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Providence is hiring South Florida head coach Bryan Hodgson as its next men’s basketball coach, the school announced Sunday.
Hodgson, 38, replaces Kim English, who was fired on March 13 after three seasons. English went 48-52 at Providence and did not reach the NCAA Tournament.
“This is a program with a proud tradition, passionate fan base, and a city that truly embraces its team,” Hodgson said in a statement. “We’re going to build something that reflects that pride. We will be tough, disciplined, and relentless in our pursuit of excellence.”
Hodgson’s move continues his rapid rise through the coaching ranks. He led the Bulls to a 25-9 record in his lone season at South Florida, including a 15-3 mark in the American Conference, and the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2012. South Florida won both the American regular-season and conference tournament titles.
As a No. 11 seed, USF lost its first-round tournament game to No. 6 Louisville 83-79 on Thursday.
We were informed by Coach Hodgson that he will be leaving to become the new head men’s basketball coach at Providence. Congratulations and thank you to Coach Hodgson, Jordan and Jett! We had an incredible season, including our second regular season championship in the last three…
— Rob Higgins (@RHiggins_USF) March 22, 2026
Prior to USF, Hodgson assumed his first head coaching role at Arkansas State, posting a 45-28 record with consecutive 20-win seasons from 2023 to 2025. Across three total years as head coach, he has a 70-37 record and has not logged a single losing season.
A longtime assistant under Nate Oats at Alabama from 2019 to 2023 and Buffalo from 2015 to 2019, Hodgson built a reputation as a key recruiter and player development coach during the Crimson Tide’s rise into a national contender.
Providence is on the heels of back-to-back losing seasons and will turn to Hodgson as it looks to reset the program’s trajectory in the Big East. The Friars last made the NCAA Tournament in 2023.
South Florida now faces another transition under Higgins, who already replaced his football coach in his first six months on the role and oversaw transition plans when longtime women’s basketball head coach Jose Hernandez departed for the WNBA.
“Rest assured, we did everything within reason to try and retain (Hodgson) for the long term,” Higgins wrote in a post on X. “We will always be proactive and aggressive in working to retain high-performing coaches, but equally as important, we will also always be the ultimate stewards of our department’s financial resources. Through candid conversations throughout this process, we have been preparing for this possibility in recent weeks.”
