With coaching search underway, roster again in flux
West Virginia is without a head basketball coach for the third time in 21 months.
Darian DeVries, who was hired less than a calendar year ago, is off to Indiana after one 19-13 season with the Mountaineers sending the program back into the search process to find his replacement.
Athletic Director Wren Baker will lead that search once again and fortunately, he has experience running each of the previous two that landed on an interim tag for Josh Eilert and DeVries.
And while that process will play out in due time as Baker has taken a be quick, but don’t hurry approach to all of his previous coaching searches in Morgantown the next question becomes what happens with the remaining roster? That truly can’t be answered until a new hire is made, but the Mountaineers are once again operating with the opening of the transfer portal window on the horizon.
The portal will open March 24 and there's already been movement on the roster.
West Virginia has already experienced several roster casualties with freshman guard Jonathan Powell the first to exit prior to DeVries announcing his own departure. It should come as no surprise that Devries’ son Tucker, the two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, will join his father at Indiana after a season where he was limited to just eight games but averaged 14.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
Throw on top that Castaic (Ca.) Southern California Academy guard Kelvin Odih opening up his recruitment and the roster has already shrunk in considerable numbers. Odih, 6-foot-5, 200-pounds, was considered one of the nation’s top two-way guards and was rated as the 77th-best prospect nationally by Rivals.com.
SoCal Prep forward Trent MacLean was one of the fastest risers in the 2025 class, but he too has requested his release from his letter of intent.
The Mountaineers still have one high-profile prospect in the class in Huntington Prep (W.Va.) forward Braydon Hawthorne but without a coaching staff in place, it remains to be seen what unfolds there on the recruiting trail.
As for the rest of the roster, the Mountaineers still have players such as junior forward Amani Hansberry, junior guard Sencire Harris, sophomore guard KJ Tenner, redshirt freshman center Abraham Oyeadier, senior forward Haris Elezovich, and redshirt sophomore Ofri Naveh but again it’s unclear what happens there, too.
"I hope our underclassmen give our new coach a chance to come in and give them a recruiting pitch. I can promise them we'll be resourced competitively within the Big 12 and nationally, and we'll find a coach who's committed to them and committed to this university and this state," Baker said.
A new coaching staff is going to evaluate everything differently and there is a real chance even if some elect to stick with the program that West Virginia is going to be rebuilding close to an entire roster for the second straight season.
It’s just the nature for college basketball programs to experience a lot of turnover from year to year even without a coaching change, but with one it’s made things even more difficult to navigate.
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Topics
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Indiana hires away West Virginia's Darian DeVries after his first season in Morgantown
After just one season with the Mountaineers, former Drake coach Darian DeVries has been hired as the next head coach at Indiana.Yahoo Sports - 2d -
Indiana hires Darian DeVries away from West Virginia as new head coach
DeVries went 19-13 with the Mountaineers just one season after they finished 9-23 and last in the Big 12.Yahoo Sports - 2d -
Indiana hires Darian DeVries: Will replace Mike Woodson after one season as West Virginia's coach
DeVries just wrapped up his first season with West Virginia after a six-year run at DrakeCBS Sports - 2d -
What qualities could Baker be looking for in next West Virginia head coach?
West Virginia has been thrust back into the search for a head basketball coach. Darian DeVries exited the program after just one 19-13 season, leaving Athletic Director Wren Baker with the task of ...Yahoo Sports - 2d -
Darian DeVries set to depart WVU, leaving for head coach position at Indiana
Mar. 18—MORGANTOWN — For a third consecutive season, WVU athletic director Wren Baker will be conducting a head coaching search for the men's basketball program. Darian DeVries, who spent just one ...Yahoo Sports - 2d -
Indiana names WVU's DeVries as new head coach
Indiana has hired West Virginia's Darian DeVries as the new coach of the men's basketball program.ESPN - 2d -
West Virginia job one that should have great interest
West Virginia is back in the market for a new head men’s basketball coach. The man formerly holding the post, Darian DeVries, left the program for Indiana after one 19-13 season in Morgantown ...Yahoo Sports - 1d -
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Indiana hired West Virginia's Darian DeVries as its next men's basketball coach, replacing Mike Woodson.Yahoo Sports - 2d -
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Indiana has hired Iowa basketball head coaching target Darian DeVries as the next head man in Bloomington.Yahoo Sports - 2d
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