Matt Norlander's frequently updated docket has the latest news on searches, firings and hirings across college hoops
By Matt Norlander
• 5 min read
Welcome to the 2024 CBS Sports men's college basketball coaching carousel headquarters. Bookmark/favorite this story, as it will get updated dozens of times over the next month. Any time there is actionable intel on coaching movement, we'll refresh our tracker below, in addition to frequently giving a fresh topper of copy to give you context on the latest from college basketball's hot stove.
Friday afternoon brought a headline. After seven seasons, Washingtoninformed Mike Hopkins he will be fired. The 54-year-old coach will continue with the program through the end of the season, the school announced. Hopkins won 118 games but never turned the school into anything close to a consistent top-25 outfit. In 2019, he made his lone NCAA Tournament appearance.
It's not a shocking development; sources earlier this week indicated Hopkins was on borrowed time. New Washington athletic director Troy Dannen has been working toward a move for weeks. The job will be a competitive opening due to Washington's fertile recruiting territory in Seattle, in addition to an expected uptick in NIL support that will align with the school's move to the Big Ten later this year.
Hopkins was a longtime assistant at Syracuse who made the cross-country jump in 2017 after Jim Boeheim's previously scheduled retirement was put on a six-year delay.
As for other carousel news, my latest Court Report notebook leads on a tour of all high-major jobs with the most speculation attached to them.
This week also saw action out of Indiana. Hoosiers athletic director Scott Dolson decided to stick with Mike Woodson, meaning he'll return for Year 4. Woodson is 60-39 at IU and made the NCAAs in his first two seasons. A day after the news broke, five-star 2024 prospect Liam McNeely de-committed from the Hoosiers.
Indiana isn't flipping. Here are the jobs that will. Three of the 18 on the market have already been filled.
Major-conference changes
| 1 | DePaul |
| Out: Tony Stubblefield DePaul sacked Stubblefield on Jan. 22. This is the worst-performing program in a high-major conference this century, but someone has to eventually win here ... right? This year marked the school's 20th consecutive season missing the NCAA Tournament. | |
| 2 | Ohio St. |
| Out: Chris Holtmann Jake Diebler has done a better-than-admirable job as the interim coach since Holtmann's firing on Valentine's Day. It's a top-25 job in college hoops. Our writers' roundtable this week focused on which candidates the Buckeyes should target . | |
| 3 | Washington |
| Out:Mike Hopkins There's a LOT of noise around Danny Sprinkle's candidacy at this job, but we'll see. Washington State coach Kyle Smith is also a rumored target. Some think Washington has sleeping-giant potential. Others believe this school is fated to be just another high-major caught in an 18-school Big Ten with limited upside. | |
| 4 | West Virginia |
| Out: Bob Huggins Josh Eilert won the interim job last summer, but after losing key pieces to the transfer portal, there will definitely be a change in Morgantown. WVU is 9-21 and likely two games away from the end of its season. An interesting job opening in a faraway footprint in the Big 12, but with a passionate fanbase. Fit is paramount. | |
Non-Big Six changes
| 1 | Bryant |
| Out: Jared Grasso | In : Phil Martelli Jr. Martelli won the full-time job near the beginning of the season. Bryant's big win came in November at FAU. The 19-12 Bulldogs finished third in the America East. | |
| 2 | Cal Poly |
| Out: John Smith Smith only managed 30 wins in five seasons. This is a bottom-tier Big West job. | |
| 3 | Cent. Arkansas |
| Out: Anthony Boone The Bears went 9-23 in Boone's fourth and final season and did not qualify for the ASUN Tournament. This program has been D-I since 2006 and not yet qualified for an NCAA Tournament. | |
| 4 | Charleston So. |
| Out: Barclay Radebaugh | In : Saah Nimley The Buccaneers stuck by Nimley, who was promoted to full-time after a 10-19 season and following the retirement of Radebaugh, who spent the past 18 seasons leading the program. The Bucs haven't danced since 1997. | |
| 5 | C. Carolina |
| Out: Cliff Ellis When Bob Huggins resigned, Ellis became the winningest active coach in the game ... then he opted to retire in December. This line from Coastal Carolina's press release puts his underrated 49-year career into perspective: "With 831 career NCAA victories, Ellis ranks ninth in Division I men's basketball history in wins, trailing only Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim, Bob Huggins, Jim Calhoun, Roy Williams, Bob Knight, Dean Smith and Adolph Rupp." | |
| 6 | Detroit |
| Out: Mike Davis The Titans went 1-31, the worst win percentage in D-I. The lone win? IUPUI, which also fired its coach. Davis lasted six seasons but never won more than 14 games. | |
| 7 | Fairfield |
| Out: Jay Young Young stepped down in October under mysterious circ*mstances that were never clarified by the university. Chris Casey became interim coach and did a good job under duress. The Stags are 18-11 and a contender to win the MAAC auto bid. Casey is believed to be in line to get the full-time gig. | |
| 8 | Houston Chr. |
| Out: Ron Cottrell A major changing of the guard in the Southland Conference. Houston Christian (formerly Houston Baptist) has been led by Cottrell since 1990, when the program was revived as an NAIA school. It went D-I in 2008. Cottrell spent 33 seasons with the program and won 524 games. | |
| 9 | IUPUI |
| Out: Matt Crenshaw Crenshaw managed just 14 wins in three seasons, but this is a cellar job in the Horizon League that is years away from being remotely viable in that conference. | |
| 10 | Loyola-Md. |
| Out:Tavaras Hardy After six seasons and a 66-110 record, Hardy resigned on Friday. The Greyhounds hit a nadir this season under Hardy, finishing 7-25. | |
| 11 | Old Dominion |
| Out: Jeff Jones | In : Mike Jones Jones retired in late February, though he had not been coaching since December due to multiple health issues. ODU wasted little time and hired the hotly rumored replacement. Mike Jones, an assistant at Maryland, has longstanding D.C. area ties after a 19-year tenure coaching DeMatha High School. He's also an ODU alum. An easy choice. | |
| 12 | Pacific |
| Out: Leonard Perry This was was expected for months. Perry replaced Damon Stoudamire and won 29 games in three seasons. This is regarded as the worst job in the WCC. The Tigers will hope to land a young, aggressive assistant from the high-major ranks. | |
| 13 | Pepperdine |
| Out: Lorenzo Romar Another West Coast Conference job is open. Romar coached in obscurity for six years and went 117-156. Few campuses have better living than this one, so even despite not making an NCAA Tournament in 22 years, this job will attract some talent. | |
| 14 | S. Illinois |
| Out:Bryan Mullins Noise increased in the past month that Mullins could be coaching for his job in March. After falling to UIC in the first round of the Missouri Valley Tournament, that proved true. The SIU alum is out after five seasons and an 86-68 record, but no NCAA Tournament appearances. | |
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