College basketball coaching changes: Ben McCollum, Niko Medved, Ryan Odom all homecoming hirings in hoops

Out: Landon Bussie | In: TBD After five seasons in the SWAC, Bussie was offered the Chicago State job and left to head north. The Braves last won the SWAC in 2002.2

Out: Bryan Hodgson | In: TBD After going 45-28 in two seasons, Hodgson became a buzzy name and was expected to take a bigger job. He’s off to South Florida and the AAC. Associate head coach Tee Butters is rumored to be next in line here.3

Out: Scott Davenport | In: Doug Davenport Scott Davenport was an institution at Bellarmine, guiding the program from D-II to D-I in recent years. He won a national title in 2011 and went to four D-II Final Fours in total, in addition to 426 games across 20 seasons. In total, he spent more than four decades coaching basketball in Louisville. A fixture in that city. With his retirement, Bellarmine has allowed Scott to hand the job to his son, Doug, who has been on staff for nine years.4

Out: Kevin McGeehan | In: John Andrzejek McGeehan lasted 12 seasons with the Fighting Camels but was fired following a 15-17 campaign. He went 184-199 and couldn’t bring Campbell to the NCAAs during his dozen years. The school moved from the Big South to the CAA two years ago and will seek a reboot under Andrzejek, who will finish out Florida’s run (he’s an assistant there) before making the move.5

Out: Scott Spinelli | In: Landon Bussie A one-year experiment gone awry under Spinelli. Chicago State went 4-28 and finished 361 at KenPom in its first season in the NEC. Truly one of the five toughest jobs in all of Division I. Bussie was previously the coach at Alcorn State for five seasons.6

Out: Jeff Wulbrun | In: TBD Four years and out for Wulburn, who was put on leave mid-season for actions not disclosed publicly. Denver is in the Summit League and has never made the NCAAs dating back to its Division I start in the late 1990s.7

Out: Niko Medved | In: TBD Medved had a great situation in Fort Collins, but home is home and Minnesota was one he couldn’t turn down. CSU is going to go through a search to replace him, from what I’m told, but when you literally have Ali Farokhmanesh on your staff already, you have a layup PR win just waiting if you opt to promote a proven assistant who also happens to be one of the all-time March Madness Guys. Let’s see what AD John Weber does here.8

Out: Jim Engles | In: Kevin Hovde Engles was with the Lions for nine years but never wound up with a season above .500. This is a tough gig, but it is in a great part of New York City. Florida assistant Kevin Hovde was the favorite from the start and officially accepted the job during the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. He was previously an assistant there under Kyle Smith during the 2010s.9

Out: Ben McCollum | In: TBD Drake’s done well for itself. Consider: McCollum, Darian DeVries and Niko Medved are its three former coaches. They were all hired to Big Ten jobs in this year’s cycle. If Drake had to lose McCollum to anyone, Iowa is the softest blow. The perception of this job has altered drastically in the past decade. Next man up won’t be expected to win 30 games like McCollum, but staying near the top of the Missouri Valley is the expectation.10

Out: Keith Urgo | In: TBD This opening had been rumored about going back to January. Fordham made it official on the first weekend of the NCAAs. Urgo went from 25-8 in Year 1 to 13-20 and then 12-21 this year, including a last-place finish in the A-10. I’d do everything in my power to try and hire UConn assistant Kimani Young or Yale’s James Jones … but given this program’s place in the A-10 pecking order, that might not be possible.11

Out: Tobin Anderson | In: Dan Geriot Iona administration is getting dragged for how poorly it treated Anderson, who was fired Monday after just two seasons. The coach who led FDU to the 16-over-1 upset of Purdue in 2023 went 33-34 with the Gaels. Expectations in the post-Rick Pitino phase in New Rochelle got really high, really fast, but still: pretty harsh stuff. New Orleans Pelicans assistant Dan Geriot, who played at Richmond, is yet another NBA-to-college hire, which has become the trend in this year’s cycle.12

Out: Fran Dunphy | In: Darris Nichols The 76-year-old Philly legend is retiring this month after nearly 50 years in college basketball coaching. Dunphy won more than 600 games and is among the most well-liked and accomplished coaches in the storied history of Philadelphia basketball. La Salle’s program is among the more cash-strapped at the multi-bid-league level. Nichols got the nod after a few low-major coaches from the northeast were heavily looked into. La Salle has made one NCAA tourney in the past 33 years.13

Out: Griff Aldrich | In: Ronnie Thomas The Lancers promoted Thomas after Aldrich left after seven seasons (and two NCAA tourney appearances) to be the top assistant under Ryan Odom at Virginia.14

Out: Bob Marlin | In: Quannas White After a 15-year run that included two Sun Belt auto bids (2014, 2023), Marlin was fired in December. After some wait-and-see and a few tussles with contract negotiations, Louisiana got White to the finish line. He’s 44 and been ready to run a program for a few years now after spending the past eight with Kelvin Sampson. He’ll join the program after Houston’s season ends.15

Out: Keith Richard | In: Phil Cunningham Richard began his time as coach of the Warhawks in the Sun Belt in 2010, but he was never been able to break through and make the NCAAs. Program last made the Big Dance in 1996. Cunningham was hired from within; he previously was a head coach at Troy from 2013-19.16

Out: Will Wade | In: TBD With Wade off to NC State, Baylor assistant Bill Armstrong is expected to be next in line to take over in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The Cowboys will look to keep the momentum of the past two years and stay atop the Southland.17

Out: Steve Prohm | In: Ryan Miller Prohm’s second go-round with the Racers wasn’t fruitful. He resigned following Murray State’s loss to Bradley, leaving with a 45-52 record in three years. Word in the Missouri Valley is Murray State is ready to invest more money into its program than any other school in that league for the 2025-26 season. Miller, a Creighton who has been in the running in recent years at a number of jobs, beat out a litany of power-conference assistants.18

Out: Ed DeChellis | In: TBD DeChellis announced his retirement on March 19, stepping away from Navy after 14 seasons and 196 wins. DeChellis was also a head coach previously at East Tennessee State and Penn State, totaling for 29 seasons and 415 wins, making him one of just seven coaches active this past season with at least 100 wins at three schools.19

Out: Russell Springmann | In: TBD A semi-surprise, as Springmann only made it two seasons before getting sacked. The Golden Eagles went 7-23 this year and sunk to the bottom of the Summit League.20

Out: Steve Donahue | In: TBD It was a decade for Donahue in Philly, with the Quakers making the NCAAs in 2018. This year was the worst yet, with Penn going 8-19 and finishing 292 at KenPom. I’m told the objective here is to hire a sitting head coach. Robert Morris’ Andy Toole is an alum and just took that team to the tourney. An obvious candidate. Was told told Fran McCaffery could be trying to get involved and make this his last stop.21

Out: Darris Nichols | In: Zach Chu The Highlanders had four years with Nichols (off to La Salle), which totaled a 68-63 record at the Big South program. The school has made three NCAA Tournaments since 1998. Chu is a head-turning hire; he wasn’t even considered to be in the initial list of finalists for the job. The 34-year-old SMU assistant previously spent time in the analytics departments of the Indiana Pacers and Dallas Mavericks.22

Out: Michael Czepil | In: Mike Bibby David Patrick resigned last May (and eventually joined Matt McMahon’s staff at LSU), which led to Czepil being the interim. The Hornets finished the regular season 7-24. Bibby, the longtime Sacramento Kings guard, has accepted the job, according to ESPN. Completely out of left field.23

Out: Kyle Keller | In: Matt Braeuer Keller coached SFA for nearly nine seasons and won 18 or more games in six of those years. He was fired in January. He also was responsible for one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history, when his Lumberjacks team upset No. 1 Duke in November of 2019 . Braueuer comes via Texas Tech, but his ties within Texas date back to being on Grant McCasland’s staff at North Texas as well. He’ll join the program after TTU’s run ends in the NCAA Tournament.24

Out: Kevin Kruger | In: Josh PastnerThe Runnin’ Rebels went 18-15 this season, falling Thursday in the Mountain West quarterfinals to Utah State. Vegas never made an NCAA Tournament under Kruger’s watch, and beyond that, never had a season wherein they finished better than 73rd at KenPom. The school is not in a good financial situation, and sources said a few candidates involved walked away not that enthused, given the challenges ahead. Pastner was pushing for this job for a few weeks, and his experience running Memphis and Georgia Tech gave him an edge as the search progressed over the weekend.25

Former coach: Amir Abdur-Rahim | In: Bryan Hodgson A sad inclusion to the tracker, as Abdur-Rahim tragically died in the preseason at 43 , leading to Ben Fletcher serving as the interim head coach over the past four-plus months. Abdur-Rahim was a rising star. The American Athletic Conference named Abdur-Rahim its Honorary Coach of the Year for 2024-25. Hodgson comes over on a six-year deal after two years with Arkansas State. If he continues on his trajectory, USF will be in the top three of the American in no more than two years.26

Out: Ryan Odom | In: TBD VCU is one of the best mid-major jobs in the country, and because it’s that, it’s prone to coaching turnover at a rate that’s more volatile that most other schools. But this is a really good job with one of the strongest home-court environment and fan bases you’ll find in college hoops. With Odom gone, VCU AD Ed McLaughlin has been doggedly chasing his No. 1 option, but it’s unclear as of Monday night if he can secure it. If not, option 1b waits in the wings.