for how he runs a program, having established himself as a head coach immediately the past two years.
The Panthers made the 2025 NCAA Tournament and fell in the first round as a No. 13 seed to fourth-seeded Purdue. Huss' team went 29-6, including a 17-2 mark against Big South teams this past season. Huss is 56-15 overall as a head coach. Creighton is coming off a second-round loss as a 9-seed to No. 1 seed Auburn. The Bluejays are 350-171 under McDermott, who has 630 career wins and taken Creighton to 10 NCAA tourneys, including the last five in a row.
With his departure from High Point, Huss' top assistant, Flynn Clayman won over the job in less than 48 hours. HPU is regarded as a top 10-15 mid-major gig. From a facilities and support standpoint, it's clearly No. 1 in the Big South.
As for other coach-in-waiting situations: Houston has a deal signed to have Kellen Sampson take over for Kelvin whenever the latter opts to retire, which is not expected in the next year or two. Bruce Pearl is looking to do the same at Auburn for his son, Steven. In football, Utah has defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley as coach-in-waiting. But to have someone in line the way Creighton has arranged things with Huss is a creative way to ensure consistency for whenever McDermott steps away.
Elsewhere ... Former Iona and FDU coach Tobin Anderson accepted a job to join Bryan Hodgson's staff at USF. It's a big get for the Bulls; Anderson was also considering an offer to join Ben McCollum's staff at Iowa. Anderson's firing at Iona was panned across the industry for how poorly it was handled. He'll get a fresh start in the Sunshine State.
As for the carousel overall, we've had 14 flips in the five power conferences in this cycle. That's more than I expected at the start of March, and in fact matches the number from 2024. The total number of coaching changes in 2025's cycle is now at 55, with just one vacancy to fill at the mid-major level: UC Riverside. We're almost home free!
Major-conference changes
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| Out: Leonard Hamilton | In: Luke Loucks After 22 seasons, Hamilton, 76, leaves his post in Tallahassee. He won more than 450 games at FSU and molded nine first-round NBA picks. But the program slipped in recent seasons and a reboot was in order. Hamilton is also being sued by five of his former players over disputed non-payments tied to NIL opportunities from the 2023-24 season. Loucks, 35, is an FSU alum and most recently worked as an assistant with the Sacramento Kings. He's bringing on some NBA folks in the hopes of revitalizing a place with a track record of developing NBA picks. | |
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| Out: Mike Woodson | In: Darian DeVries The program failed to hit the upper echelons of the sport in Woodson's four years, and thus IU hired its sixth coach in a quarter century by plucking DeVries, 50, from West Virginia. The search was interesting, with Ben McCollum getting significant interest, but IU AD Scott Dolson and school president Pamela Whitten circled back on a few other targets before going all-in on DeVries (169-68). Indiana missing the tournament freed up a little more time for Dolson to work the search. Indiana is banking on at least $7 million in NIL and revenue-sharing money, per one source. | |
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| Out: Fran McCaffery | In: Ben McCollum After 15 seasons, the McCaffery era came to an end in Iowa. The Hawkeyes went 17-16 and missed the NCAAs for the second straight season. McCaffery took Iowa to the NCAA tourney seven times, and it would have been eight if there had been a 2020 tourney. But Iowa didn't make the Sweet 16 once under McCaffery; the school last advanced that far in 1999 under Tom Davis. AD Beth Goetz wanted either DeVries or McCollum, so ultimately it's as big of a win imaginable for Iowa. McCollum, 44, could prove to be among the best hirings in this cycle. | |
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| Out: Kevin Willard | In: Buzz Williams What a messy ending for Willard in College Park. It got so bad on the Maryland end, fan-wise, that he had no choice but to leave for Villanova. They did not want him back around those parts. Maryland's search kicked into high gear immediately, and there were a few big names suggested, but ultimately Texas A&M's Buzz Williams agreed to a six-year deal within 48 hours. Williams, 52, is well-traveled but has never coached in the Big Ten. Across stops at Marquette, Virginia Tech and Texas A&M, he's made 11 NCAA Tournament appearances. He brought the Aggies to the last three tournaments, but never advanced beyond the second round. | |
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| Out: Jim Larranaga | In: Jai Lucas When Larranaga retired the day after Christmas, it sent a bad Miami team skidding into trouble full-on off the cliff and into an all-time plunge. The 7-24 Hurricanes had one of their worst seasons in program history. It's wild to look back at this program now vs. where it was less than two years ago when it made the Final Four. Lucas, 36, left Duke at the end of the regular season, which looks even stranger in retrospect, considering not one other person who got a new job decided to do the same prior to the end of the season. A massive roster flip is underway in Coral Gables. Highly respected ace player development coach Andrew Moran (who has deep ties around Miami) will be joining Lucas' staff, sources told CBS Sports, in addition to Georgia assistant Erik Pastrana. | |
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| Out: Ben Johnson | In: Niko Medved Four years and out for Johnson, a Minnesota alum, who will be replaced by another Minnesota alum. This is an OK job with a solid ceiling that is desperate for a lot more financial support. Medved, 51, who comes by way of Colorado State, is also a Minneapolis native and was the clear-cut top choice dating back to before AD Mark Coyle decided to fire Johnson. Getting Minnesota to at least $4 million in NIL resources will be a big challenge, but possibly necessary in order to get the Gophers out of the Big Ten cellar next season. A very good coach/program fit. | |
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| Out: Kevin Keatts | In: Will Wade What a year for Keatts and NC State. From nearly being fired in 2024, then reeling off nine straight win-or-go-home games to make the Final Four ... to being fired on the heels of a 12-19 season. State is paying nearly $8 million to send Keatts packing. Wade got traction after some big money people pushed his candidacy. The local fan base was howling over the prospect of signing 42-year-old Wade, who was a lock to land somewhere at the Power Five level this cycle. Add in the tournament success at McNeese and this is about as good of a rebound after firing Keatts as State could have asked for. The Pack will expect to be a top-10 team in the 18-team ACC next season. | |
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| Out: Rodney Terry | In: Sean Miller A huge change in Austin, as Miller is the most experienced and accomplished coach Texas has hired in a long time, in terms of overall wins and NCAA Tournament track record. Terry was never able to win over the power players in Austin, and because of it, he was fated to have a short shelf life here, fair or not. Miller, 56, will try to move Texas into the top 10 of the sport, but it won't be easy. Sources said Miller's desire to try and win a national championship, and the belief it was more possible at an SEC program like Texas, was a big part of why he left Xavier. | |
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| Out: Buzz Williams | In: Bucky McMillan Williams' eagerness to leave College Station became something of an open secret this past season. He was running out of options, then Willard went to Villanova and boom, there he goes. Williams spent six seasons at A&M and compiled a 120-73 record. McMillan was a few names down on the school's list, but he is an intriguing hire. His all-out-tempo BuckyBall system produced 95 wins over the past four seasons at Samford. If the 41-year-old implements much of that with better players, Texas A&M is going to look SO much different than in recent seasons. Let's give it a try and see how it goes. | |
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| Out: Craig Smith | In: Alex Jensen Utah AD Mark Harlan's awkwardly timed firing of Smith didn't do him any favors in the industry; a lot of people around college athletics panned Harlan for how he handled it. Turns out, that timing enabled him to convince Jensen, 48, to take the job and get a head start on the inevitable portal purge. Utah's NIL situation is near the bottom of the Big 12. Will this hire create a surge of financial support? With fellow former Ute Andre Miller in the mix to join Jensen's staff, that would only help the cause. More big changes in the Beehive State. | |
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| Out: Kyle Neptune | In: Kevin Willard The school did the inevitable and moved on after Neptune's Wildcats went 19-14 this season and finished well off the bubble cutline. The standard on the Main Line is clear-cut: NCAA Tournaments every year, and competing for Final Fours often. Is Willard good enough to meet that standard? There are some skeptics due to the fact he's coming off the first Sweet 16 appearance of his career. He wanted to be back at a university where basketball mattered more, and he got his wish. Let's see what the 50-year-old does with this fresh start in a familiar neighborhood. | |
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| Out: Ron Sanchez | In: Ryan Odom Virginia reached out to other prospective coaching candidates dating back to February, sources said, but it abandoned all other contenders for the job not longer after. Odom -- who has Charlottesville ties -- had privately been the guy for weeks. His father, Dave, previously served as an assistant at Virginia in the 1980s. This feels like a good fit. The 50-year-old Odom has a 201-117 record as a Division I coach. I'm told UVa expects to have north of $7 million to provide in NIL and anticipated revenue sharing for the 2025-26 season. | |
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| Out: Darian DeVries | In: Ross Hodge After just one season in Morgantown, DeVries departed for Indiana, leaving the West Virginia brass to search for a new coach yet again. West Virginia went 19-13 (10-10 Big 12) in DeVries' lone season before a surprising snub from the NCAA Tournament field. WVU AD Wren Baker looked into a litany of candidates and missed out on a few who turned it down, but his longtime relationship with Hodge dating back to being the AD at North Texas played a big role. Hodge, 44, also has a reputation as one of the best X-and-O defensive schemers in college basketball. He's viewed as a long-term fit in Morgantown. | |
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| Out: Sean Miller | In: Richard Pitino Miller's exit left a lot of people angry in Cincinnati. In comes Pitino, who is a much different personality. This feels like a solid hire, though I'm a little surprised Charleston's Chris Mack didn't wind up with the job. That said, the circumstances under which Miller abandoned Xavier quite clearly affected school AD Greg Christopher's decision-making here. The Big East gets a big boost in PR by having two Pitinos in one league. That should be a lot of fun. Pitino is 42 and coming off back-to-back NCAA tourneys for the first time in his career. | |
Non-Power Five changes
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| Out: Otis Hughley | In: Donte' Jackson Hughley spent the past three seasons with the Bulldogs, who in hiring Jackson away from Grambling State, have made their sixth coach since moving to Division I in 1998. | |
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| Out: Landon Bussie | In: Jake Morton After five seasons in the SWAC, Bussie was offered the Chicago State job and left to head north. The Braves last won the SWAC in 2002. Morton was most recently an assistant at Florida State, East Carolina and Jacksonville State. | |
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| Out: Bryan Hodgson | In: Ryan Pannone After going 45-28 in two seasons, Hodgson became a buzzy name and was expected to take a bigger job. He's off to South Florida and the AAC. Pannone is the second straight former Alabama assistant to get this job. And for Arkansas State, it's a nice development in this sense: Pannone is a grinder's grinder of a coach. He will completely embrace moving to Jonesboro, Arkansas. | |
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| Out: Scott Davenport | In: Doug Davenport Scott Davenport was an institution at Bellarmine, guiding the program from D-II to D-I in recent years. He won a national title in 2011 and went to four D-II Final Fours in total, in addition to 426 games across 20 seasons. In total, he spent more than four decades coaching basketball in Louisville and was a fixture in that city. With his retirement, Bellarmine has allowed Scott to hand the job to his son, Doug, who has been on staff for nine years. | |
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| Out: Phil Martelli Jr. | In: Jamion Christian Bryant is on its third coach in three years' time, as Martelli is off to VCU. The program just made the NCAAs and is solidly positioned in the America East. Christian previously coached six seasons at Mount St. Mary's, one season at Siena and three seasons at George Washington. He's made the NCAA Tournament twice. | |
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| Out: Kevin McGeehan | In: John Andrzejek McGeehan lasted 12 seasons with the Fighting Camels but was fired following a 15-17 campaign. He went 184-199 and couldn't bring Campbell to the NCAAs during his dozen years. The school moved from the Big South to the CAA two years ago and will seek a reboot under Andrzejek, who arrives under rare and exceptional circumstances. Andrzejek just helped Florida win a national title. This is a huge PR boost for the Fighting Camels. | |
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| Out: Tony Barbee | In: Andy Bronkema Chippewas AD Amy Folan fired Barbee on April 3. He was there for four seasons and went 49-75. The program last made the NCAAs in 2003 and it's looking up at a lot of teams in the single-bid MAC right now. Bronkema is an intriguing hire. The 41-year-old spent the past 12 seasons at Ferris State, including a D-II national title in 2018. Ferris State is located in Michigan; CMU didn't have to search far. His record: 224-85. Take a swing, why not? | |
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| Out: Scott Spinelli | In: Landon Bussie A one-year experiment gone awry under Spinelli. Chicago State went 4-28 and finished 362 at KenPom in its first season in the NEC. Truly one of the five toughest jobs in all of Division I. Bussie was previously the coach at Alcorn State for five seasons. | |
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| Out: Daniyal Robinson | In: Rob Summers The Vikings got three years and 65 wins under Robinson, who is off to North Texas. Cleveland State has appeal at the mid-major level, thanks to Dennis Gates stabilizing the program prior to Robinson doing a really nice job with it. Summers was part of that: he was an assistant under Gates from 2019-22, and was hired back after spending the past couple of seasons at Missouri. | |
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| Out: Niko Medved | In: Ali Farokhmanesh Medved had a great situation in Fort Collins, but home is home and Minnesota was one he couldn't turn down. CSU went through a brief search to replace him, but made the smart choice to promote from within. Farokhmanesh is a name forever attached to the NCAA Tournament for the shot he hit against Kansas in 2009, but he's paid his dues as a GA and assistant coach for more than a decade at this point. He was critical in helping Medved build tournament teams at CSU. Good work here. | |
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| Out: Jim Engles | In: Kevin Hovde Engles was with the Lions for nine years but never wound up with a season above .500. This is a tough gig, but it is in a great part of New York City. Florida assistant Kevin Hovde was the favorite from the start and officially accepted the job during the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Then ... he helped Florida win the whole damn thing. What a coup for Columbia. Hovde was previously an assistant there under Kyle Smith during the 2010s. | |
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| Out: Jeff Wulbrun | In: Tim Bergstraser Four years and out for Wulburn, who was put on leave mid-season for actions not disclosed publicly. Denver is in the Summit League and has never made the NCAAs dating back to its Division I start in the late 1990s. Bergstraser carried a 75-22 in three seasons with Minnesota State Moorehead (D-II). | |
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| Out: Ben McCollum | In: Eric Henderson Drake's done well for itself. Consider: McCollum, Darian DeVries and Niko Medved are its three former coaches. They were all hired to Big Ten jobs in this year's cycle. If Drake had to lose McCollum to anyone, Iowa is the softest blow. The perception of this job has altered drastically in the past decade. Henderson is a worthy next man up in Des Moines after the job he did at South Dakota State. | |
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| Out: Patrick Crarey | In: Charlie Ward FAMU is on its third coach in as many seasons after failing to come to a contract negotiation with Crarey, who is off to Grambling State. The Rattlers went 14-17 last season. Ward is one of the best college athletes ever, having been a Heisman winner at FSU before going on to play 11 years in the NBA. What a massive W for FAMU, and the latest example of an HBCU getting a real pop by bringing on a well-known public figure to run one of its programs. | |
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| Out: Keith Urgo | In: Mike Magpayo This opening had been rumored about going back to January. Fordham made it official on the first weekend of the NCAAs. Urgo went from 25-8 in Year 1 to 13-20 and then 12-21 this year, including a last-place finish in the A-10. Magpayo is coming from UC Riverside, but he spent time in the NYC area as an assistant under Kyle Smith more than a decade ago. Could wind up being a really good hire. He's an extremely smart coach. | |
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| Out: Donte Jackson | In: Patrick Crarey Jackson was here since 2017 but left for Alabama A&M. The Tigers made the 2024 NCAA Tournament under his watch and stabilized in the SWAC after some really dark times earlier this century. Crarey comes over from Florida A&M, where he left after one season. | |
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| Out: Alan Huss | In: Flynn Clayman Huss is leaving after two seasons and a stellar 56-15 record to be the coach-in-waiting at his alma mater, Creighton. This is the top job in that conference. Athletic director Dan Hauser didn't take long to promote Clayman up a spot, opting to keep things in-house at a point where the Panthers are well-positioned in the Big South. | |
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| Out: Tobin Anderson | In: Dan Geriot Iona administration is getting dragged for how poorly it treated Anderson, who was fired after just two seasons, including a run to the MAAC title game. This is the coach who led FDU to the No. 16-over-No. 1 NCAA Tournament upset of Purdue in 2023. Anderson went 33-34 with the Gaels. Expectations in the post-Rick Pitino phase in New Rochelle got really high, really fast, but still: pretty harsh stuff. New Orleans Pelicans assistant Dan Geriot, who played at Richmond, is yet another NBA-to-college hire, which has become the trend in this year's cycle. | |
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| Out: Fran Dunphy | In: Darris Nichols The 76-year-old Philly legend retired after nearly 50 years in college basketball coaching. Dunphy won more than 600 games and is among the most well-liked and accomplished coaches in the storied history of Philadelphia basketball. La Salle's program is among the more cash-strapped at the multi-bid-league level. Nichols got the nod after a few low-major coaches from the northeast were heavily looked into. La Salle has made one NCAA tourney in the past 33 years. | |
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| Out: Lennie Acuff | In: Kevin Carroll The Bisons had to scurry after Acuff was hired by Samford, which opened because Bucky McMillan got a chance at Texas A&M. Lipscomb won the ASUN this season and was a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Carroll is one of a few D-II hires this cycle, though he has Lipscomb ties. He coached Trevecca Nazarene University the past two seasons, but was with the Bisons from 2019-23 as an assistant. | |
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| Out: Griff Aldrich | In: Ronnie Thomas The Lancers promoted Thomas after Aldrich left after seven seasons (and two NCAA tourney appearances) to be the top assistant under Ryan Odom at Virginia. | |
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| Out: Bob Marlin | In: Quannas White After a 15-year run that included two Sun Belt auto bids (2014, 2023), Marlin was fired in December. After some wait-and-see and a few tussles with contract negotiations, Louisiana got White to the finish line. He's 44 and been ready to run a program for a few years now after spending the past eight with Kelvin Sampson. A huge get for the Ragin' Cajuns. | |
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| Out: Keith Richard | In: Phil Cunningham Richard began his time as coach of the Warhawks in the Sun Belt in 2010, but he was never been able to break through and make the NCAAs. Program last made the Big Dance in 1996. Cunningham was hired from within; he previously was a head coach at Troy from 2013-19. | |
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| Out: Will Wade | In: Bill Armstrong With Wade off to NC State, Baylor assistant Bill Armstrong was next in line to coach these Cowboys. The program will look to keep the momentum it built over the past two years and stay atop the Southland. | |
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| Out: Steve Prohm | In: Ryan Miller Prohm's second go-round with the Racers wasn't fruitful. He resigned following Murray State's loss to Bradley, leaving with a 45-52 record in three years. Word in the Missouri Valley is Murray State is ready to invest more money into its program than any other school in that league for the 2025-26 season. Miller, a Creighton who has been in the running in recent years at a number of jobs, beat out a litany of power-conference assistants. | |
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| Out: Ed DeChellis | In: Jon Perry DeChellis announced his retirement on March 19, stepping away from Navy after 14 seasons and 196 wins. DeChellis was also a head coach previously at East Tennessee State and Penn State, totaling for 29 seasons and 415 wins, making him one of just seven coaches active this past season with at least 100 wins at three schools. Perry was promoted from within. He's spent the past 12 years with the school. | |
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| Out: Richard Pitino | In: Eric Olen Pitino leaving was inevitable. He had too much interest from too many jobs, and importantly, New Mexico will soon be in a Mountain West that includes the likes of Hawaii, UC Davis and UTEP. The program has good tradition, a great home environment and supportive community. But its league affiliation is set for a downgrade. This is still a quality job, but it will be interesting to see if it can remain on the same tier. Olen is a really nice get after what he did at UC San Diego in the program's switch to D-I. | |
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| Out: Ross Hodge | In: Daniyal Robinson The Mean Green lost Hodge to West Virginia, and prior to that, Grant McCasland to Texas Tech. Now Robinson will leave Cleveland State to keep UNT as a top-four program in the American Athletic Conference. The logo will change for him, but his primary wardrobe color scheme won't. | |
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| Out: Russell Springmann | In: Kory Barnett A semi-surprise, as Springmann only made it two seasons before getting sacked. The Golden Eagles went 7-23 this year and sunk to the bottom of the Summit League. Barnett most recently was on Darian DeVries' staff at West Virginia, but served under Steve Alford at Nevada and UCLA prior to that. | |
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| Out: Steve Donahue | In: Fran McCaffery It was a decade for Donahue in Philly, with the Quakers making the NCAAs in 2018. This season was the worst yet, with Penn going 8-19 and finishing No. 292 at KenPom. Fran McCaffery is an alum, and at 65, is the guy in Philly. That's an interesting late-career stop for the former Iowa coach. | |
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| Out: Darris Nichols | In: Zach Chu The Highlanders had four years with Nichols (off to La Salle), which totaled a 68-63 record at the Big South program. The school has made three NCAA Tournaments since 1998. Chu is a head-turning hire; he wasn't even considered to be in the initial list of finalists for the job. The 34-year-old SMU assistant previously spent time in the analytics departments of the Indiana Pacers and Dallas Mavericks. | |
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| Out: Michael Czepil | In: Mike Bibby David Patrick resigned last May (and eventually joined Matt McMahon's staff at LSU), which led to Czepil being the interim. The Hornets finished the regular season 7-24. Bibby, the longtime Sacramento Kings guard, has accepted the job. Completely out of left field. | |
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| Out: Rob Krimmel | In: Luke McConnell This is a downer: Saint Francis just made the NCAAs for the first time since 1991. Less than a week removed from its exit, the school announced it would be transitioning to D-III, a reflection of the reality of where D-I athletics is heading in the revenue-sharing era. Krimmel announced his retirement in near-conjunction with the school's announcement. I was on hand for Saint Francis' win in the NEC title game and wrote about Krimmel's awesome story . Take the time to read that if you haven't yet; it was one of my favorite stories to do in the final two months of the season. | |
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| Out: Bucky McMillan | In: Lennie Acuff Pretty good work here by AD Martin Newton, who lost a good young coach but replaced him with a guy who just took Lipscomb to the NCAA Tournament. Samford is getting Acuff after three straight seasons of 20-plus wins, too. | |
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| Out: Eric Henderson | In: Bryan Petersen Henderson spent the past six seasons with the Jackrabbits and took SDSU to the NCAAs in 2024 and 2022. With him going to Drake, the program promoted his long-time assistant, Petersen, to run the show in Brookings. | |
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| Out: Kyle Keller | In: Matt Braeuer Keller coached SFA for nearly nine seasons and won 18 or more games in six of those years. He was fired in January. He also was responsible for one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history, when his Lumberjacks team upset No. 1 Duke in November of 2019 . Braueuer comes via Texas Tech, but his ties within Texas date back to being on Grant McCasland's staff at North Texas as well. | |
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| Out: Mike Magpayo | In: TBD After five seasons and 89 wins in the Big West, Magpayo is moving cross-country to take a job in the A-10 at Fordham. UC Riverside is one of the least-funded schools in the West. Tough gig at a place that's been D-I since 2000 but never made the NCAAs. | |
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| Out: Eric Olen | In: Clint Allard With Olen going to New Mexico following a 30-5 season and Big West title, Allard was the pick to promote from within. He's an alum to boot. UCSD was something of a revelation this season and it'll be interesting to see if the Tritons can continue to be a mid-major force, post-Olen. | |
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| Out: Kevin Kruger | In: Josh Pastner The Runnin' Rebels went 18-15 this season, falling in the Mountain West quarterfinals to Utah State. Vegas never made an NCAA Tournament under Kruger's watch, and beyond that, never had a season where it finished better than 73rd at KenPom. The school is not in a good financial situation, and sources said a few candidates involved walked away not that enthused, given the challenges ahead. Pastner was pushing for this job for a few weeks, and his experience running Memphis and Georgia Tech gave him an edge. | |
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| Former coach: Amir Abdur-Rahim | In: Bryan Hodgson A sad inclusion to the tracker, as Abdur-Rahim tragically died in the preseason at 43 , leading to Ben Fletcher serving as the interim head coach over the past four-plus months. Abdur-Rahim was a rising star. The American Athletic Conference named Abdur-Rahim its Honorary Coach of the Year for 2024-25. Hodgson comes over on a six-year deal after two years with Arkansas State. If he continues on his trajectory, USF will be in the top three of the American in no more than two years. | |
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| Out: Ryan Odom | In: Phil Martelli Jr. VCU is one of the best mid-major jobs in the country, and because it's that, it's prone to coaching turnover at a rate that's more volatile that most other schools. But this is a really good job with one of the strongest home-court environment and fan bases you'll find in college hoops. With Odom gone, VCU AD Ed McLaughlin picked his 1b option after his 1a (Richard Pitino) went to Xavier. Martelli Jr. went 43-25 the past two seasons with Bryant in the America East. | |
