As the college basketball world waits to crown its men’s champion, the coaching carousel spins inexorably on.
Several major conference programs made moves early to get a jump on the market, while others are still weighing decisions. Thus far, there will be 11 schools in the sport’s five remaining power leagues that will be under new management in the 2024-25 season, and dozens more in the so-called mid-major conferences. There are sure to be others as openings are filled and more dominoes tumble.
Here are the changes to date in the top-tier leagues, with a few other notable moves at other programs that have enjoyed recent success.
Who’s out? Kenny Payne was sent packing after a second dismal season at a program accustomed to much more success.
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Who’s in? Pat Kelsey will look to revive the Cardinals’ program. He brings 261 career victories and back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances from his most recent stop at the College of Charleston.
Who’s out? Yes, this will be an ACC program next year. The decision to part ways with Rob Lanier after two seasons came as something of a surprise. For his part, Lanier landed on his feet at Rice.
Who’s in? The Mustangs, meanwhile, turn to Andy Enfield, who had mixed results at Southern California.
Who’s out? Jerod Haase was let go after eight seasons with the Cardinal, a stint that produced no NCAA tournament appearances.
Who’s in? Kyle Smith takes on a new challenge after taking Washington State on its improbable ride in the final year of the Pac-12 as we know it.
Who’s out? The school parted ways with Tony Stubblefield a full month and a half out from the end of what would be yet another season of futility in the Big East.
Who’s in? Considering the Blue Demons’ two decades in the wilderness, landing Chris Holtman might give their long-suffering fans a ray of hope.
Who’s out? It was working for a while for former Fab Fiver and favorite son Juwan Howard, who took the Wolverines to the Elite Eight in 2021. But his five-year run bottomed out with just three Big Ten victories and significant turmoil within the program this season.
Who’s in? Dusty May was bound to head for greener pastures in the wake of last season’s out-of-the-blue Final Four campaign at Florida Atlantic. Reportedly in talks for several other openings, he eventually accepted the Michigan gig shortly after this year’s first-round exit with the Owls.
Who’s out? There’s no disputing that the Buckeyes weren’t living up to their talent, but the decision to dismiss Chris Holtmann a month before the conclusion of the season was still a stunner. Presumably, the move was made at the time to put the wheels in motion for an outside hire.
Who’s in? Ultimately though, the team’s late push that led to a quarterfinal appearance in the NIT was enough to convince administrators that interim coach Jake Diebler was the right man for the job after all. How he’ll handle bringing in his own recruits and coaching a full season remains to be seen, but there’s no doubt he won the respect of his current team.
Who’s out? Andy Enfield had mixed results at USC, admittedly not a basketball-first athletic department. It’s fair to say his decision to pursue the SMU opening wasn’t exactly discouraged.
Who’s out? Mike Hopkins came into the season with a warm chair, and another sub-.500 conference record and the program’s impending move to the Big Ten meant it was time for a change.
Who’s in? Once again, the Utah State job proved to be a stepping stone. Danny Sprinkle comes to Seattle after just one year in Logan, albeit a successful one featuring a Mountain West regular-season title and an NCAA tournament victory.
Who’s out? Mike Boynton took the Cowboys to the Big Dance just once in his seven-year stint in Stillwater. The plug was pulled after this year’s 4-14 conference finish, tied for last in the expanded league.
Who’s in? Steve Lutz comes to OSU after just one season at Western Kentucky. Before that, he was at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Notably, he’s taken his team to the NCAA’s each of the last three years.
Who’s out? Interim coach Josh Eilert was thrust into a difficult situation last summer following the ignominious end to Bob Huggins’s lengthy career. The school officially announced it would seek a new hire after a 9-23 finish.
Who’s in? Darian DeVries comes to Morgantown after multiple 20-win campaigns and three appearances in the Big Dance at Drake.
Who’s out? Though there were signs of improvement over the five-year tenure of Jerry Stackhouse, the school decided to make a move following a 9-23 season.
Who’s in? It’s a hard place to win in a highly competitive league, but the hire of Mark Byington from James Madison has increased the expectations around the Commodores’ program. The Dukes went 32-4 this year and toppled Wisconsin in the Big Dance.
As often happens during these cycles, several of the above transactions left some desirable mid-major programs looking for the right replacement to maintain their winning ways. Some of these hires in turn cause subsequent job postings. That was not the case at Western Kentucky, however, as the school quickly elevated assistant Hank Plona to succeed Lutz. Duquesne also kept things in house, promoting assistant Drew Joyce to succeed retiring coach Keith Dambrot in the aftermath of the Dukes’ memorable Atlantic 10 title and NCAA tourney win.
Here’s how some other recent dancers filled their openings.
In a bit of a twist after losing Kelsey to Louisville, the Cougars brought in former Cardinals head coach Chris Mack to try and keep them atop the Coastal Athletic Association.
The Bulldogs turned to the Division II ranks and brought in Ben McCollum to succeed DeVries. An Iowa native, McCollum won four D2 titles during a 15-year stint at Northwest Missouri State.
Dusty May's departure wasn't unexpected give the success of the two previous seasons, and the Owls moved quickly to bring aboard Baylor assistant John Jakus.
The Dukes went with Morehead State coach Preston Spradlin hoping to maintain their Sun Belt success. Spradlin took the Eagles dancing as Ohio Valley champs for a second time this season. Morehead has yet to hire his replacement.
The Aggies clearly have a pretty good track record, though they were probably hoping not to be back on the carousel quite so soon. The next guy hoping to take USU dancing is Jerrod Calhoun, who is coming off back-to-back 20-win campaigns at Youngstown State.
Bryant: Phil Martelli Jr.
Cal Poly: Mike DeGeorgie
Canisius: Vacant
Central Arkansas: John Shulman
Charleston Southern: Saah Nimley
Coastal Carolina: Justin Gray
Cornell: Vacant
Detroit Mercy: Vacant
Eastern Washington: Vacant
Fairfield: Chris Casey
Florida A&M: Vacant
Fresno State: Vacant
Gardner-Webb: Jeremy Luther
Hampton: Ivan Thomas
Houston Christian: Craig Doty
Illinois-Chicago: Rob Ehsan
IUPUI: Paul Corsaro
Long Beach State: Vacant
Loyola Maryland:: Josh Loeffler
Marshall: Cornelius Jackson
Mercer: Ryan Ridder
Missouri State Cuonzo Martin
Morehead State: Vacant
Old Dominion: Mike Jones
Pacific: Dave Smart
Pepperdine: Vacant
Rice Owls: Rob Lanier
Saint Louis: Vacant
Siena: Gerry McNamara
South Carolina Upstate: Dave Dickerson
Southern Illinois: Scott Nagy
Tennessee-Martin: Jeremy Shulman
Texas Rio Grande Valley: Vacant
Texas-San Antonio: Austin Claunch
Western Carolina: Tim Craft
Western Kentucky: Vacant
William & Mary: Brian Earl
Wright State: Clint Sargent
Youngstown State: Vacant
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