Story: Adam Nelson (@HD_DirtKing)
Breaking down some assistants on the move and a few small college search updates:
Assistants on the move…
Tennessee Martin
I have heard that John Aiken is departing the staff at Tennessee Martin to enter the private sector. Aiken was hired last spring. He had previously served as the interim head coach at McNeese State in 2023.
Mercer
Mercer assistant Ben Witherspoon is on the move and will become the head coach at Dr. Phillips HS in Orlando. Witherspoon had previously led Dr. Phillip to a state championship in 2021 before becoming an assistant at Central Florida and later Mercer.
Iona / Columbia
Word on the street is that Patrick Wallace is in the mix to join Kevin Hovde’s new staff at Columbia. Wallace had spent the past two seasons as an assistant at Iona, and was an assistant at Loyola Chicago before that.
La Salle
Safet Kastrat will assume the role as the first-ever men’s basketball General Manager at La Salle. Kastrat had previously worked at Fran Dunphy at La Salle in an administrative role before leaving for a role in the private sector. Prior to his time at La Salle, Kastrat worked for new Explorers head coach Darris Nichols as the Director of Player Development at Radford.
Utah
Speaking of GM’s…Pete Thamel is reporting that the University of Utah is targeting Sacramento Kings front office executive Wes Wilcox to become the Utes Men’s Basketball General Manager. Wilcox, who has been in the NBA for over 20 years, has also served as the Atlanta Hawks GM (2015-17).
Princeton
Sounds like a possible staff shake up at Princeton. The Princetonian staff is reporting that Tigers associate head coach Brett MacConnell and assistant coach Lawrence Rowley have been “asked not to return.” MacConnell has been at Princeton since 2013, Rowley since 2022. More on this one as it develops.
Small College Search Updates…
D2 Northern State
The hot name making the rounds over the past few days at D2 Northern State is University of North Dakota assistant Randall Herbst. The veteran coach has been at North Dakota since 2022, and has also been an assistant at Omaha and Green Bay. Herbst also served as the head coach at NAIA University of Mary. Brooks McKowen was also rumored to be pretty involved here, but he just departed Upper Iowa and became the head coach at Missouri Western.
D2 South Dakota Mines
I have heard that D2 South Dakota Mines has started interviews this week. They are on the hunt to replace Eric Glenn, who they parted ways with earlier this month. It sounds like Collegiate Sports Solutions is helping to run this search.
D2 Florida Tech
I’ve heard from multiple sources that the search at D2 Florida Tech is moving quickly, and 20 candidates have been identified for Zoom interviews this week. There are also indications that once this round is complete, the top three candidates would have on-campus interviews as early as next week.
D3 Earlham
It sounds like the search at D3 Earlham College is entering the final stages. I’ve heard from multiple sources who have told me that the final three candidates will be on campus this week. Sounds like this one could be wrapped up soon.
For a full list of coaching changes across NCAA D1, D2, D3, NAIA, and JUCO levels, check out the 2025 Coaching Changes Tracker presented by D1.relocation [HERE].
