by The Wolves were coached by Balado for six years and sacked him after his signing fell through in mid-March. The program last made the NCAA in 1999.
Brennan lasted a decade at American. He made NCAAs in his first season there. Three names that could be in play for that job: Virginia assistant Jason Williford, former Hartford coach John Gallagher and former Siena and George Washington coach Jamion Christian.
The Black Knights played seven years under Allen and were mostly a middle of the pack Patriot League team. This job requires a specific type of coach and, of course, recruits specific types of players – guys who want to represent their country and participate for reasons other than basketball.
James is out less than two years after taking the job. The former Duke assistant was 17 games under .500 through two seasons (21-38), but Austin Peay was a job in transition, moving from the OVC to the ASUN this season. Gipson moved quickly to get this job, and I’m told he was able to push for an aggressive salary pool in the negotiation process.
The Falcons hired Southern Utah coach Simon, who was 38-14 over the last three years for the Thunderbirds.
Bucknell parted ways with Davis after eight seasons, which included a 129-155 record and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2017 and 2018. Bucknell is arguably the best job in the Patriot League and will be competitively chased. The program has made the NCAAs eight times. Villanova’s George Halcovage and Syracuse assistant Gerry McNamara are two of the candidates the school has identified early in the process.
The Bulls made four NCAA Tournaments in five years under Bobby Hurley and Nate Oats, but the momentum could not continue under Whitesell. This search will probably take some time.
Two seasons and done for Oliver, who went 27-37. It wasn’t that long ago that ETSU was competing for NCAA Tournaments and winning the SoCon under Steve Forbes. And so, a former ETSU assistant under Forbes, Savage gets the job on a four-year contract.
The Eagles bring in Henry, an assistant at Alabama, to try to bring some life to an Eagles program that is arguably the worst in the Sun Belt. Henry replaces Burg who was on a strangely short leash and only given three years by athletic director Jared Benko. The Eagles went 43-45 in three seasons.
Phoenix hired Sundance Wicks, an assistant coach for Wyoming the past three seasons. Wicks replaces Ryan, who was fired after going 2-19 this season.
Tubby Smith’s son was promoted to the full-time job a year ago, but was fired after a 14-17 season. Like Bucknell in the Patriot League, High Point is a highly sought-after job in the Big South because of its campus setting and facilities.
Nelson went 27-84 in four seasons. The Crusaders, who reside in the Patriot League, have made an NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007. The school will likely look to bring in someone with previous head coaching experience at the mid-major level.
Pribble, an assistant in Seattle, was hired to replace Claus, who went 28-88 with the Vandals. Idaho is an appealing mid-major job in that part of the country now because of new facilities, but it’s traditionally a sub-par team in the Big Sky.
The 11-16 Jaspers had a sideways campaign after firing Masiello on the precipice of the regular season. RaShawn Stores did an admirable job in a very tough situation and it remains to be seen if he will be promoted to the full-time position.
Aiken was fired after just two seasons and an overall record of 22-45. Former coach Heath Schroyer is now AD and decided Wade was worth the risk. Wade is awaiting a ruling from the IRP because of his role in LSU’s case, where he was wiretapped talking about paying players. That judgment will come in the spring.
Herrion’s contract was not renewed after he went 227-303 in 18 seasons coaching the Wildcats.
A seven-year run with one season over .500 (2018-19) led to Kennedy’s March 6 departure. The Highlanders play in the America East, and the job ranks near the bottom of the conference.
A calamity of tragedy and abuse poisoned this program, so much so that the school’s chancellor shut down the season in February. Days later, Heiar was rightfully fired in the middle of his first season. NMSU will pick up the pieces and rebuild in the spring, but the question is: Who wants to take this type of job? Some will, but the task will be difficult. The school’s biggest appeal to potential candidates is its NCAA tournament viability as a mid-major: the Aggies have fielded a tournament-level team 11 times since 2007.
NC A&T is in the midst of a challenging transition from the MEAC to the Big South to the CAA in three years. Interim coach Phillip Shumpert has kept the Aggies competitive in the league since Jones was fired. A&T went 8-10 in conference play.
The Demons are looking for a coach after Gipson left after just one season to take the Austin Peay job. It’s a whiplash-like turnaround after having Mike McConathy from 1999-2022.
Simon left after going 65-28 overall and 38-14 over the past three years for the Thunderbirds to take over at Bowling Green.
The Bulls had one season above .500 in six years under Gregory, who retires at 79-107. USF is a tough job in a league (the American one) that is adding six members this summer.
The former Temple star went 52-56 in four seasons and will continue as a special advisor to the athletics department. AD Arthur Johnson said, “Aaron has been a highly decorated student-athlete, committed alumnus, husband, father and a dedicated coach for Temple over the past nine seasons, both as an assistant and head coach. Every step of the way, Aaron has represented the university and the program in the best possible way. We are extremely grateful for his long service to Temple and the men’s basketball program.” Get Matt Langel before someone else does.
Two years, two NCAA Tournaments, and now Lutz is off to Western Kentucky. The Islanders’ gig is in a great location and is probably the best job in the South at this point.
Young was fired in February after less than two years on the job. Turner, who has great recruiting connections across Texas, comes after spending the past two seasons as an assistant at Kentucky and Oklahoma. He becomes the program’s fifth in seven years. It’s been muddled since Scott Cross’ quiz (after winning 72 games in three seasons) in 2018.
Stansbury’s run spanned seven years and included a .610 (139-89) winning percentage, but he is the first coach in program history to fail to reach the NCAA Tournament. This is a good medium-sized job with a proud tradition. Lutz is trying to restore some roar to a region he is familiar with. This is a quality hire, and Lutz has a good recruiter’s eye.
Brown was interim coach in 2020-21, got Wichita State to the first four and got the full-time job. The last two seasons: 32-28. The Shockers finished outside the top 100 on KenPom. Former Maryland/Wichita State coach Mark Turgeon is rumored to be interested in the opening, as is Furman coach Bob Richey and potential Houston assistant head coach Kellen Sampson. Wichita State is spreading its net far and wide. This is a key hire at a crucial time for the program.
The Terriers had McAuley for less than 2.5 seasons; he was pushed out due to internal disputes between him and his players. Dwight Perry has coached the team since. Wofford went 16-15 in the regular season. Two names connected to this are former assistant/current App State coach Dustin Kerns and former Wofford assistant/current Virginia Tech assistant Kevin Giltner.
