Some have been noted already
From Sports Illustrated
Arizona State snags former Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett on five-year deal
In what may end up being the best pound-for-pound hire of the cycle, Arizona State finally coaxed the Mesa, Ariz., native back home after an incredible run of consistent success at Saint Mary’s. ASU had long been circled as a potential destination if Bennett ever left Moraga, Calif., but many considered him a lifer there; after all, he just completed his 25th year on the job. Pulling him at a job most considered to be near the bottom of the Big 12 is a massive win. Even if he’s only able to land the same caliber of player he has in the latter part of his Saint Mary’s tenure, he’ll have the Sun Devils consistently in the NCAA tournament.
The big question: How much did conference realignment play into Bennett’s decision? With Gonzaga leaving the WCC for the new Pac-12, Saint Mary’s would have had a tougher time consistently getting at-large bids. That had to have made a move to the Big 12 more attractive.
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Saint Mary’s promotes associate head coach Mickey McConnell to top job
Saint Mary’s didn’t wait long to fill the void left by Bennett’s jump to Arizona State,
promoting associate head coach Mickey McConnell to the top of the program. McConnell played for the Gaels under Bennett from 2007 to ’11 and his 1,234 points are the 12th most in program history. After playing professionally internationally for eight years, McConnell returned to Saint Mary’s as an assistant in 2019 and ascended to associate head coach in ’22.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Gerry McNamara returns home to Syracuse
Two years after leaving Adrian Autry’s staff to take over the program at Siena,
McNamara is set to return to his alma mater, replacing Autry as the second consecutive former Jim Boeheim assistant to take over the program since the Hall of Famer’s retirement.
McNamara impressed, elevating the Saints from four wins to 14 in his first year, and winning the MAAC despite a depleted roster and taking No. 1 overall seed Duke to the brink in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Year 2. Even so, is he the new voice that Syracuse needs, after being on staff for a large portion of the
program’s slide to mediocrity under Boeheim and Autry? Will the NIL draw of an Orange legend helming the program help Syracuse catch up in the college basketball arms race? These are the significant questions that McNamara will need to answer quickly.
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Cincinnati preparing to land Utah State coach Jerrod Calhoun ( edit has been hired as noted in one of bac's posts in this thread)
Cincinnati fired Wes Miller after five largely unsuccessful seasons, and the program has now gone seven years without reaching the NCAA tournament. The Bearcats are rumored to have a deal with someone who has done just that two years in a row.
Jerrod Calhoun has led Utah State to the tournament in each of the last two seasons, and advanced to the second round this year with an 86–76 win over Villanova. While in charge of the Aggies, the 44-year-old Calhoun has a record of 55–15 (.786), and this season his squad won the Mountain West regular-season and conference tournament titles.
Calhoun previously coached at Youngstown State and Division II Fairmont State, compiling a 297–159 (.651) record in 15 seasons as a head coach. Plus, he’s a Cincinnati alum with tons of ties to the region, making this one a slam dunk.
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recap
2026 HoopDirt.com Coaching Changes Tracker
D1 Coaching Changes (2026)
2026 HoopDirt.com Coaching Changes Tracker presented by The Coaching Portfolio The Coaching Portfolio: Helping coaches get hired with professional job search tools: Portfolios, Interview Prep, Personal Branding….www.TheCoachingPortfolio.com As we do every year, HoopDirt.com will be tracking head...
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A little late night dirt…
Most interesting name I’ve heard mentioned with the search at Siena is UMBC head coach Jim Ferry. The veteran head coach led the Retrievers to a 24-9 (14-2 AE) record this past season and captured the America East Tournament Championship. Ferry has also been the head coach at LIU, Duquesne, Adelphi, and Plymouth State. He served as the interim head coach at Penn State in 2020-21. Working on more names now.
Story: Adam Nelson (@HD_DirtKing) A little late night dirt… Most interesting name I’ve heard mentioned with the search at Siena is UMBC head coach Jim Ferry. The veteran head coach led the Retrievers to a 24-9 (14-2 AE) record this past season and captured the America East Tournament...
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www.on3.com
www.espn.com
www.cbssports.com
