NCAA NOTEBOOK - COACHING CHANGES WHO'S IN WHO'S OUT.
- Don Glenn
- Mar 28
- 5 min read
Welcome to the NCAA Notebook! Volume 1 Issue 13/28/25
This is the first of what I hope will be a weekly series to be released on Fridays. I will look into college sports, from football to golf, and everything else—both men's and women's, as well as coaches. The road to the final four is the hot topic, but I wanted to get an early look at some of the fallout.
The Coaching Carousel!
Well, it's tournament time for NCAA basketball, which means the coaching carousel is starting to turn. There has been a flurry of coaching moves since the end of the regular season and into the NCAA tournament. Right now, it seems that the Coaching Carousel is on ultra-high spin,
As of March 25th, the jobs that are filled are as follows;
Bellarmine Knights: Scott Davenport(retired) / Doug Davenport (Bellarmine Asst Coach)
Chicago State Cougars: Scott Spinelli(Fired)/ Landon Bussie (Head Coach, Alcorn State)
Campbell Fighting Camels: Kevin McGeehan(Fired)/ John Andrzejek (Assistant Coach) Florida)
Columbia Lions: Jim Engles(Fired)/ Kevin Hovde (Assistant Coach, South Florida)
Florida State Seminoles: Leonard Hamilton(Retired) / Luke Loucks(Sacremento Kings Asst Coach)
Indiana Hoosiers: Mike Woodson(resigned) / Darian DeVries(Head Coach of West Virginia)
Iona Gales: Tobin Anderson (fired)/ Dan Geroit (Assistant Coach, New Orleans Pelicans)
Iowa Hawkeyes: Fran McCaffery(Fired) / Ben McCollum (Head Coach at Drake)
La Salle Explorers: Fran Dunphy(Retired) / Darris Nichols(Radford Head Coach)
Longwood Lancers: Griff Aldrich (Hired as Asst Coach at Virginia) / Ronnie Thomas (promoted)
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns: Bob Marlin(Retired) /Quannas White(University of Houston Asst Coach)
Miami Hurricanes: Jim Larrañaga(Retired) / Jai Lucas(Duke Asst coach)
Minnesota Golden Gophers: Ben Johnson(Fired)/ Niko Medved (Head Coach, Colorado State)
Murray State Racers: Steve Prohm(Retiring) / Ryan Miller(Crieghton Asst Coach)
NC State Wolfpack: Kevin Keatts(Fired) / Will Wade (McNeese St. Head Coach)
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks: Kyle Keller(Fired) / Matt Braeuer(Texs tech Asst Coach)
South Florida Bulls: Amir Abdur-Rahim(Deceased, Ben Fletcher Interim) / Bryan Hodgson(Head Coach Arkansas State)
Texas Longhorns: Rodney Terry(fired)/ Sean Miller(Head Coach, Xaiver)
UNLV Rebels: Kevin Kruger(Fired) / Josh Pastner (Head Coach, Georgia Tech)
Utah Utes: Craig Smith(Fired) / Alex Jensen(Dallas Mavericks Asst Coach)
Here are what I think are the three top hires so far!
Continuance of a legacy.
Will Wade is moving from McNeese State to NC State. Wade has NEVER had a losing season in Division I college basketball, 206-80.
2 seasons at VCU 51-20 and 2 NCAA appearances.
5 seasons at LSU 105-51 and 3 NCAA appearances and 1 NIT
2 seasons at McNeese St., 50-9 NCAA appearances.
NC State is a program that has a long history of successful coaches, starting with the leader in victories, Everette Chase, who coached in Raleigh for 17 years, ending up with a record of 377-134. They also enjoyed a 20-year run with a record of 475-241 under Norm Sloan, 266-177, and Jim Volvano 209-114. They are the only two coaches to win a National title at North Carolina State in basketball. At age 43, Wade could be at NC State for a considerable time, adding to both his and the school's legacies.
Making his mark!
Ben McCollum is taking a definite step up from Drake in the MVC to Iowa of the B1G. After winning the MVC this season and taking down the 6-seed Ole Miss, he steps up to a power five team that always has high expectations for its athletic teams. Previous Coach Fran McCaffery, who was the longest tenured and winningest coach in school history, was let go after missing the Tournament 2 years in a row.
McCollum is an Iowa native. He has only coached one year in Division I, which was this past season at Drake, where he went 31-4, winning not only the regular season but the MVC Tournament as well. Prior to that, from 2009-2023, he was the Head Coach at his Alma Mater, Northwest Missouri State (DII), where he amassed a 395-91 record, winning 4 DII National Championships and 5 times winning the fNABC Coach of the Year award.
The fans at Iowa will be expecting a lot, and McCollum seems like the guy who can deliver the goods.
A will to succeed
Texas wasted no time in tabbing Sean Miller as their new coach. Miller's career dates back to 1982 as an assistant at Wisconsin as a Graduate Assistant, then three stops as an assistant at Miami(Ohio), Pittsburgh, and NC State between 1993-2001. In 2001, he became an assistant at Xavier, taking over the Head Coach duties in 2004. he left to take the Head job at Arizona from 2009-2221.
Then went back to Xavier in 2021. He is no stranger to the NCAA Tournament; he has led teams to the NCAA 13 times in his 21 years as a Head Coach and has led teams to the NIT on two other occasions. He takes over a Texas program with 39 NCAA Tournament appearances since 1939, including 8 in the last 10 years and the last 5 years in a row! Miller is a proven winner at 487-196. With the push being made in the SEC in basketball, I believe he is the right guy for the right time!
The current open coaching jobs.
Alcorn State Braves: Landoon Bussie (Hired at Chicago State)
Arkansas State: Bryan Hodgson (Hired at South Florida)
Drake Bulldogs: Ben McCollum (hired at Iowa)
Georgia Tech Yellowjackets: Josh Pastner (Hired at UNLV)
McNeese State: Will Wade (Hired by NC State)
Oral Roberts Golden Eagles: Robert Springmann (Fired)
Pennsylvania Quakers: Steve Donahue (Fired)
Radford Highlanders: Darris Nichols (Hired at La Salle)
Sacramento State Hornets: David Patrick (resigned), Michael Czepil (interim)
UL Monroe Warhawks: Keith Richard (Fired)
West Virginia Mountaineers: Darian DeVries (hired at Indiana)
Villanova Wildcats: Kyle Neptune (fired)
VCU Rams: Ryan Odom (Hired at Virginia)
Xavier Musketeers: Sean Miller (Hired at Texas)
Some programs have big shoes to fill; McNeese State, Drake, and Xavier, and they are sure to attract a lot of attention, already have.
Also, West Virginia is another spot looking to get back to the success it has had, particularly under Bob Huggins (2007-2023), 345-203, and a final four appearance in 2010 and 4 Sweet Sixteens. The names are flying, and developments are happening fast. Issue 2 may come out before next Friday.
As always, check out my podcasts
Talking Sports on the Bleachers and the NCAA Report with Don and Russ. You can both be found at Gateway Sports and on Spotify
Check out the Talking Sports on the Bleachers Facebook Page as well for articles, pods and updates.
Have fun, stay, and I will see you soon!
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