Story: Adam Nelson (@HD_DirtKing)
A bunch of search updates / thoughts…
Boston College
Blake James has reportedly spoken to five guys, Tulsa head coach Eric Konkol, New Mexico head coach Eric Olen, Siena head coach Gerry McNamara, Merrimack head coach Joe Gallo, and Clippers assistant Jay Larranaga. Interesting group. Olen will also be involved at Arizona State (a better job), and obviously Gerry Mac is involved at Syracuse. Larranaga appears to be the leader here, especially with his NBA experience and ties to Boston (he’s a former Celtics assistant). I still think the Eagles and Parker (who is running the search) need to look more outside the box. BC needs someone with a big personality – Ed Cooley, Bruce Pearl, and Fran McCaffery would be better choices right now. Unfortunately, speaking from experience, the latter 3 won’t be in the mix, and we’ll be right back here in 4 years.
Weber State
One hot name making the rounds here is Snow College head coach Andrew May. The Utah native has been at SC since 2022, and also been an assistant at BYU (his alma mater) and Utah Tech. He led his team to a 28-4 record this past season. Other names here include; Kentucky assistant Cody Fueger (he’s a Utah alum and has worked at BYU and Utah Valley), Utah assistant Donnie Daniels (was a Weber State assistant 2019-24 and has also been at Utah State and Utah Valley), and Washington assistant DeMarlo Slocum (had two stints at Utah, and played instate at Utah Valley – which was the Dixie State). Some current D1 head coach names here as well, but sounds like this could be the first wave.
Northern Illinois
This CSA led search has wrapped. Northern Michigan’s Matt Majkrzak is the choice here with the announcement coming on Monday. He went 136-72 (.654) in seven seasons at NMU, including a 28-6 record this season. Other finalists here included Missouri associate head coach Kyle Smithpeters (had a ton of success in the state as the head coach at JUCO John A. Logan), Fairmont State head coach Tim Koenig (led FSU to a 26-6 record this season and is 159-47 (.772) in his 7-seasons at the school), and Depaul assistant Bryan Mullins (former head coach at Southern Illinois where he went 86-68).
Arizona State
UC Santa Barbara assistant Derek Glasser is working hard to get this one. The former Standout for the Sun Devils has been at UCSB since 2022, and has also been an assistant at Rice. It sounds like he could be the only one in the mix right now who has not been a head coach. Eric Olen (see above) and Randy Bennett have been rumored to be involved, with former ASU head coach (and current Santa Clara head coach) Herb Sendak getting some play as well. Kyle Bowlsby and Elevate have this search.
Belmont
Long-time assistant Brian Ayers should be in the mix here, but if this were a shoe-in, Belmont should have been playing in the NIT instead of declining a spot. Ayers has been at Belmont for the past 28-seasons, where the Bruins have averaged nearly 24 wins per year. Another name that’s been making the rounds here is D2 Alabama Huntsville head coach Mick Hedgepeth. The Belmont Hall of Famer is 54-11 (.831) in his 2 seasons at UAH and has also been the head coach at D3’s Berry and Sewanee (134-43 overall record). A long shot here is another former Bruin standout Evan Bradds. This season is his first as an assistant at Duke after spending seven years on NBA benches in Boston and Utah.
Syracuse
Do the Orange keep it in the family with Gerry McNamara, or go outside with USF’s Bryan Hodgson. Siena went 4-28 three seasons ago before McNamara got there, and in just two seasons, he led the Saints to the MAAC Championship with a 23-11 record. McNamara was a standout for the Orange from 2002-06, and worked on Jim Boeheim’s staff from 2009-24. Hodgson’s Bulls won the American this season with a 25-8 record (his first year at USF), and the former Alabama assistant won 45 games in two seasons at Arkansas State. Hodgson is also an Upstate NY native who spent time as an assistant at Buffalo. The longer these two play, the longer this one will drag out. I put it at +2500 on someone other than one of these two getting the job.
Saint Bonaventure
Interesting one here as Woj and the Bonnies look to replace the recently “retired” Mark Schmidt. SBU alum and current D2 Daemen head coach Mike McDonald is believed to be in the mix (his team is currently 31-1). Other names here include former ASU head coach Bobby Hurley (was the head coach at Buffalo from 2013-15, so understands Upstate NY winters), Wizards assistant David Vanterpool (a SBU alum), and LeMoyne head coach Nate Champion (SBU AD Bob Beretta was the AD at LeMoyne before being hired by the Bonnies in 2024).
UNC Greensboro
An interesting one here. Jerod Haase’s name was hot here early. Sounds like he was the prefered candidate, with a list of 6-8 to follow. Apparently UNCG is now onto that list, with as many as eight Zooms complete. One name that keeps coming up is Ohio State associate head coach Joel Justus. He has been at OSU since 2024 and has also been an assistant at NC State, Arizona State, and Kentucky. The UNCW alum also spent two seasons as the head coach at Davidson Day HS (NC).
Cincinnati
Speaking of Cincinnati…Utah State head coach Jerod Calhoun believed to be the leader here by most. The 2004 Cincinnati grad, who is part of the Huggins tree, has won everywhere he as been. He’s currently 28-6 at USU after capturing the Mountain West title last night. Calhoun also turned Youngstown State around (went 118-106 in seven seasons), and had a ton of success at D2 Fairmont State where he went 124-38 (.765) in five seasons.
ULM
I’ve talked about this one a few times. Seems like they may be focusing on small college head coaches at this point. Names making the rounds here include Chipola’s Donnie Tyndall, Angelo State’s Vinay Patel, and a current NAIA head coach whose team is still alive in the tourney. UAB associate head coach Ryan Cross also getting some play here. He was an assistant at Louisiana Tech, and coached HS + JUCO in the state.
Check out all of the openings at every level of college basketball in HoopDirt’s coaching changes tracker HERE.
My complete list of schools and their search firm partners is HERE.
