Unsurprisingly, this year’s coaching-change cycle has schools in the Power Five basketball conferences dipping into the men’s NCAA tournament bracket to locate new hires with a recent track record of regular-season and postseason success.
Of the nine major-conference hires with previous college experience as a head coach, eight led teams into this year’s tournament. That led to some awkwardness involving new North Carolina State coach Will Wade and new Villanova coach Kevin Willard.
But the hiring approach is solid. Of the head coaches in this year’s Elite Eight, six had previously led a different school into tournament; the exceptions were Michigan State’s Tom Izzo and Duke’s Jon Scheyer, who were promoted as assistants.
Time will tell if this year’s new hires will repeat this success in a new environment. With two open positions remaining in Texas A&M and West Virginia, here’s our ranking of the major-conference coaching changes:
1. Will Wade, North Carolina State
Wade comes with serious baggage, as he readily admitted during the McNeese State's tournament run. He was given a two-year, show-cause order and suspended for the first 10 games of his tenure there after the NCAA found him guilty of rules violations at LSU. But he also wins: McNeese went 58-11 in his two seasons, losing just twice in Southland Conference play, and previously led Virginia Commonwealth and LSU into tournament play. The road back to the Final Four won’t be easy even in an ACC that took a step back this year, but Wade will recruit at a high level and implement a style of play that should provide North Carolina State with an immediate boost next season.
2. Kevin Willard, Villanova
The way he handled the departure from Maryland has overshadowed Willard’s impressive résumé. Iona went 2-28 in the year before his arrival but won 21 games in his third season. That earned Willard the job at Seton Hall, which went 49-48 in his first three years but reached the tournament in five of his final seven seasons — accounting for over a third of the tournament appearances in program history. Maryland was floundering when he was hired in 2022. Willard is back in more familiar territory at Villanova and will have a healthier amount of NIL at his disposal to rebuild the Wildcats.
3. Sean Miller, Texas
After being fired after a dozen years at Arizona amid a widespread NCAA investigation, Miller returned to Xavier and made a pair of tournament appearances in three seasons. While his second run with the Musketeers didn’t quite meet expectations, Miller’s extensive experience overall and three Elite Eight berths with the Arizona makes him a strong fit for a Texas program fighting for a toehold in the deep SEC.
