The 2022 college basketball coaching carousel
The college basketball coaching carousel has all but stopped this cycle, with just one vacancy (South Carolina State) remaining. There were 14 power-conference vacancies, and almost half (six) came in the SEC.
The biggest vacancies came after two title-winning coaches announced their retirement. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski made his decision before the season, and Jon Scheyer went through the 2021-22 campaign knowing he was the replacement. Villanova’s Jay Wright made his stunning announcement after the season; the news came out a few hours before the school announced his replacement, Fordham coach Kyle Neptune, a former Wildcats assistant.
Also of interest this cycle:
+ Of the 14 power-conference openings, 11 went to current or former head coaches and the other three to assistants who haven’t been head coaches before.
+ Two coaches went from one power-conference program to another: Mike White from Florida to Georgia and Kevin Willard from Seton Hall to Maryland.
+ Four coaches are taking over programs where they had been head coaches before: Ed Conroy at The Citadel (previously there 2006-10), Thad Matta at Butler (2000-01), Sean Miller at Xavier (2004-09) and Steve Prohm at Murray State (2011-15).
+ Two coaches who were fired this cycle quickly were hired elsewhere: Frank Martin, from South Carolina to UMass, and Travis Steele, from Xavier to Miami (Ohio).
+ A handful of former power-conference coaches now are back in mid- or low-major leagues: Pat Chambers (Penn State) at Florida Gulf Coast, Trent Johnson (LSU) at Cal State Northridge, Steve Lavin (UCLA, St. John’s) at San Diego and Arch Miller (Indiana) at Rhode Island.
+ Other former head coaches getting another shot: Fran Dunphy at La Salle, George Ivory at Mississippi Valley, Bart Lundy at Milwaukee, Marvin Menzies at Kansas City and Billy Taylor at Elon.
+ The others moved from one head-coaching job to another or had been assistants before getting this head-coaching opportunity.
Here’s a closer look at this cycle’s coaching carousel, broken down by league (first come the Big Six, then the other conferences).
ACC
Duke
New coach: Jon Scheyer, who had been Duke assistant
Former coach: Mike Krzyzewski (retired)
Louisville
New coach: Kenny Payne, who had been New York Knicks assistant
Former coach: Chris Mack (resigned)
BIG EAST
Butler
New coach: Thad Matta, who had been associate AD for basketball at Indiana
Former coach: Lavell Jordan (fired)
Seton Hall
New coach: Shaheen Holloway, who had been Saint Peter’s coach
Former coach: Kevin Willard (hired as Maryland coach)
Villanova
New coach: Kyle Neptune, who had been Fordham coach
Former coach: Jay Wright (retired)
Xavier
New coach: Sean Miller, who was out of coaching this past season
Former coach: Travis Steele (fired)
BIG TEN
Maryland
New coach: Kevin Willard, who had been Seton Hall coach
Former coach: Mark Turgeon (resigned)
BIG 12
Kansas State
New coach: Jerome Tang, who had been Baylor assistant
Former coach: Bruce Weber (retired)
PAC-12
None
SEC
Florida
New coach: Todd Golden, who had been San Francisco coach
Former coach: Mike White (hired as Georgia coach)
Georgia
New coach: Mike White, who had been Florida coach
Former coach: Tom Crean (fired)
LSU
New coach: Matt McMahon, who had been Murray State coach
Former coach: Will Wade (fired)
Mississippi State
New coach: Chris Jans, who had been New Mexico State coach
Former coach: Ben Howland (fired)
Missouri
New coach: Dennis Gates, who had been Cleveland State coach
Former coach: Counzo Martin (fired)
South Carolina
New coach: Lamont Paris, who had been Chattanooga coach
Former coach: Frank Martin (fired; then became coach at UMass)
AMERICA EAST
Maine
New coach: Chris Markwood, who had been Boston College assistant
Former coach: Richard Barron (fired)
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
East Carolina
New coach: Michael Schwartz, who had been Tennessee assistant
Former coach: Joe Dooley (fired)
SMU
New coach: Rob Lanier, who had been Georgia State coach
Former coach: Tim Jankovich (retired)
Tulsa
New coach: Eric Konkol, who had been Louisiana Tech coach
Former coach: Frank Haith (resigned)
ATLANTIC SUN
Florida Gulf Coast
New coach: Pat Chambers, who was out of coaching this past season
Former coach: Michael Fly (fired)
ATLANTIC 10
Fordham
New coach: Keith Urgo, who had been Fordham assistant
Former coach: Kyle Neptune (hired as Villanova coach)
George Washington
New coach: Chris Caputo, who had been Miami assistant
Former coach: Jamison Christian (fired)
La Salle
New coach: Fran Dunphy, who was out of coaching this past season
Former coach: Ashley Howard (fired)
Rhode Island
New coach: Arch Miller, who was out of coaching this past season
Former coach: David Cox (fired)
UMass
New coach: Frank Martin, who had been fired as South Carolina coach
Former coach: Matt McCall (fired)
BIG SKY
Sacramento State
New coach: David Patrick, who had been Oklahoma assistant
Former coach: Brian Katz (retired)
BIG SOUTH
High Point
New coach: G.G. Smith, who had been High Point assistant
Former coach: Tubby Smith (retired)
BIG WEST
Cal State Northridge
New coach: Trent Johnson, who was promoted from interim role, where he served all season
Old coach: Mark Gottfried (fired)
COLONIAL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
Elon
New coach: Billy Taylor, who had been Iowa assistant
Former coach: Mike Schrage (resigned to become part of Duke staff)
CONFERENCE USA
Louisiana Tech
New coach: Talvin Hester, who had been Texas Tech assistant
Former coach: Eric Konkol (hired as Tulsa coach)
HORIZON LEAGUE
Cleveland State
New coach: Daniyal Robinson, who had been Iowa State assistant
Former coach: Dennis Gates (hired as Missouri coach)
Milwaukee
New coach: Bart Lundy, who had been coach at Division II Queens (N.C.)
Former coach: Patrick Baldwin (fired)
METRO ATLANTIC ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Saint Peter’s
New coach: Bashir Mason, who had been Wagner coach
Former coach: Shaheen Holloway (hired as Seton Hall coach)
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Ball State
New coach: Michael Lewis, who had been UCLA assistant
Former coach: James Whitford (fired)
Miami
New coach: Travis Steele, who had been fired as Xavier coach
Former coach: Jack Owens (fired)
Western Michigan
New coach: Dwayne Stephens, who had been Michigan State assistant
Former coach: Clayton Bates (resigned)
MID-EASTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
South Carolina State
New coach: Vacant
Former coach: Tony Madlock (hired as Alabama State coach)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE
Illinois State
New coach: Ryan Pedon, who had been Ohio State assistant
Former coach: Dan Muller (fired)
Murray State (moving to the MVC in 2022)
New coach: Steve Prohm, who was out of coaching this past season
Former coach: Matt McMahon (hired as LSU coach)
NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
Fairleigh Dickinson
New coach: Tobin Anderson, who had been coach at Division II St. Thomas Aquinas (N.J.)
Former coach: Greg Herenda (fired)
Wagner
New coach: Donald Copeland, who had been Seton Hall assistant
Former coach: Bashir Mason (hired as Saint Peter’s coach)
PATRIOT LEAGUE
Lafayette
New coach: Mike Jordan, who had been Colgate assistant
Former coach: Fran O’Hanlon (retired)
SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
Chattanooga
New coach: Dan Earl, who had been VMI coach
Former coach: Lamont Paris (hired as South Carolina coach)
Citadel
New coach: Ed Conroy, who had been Vanderbilt assistant
Former coach: Duggar Baucom (fired)
VMI
New coach: Andrew Wilson, who had been James Madison assistant
Former coach: Dan Earl (hired as Chattanooga coach)
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE
Northwestern State
New coach: Corey Gipson, who had been Missouri State assistant
Former coach: Mike McConathy (retired)
SOUTHWESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Alabama A&M
New coach: Otis Hughley Jr., who had been coach of the Nigerian national women’s team
Former coach: Dylan Howard (fired)
Jackson State
New coach: Mo Williams, who had been Alabama State coach
Former coach: Wayne Brent (retired)
Mississippi Valley
New coach: George Ivory, who was out of coaching this past season
Former coach: Lindsey Hunter (resigned)
SUMMIT LEAGUE
Kansas City
New coach: Marvin Menzies, who had been Grand Canyon assistant
Former coach: Billy Donlon (resigned to become part of Clemson staff)
Omaha
New coach: Chris Crutchfield, who had been Oregon assistant
Former coach: Derrin Hansen (fired)
South Dakota
New coach: Eric Peterson, who had been Utah assistant
Former coach: Todd Lee (fired)
SUN BELT CONFERENCE
Georgia State
New coach: Jonas Hayes, who had been Xavier assistant
Former coach: Rob Lanier (hired as SMU coach)
WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
New Mexico State
New coach: Greg Heiar, who had been Northwest Florida State College coach
Former coach: Chris Jans (hired as Mississippi State coach)
Seattle
New coach: Chris Victor, who was promoted from an interim role, which he held all season
Old coach: Jim Hayford (resigned)
WEST COAST CONFERENCE
San Diego
New coach: Steve Lavin, who had been a TV analyst
Former coach: Sam Scholl (fired)
San Francisco
New coach: Chris Gerlufsen, who had been San Francisco assistant
Former coach: Todd Golden (hired as Florida coach)