Wichita State has fired men's basketball coach Isaac Brown after three seasons leading the program, the school announced Saturday. Brown's firing comes one day after the Shockers suffered an 82-76 loss to Tulane in the AAC Tournament, all but officially dashing their longshot hopes for earning an NCAA Tournament bid.
"After a thorough evaluation and review of our men's basketball program, I have informed head men's basketball coach Isaac Brown that we will be making a change in coaching leadership, starting today," Wichita State athletic director Kevin Saal announced in a statement.
Saal said the school will conduct a "comprehensive national search" for its next head coach but a timeline for the search process or for the announcement of a new head coach is still unclear.
Brown took the Wichita State job in 2020 after a successful tenure under Gregg Marshall turned into a tumultuous exit amid allegations he physically and verbally abused players past and present. Marshall resigned just weeks before the start of the season. As a long-time lieutenant on Marshall's staff, Brown earned the job on an interim basis to provide stability and immediately found success, leading the Shockers to an NCAA Tournament berth and a regular-season championship in going 16-6. The program then moved to remove the interim label in early 2021, signing him to a five-year deal.
Wichita State struggled to replicate the instant success Brown found in his first season in each of the last two with a 15-13 record last year and a 17-15 record this season. In the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, the team finished in the bottom half of the AAC standings and amassed a 15-18 record in regular-season league play.
Brown struggled to gain traction in his second season, then quickly found himself behind the eight-ball entering 2022-23 after losing his top four scorers to either the transfer portal or the professional ranks. The team didn't win more than two consecutive games all season, marking the first time it has failed to do so since 1995-96.
