by Wolves were coached by Balando for six years and sacked him after his buyout fell through in mid-March. The schedule last made the NCAAs in 1999.
Brennan lasted a decade at American. He made the NCAAs in his first season there. Three names that may be in play for the 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, for the most part, a middling Patriot League team. This job requires a certain kind of coach and recruits, obviously, certain kinds of players — kids who want to represent their country and attend for reasons beyond basketball.
James is out less than two years after taking the job. The former Duke assistant was 17 games under .500 in 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 that job, and I’m told he was able to push for an aggressive salary cap in the negotiation process.
The Falcons hired Southern Utah coach Simon, who was 38-14 over the past 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 hunted. 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 Oates, but the momentum could not continue under Whitesell. This search will probably take some time.
Two seasons and it was done for Oliver, who went 27-37. It wasn’t that long ago that ETSU was competing for the NCAA Tournament and winning the SoCon under Steve Forbes. And so, a former ETSU assistant under Forbes, Savage takes the job on a four-year contract.
The Eagles bring in Henry, an assistant at Alabama, to try to breathe some life into an Eagles program that is arguably the worst in the sun belt. Henry replaces Burg, who was on an oddly short leash and had just three years under athletic director Jared Benko. The Eagles went 43-45 in three seasons.
The Phoenix hired Sundance Wicks, an assistant coach at Wyoming the past three seasons. Wicks replaces Ryan, who was fired after going 2-19 this season.
Her son Tubby Smith was promoted to full-time a year ago but was fired after a 14-17 season. Similar to Bucknell in the Patriot League, High Point is a coveted job in the Big South because of its campus space and facilities.
Nelson went 27-84 in four seasons. The Crusaders, who reside in the Patriot League, have made one NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007. The school will likely look to land someone with prior mid-level coaching experience.
Prible, an assistant in Seattle, was hired to replace Klaus, who went 28-88 with the Vandals. Idaho is an attractive mid-major job in this part of the country now because of the new facilities, but they are traditionally an underclass team in the Big Sky.
The 11-16 Jaspers had a lopsided campaign after Masiello was fired on the precipice of the regular season. RaShawn Stores has done an admirable job in a very difficult situation, and it remains to be seen if she 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 the AD and decided Wade was worth the risk. Wade is awaiting a decision from the IRP because of his role in the LSU case, where he was caught on a wiretap talking about player payments. That verdict will be out in the spring.
Herrion’s contract was not renewed after he went 227-303 in 18 seasons as the Wildcats’ coach.
A seven-year streak with one season over .500 (2018-19) led to Kennedy’s resignation on March 6. The Highlanders play in the America East and the job ranks near the bottom of the conference.
A calamity of tragedy and abuse poisoned that program, so much so that the school’s principal shut down the season in February. Days later, Heiar was rightfully fired midway through his first season. NMSU will pick up the pieces and rebuild in the spring, but the question is: Who wants to take on that kind of work? Someone will do it, but the task will be heavy. The school’s biggest appeal to potential candidates is its NCAA Tournament viability as a mid-major: The Aggies have had a tournament-level team 11 times since 2007.
NC A&T is in the midst of a challenging transition from the MEAC in the Big South to the CAA over the span of three years. Interim coach Phillip Shumpert kept the Aggies competitive in the league after 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. This is a whip-like turn after Mike McConathy from 1999-2022.
Simon left after going 65-28 overall and 38-14 over the last three years to take over for the Thunderbirds in Bowling Green.
The Bulls had one season over .500 in six years under Gregory, who leaves with a 79-107 record. USF is a tough job in a league (the American) that is bringing in six more members this summer.
The former Temple star went 52-56 in four seasons and will remain as a special consultant for the athletics department. AD Arthur Johnson said, “Aaron has been a highly decorated student-athlete, dedicated alumnus, husband, father and dedicated coach for Temple over the past nine seasons as both an assistant and head coach. He represented the University and the program with 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 headed to Western Kentucky. The Islanders gig is in a great location and is probably the best job in the South Country at this point.
Young was fired in February after less than two years on the job. Turner, who has excellent recruiting relationships throughout Texas, arrives after spending the last two seasons as an assistant at Kentucky and Oklahoma. It will be the program’s fifth in a seven-year period. It has been muddled since the release of Scott Cross (after winning 72 games over three seasons) in 2018.
Stansbury’s streak 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 figures to bring some roar back to an area he’s familiar with. This is a quality hire and Lutz has a good eye for recruiting.
Brown was interim coach in 2020-21, took Wichita State to the top four and was given the full-time job. Last two seasons: 32-28. The Shockers finished outside the top 100 in KenPom. Former Maryland/Wichita State coach Mark Turgeon is rumored to be interested in the opening, as is Furman coach Bob Richey and possible Houston partner head coach Kellen Sampson. Wichita State is spreading its net far and wide. This is a key hire at a critical time for the program.
The Terriers had McAuley for less than 2.5 seasons. pushed back due to infighting between him and his players. Dwight Perry has coached the team ever since. Wofford went 16-15 in the regular season. Two names connected to that are former App State assistant/current coach Dustin Kearns and former Wofford assistant/current Virginia Tech assistant Kevin Giltner.
