Andy Kennedy, UAB head coach
Kennedy is an obvious name on any immediate short list given his familiarity with the Bob Huggins coaching tree and An experienced coach, Kennedy has a career record of 315-184 as a coach and has led the Blazers to three straight 20-win seasons. The Mississippi native served as an assistant under Huggins during his time at Cincinnati and the two remained close. That could mean little adjustments for those already on the roster in terms of playing style.Led the Blazers to the NCAA Tournament in 2022 and is a name that will be on any short list for the program.
Jerod Calhoun, Youngstown State head coach
Calhoun has been the head coach at Youngstown State for seven seasons and has obvious ties to the West Virginia program considering he spent five years at the program as the director of basketball operations and then as an assistant for a season. Has been a successful head coach during his time with the Penguins and is coming off a 24-10 season where he was named 2023 Horizon League Men's Basketball Coach of the Year and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) District 12 Coach of the Year. Calhoun spent five seasons as the head coach at Fairmont State where he accumulated an overall record of 124-38.
Ben McCollum, Northwest Missouri State head coach
McCollum was named the head coach in 2009 and has amassed a career record of 334-83. He has won 10 MIAA regular season championships and 6 tournament titles over the course of his career. The Iowa native is a seven-time MIAA coach of the year and is a five-time NABC Division II National Coach of the Year which is a record. He has a long history of sustained success and has ties to current West Virginia athletic director Wren Baker.
Promote current assistants Ron Everhart or Josh Eilert as an interim.
Everhart has 35 years of coaching experience, including 18 as a head coach at Duquesne, Northeastern and McNeese State. There he compiled a 273-261 record but has been on staff with West Virginia as an assistant since 2012. Everhart is a Fairmont native and has an understanding of the basketball program and could be used as an interim for a season prior to conducting a search.
Eilert isn’t as experienced as Everhart with 15 seasons on staff at West Virginia and recently being promoted into a full-time assistant role but he is well respected and liked within the program. Eilert is a young mind that has served in a number of different positions over his career.
Kennedy is an obvious name on any immediate short list given his familiarity with the Bob Huggins coaching tree and An experienced coach, Kennedy has a career record of 315-184 as a coach and has led the Blazers to three straight 20-win seasons. The Mississippi native served as an assistant under Huggins during his time at Cincinnati and the two remained close. That could mean little adjustments for those already on the roster in terms of playing style.Led the Blazers to the NCAA Tournament in 2022 and is a name that will be on any short list for the program.
Jerod Calhoun, Youngstown State head coach
Calhoun has been the head coach at Youngstown State for seven seasons and has obvious ties to the West Virginia program considering he spent five years at the program as the director of basketball operations and then as an assistant for a season. Has been a successful head coach during his time with the Penguins and is coming off a 24-10 season where he was named 2023 Horizon League Men's Basketball Coach of the Year and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) District 12 Coach of the Year. Calhoun spent five seasons as the head coach at Fairmont State where he accumulated an overall record of 124-38.
Ben McCollum, Northwest Missouri State head coach
McCollum was named the head coach in 2009 and has amassed a career record of 334-83. He has won 10 MIAA regular season championships and 6 tournament titles over the course of his career. The Iowa native is a seven-time MIAA coach of the year and is a five-time NABC Division II National Coach of the Year which is a record. He has a long history of sustained success and has ties to current West Virginia athletic director Wren Baker.
Promote current assistants Ron Everhart or Josh Eilert as an interim.
Everhart has 35 years of coaching experience, including 18 as a head coach at Duquesne, Northeastern and McNeese State. There he compiled a 273-261 record but has been on staff with West Virginia as an assistant since 2012. Everhart is a Fairmont native and has an understanding of the basketball program and could be used as an interim for a season prior to conducting a search.
Eilert isn’t as experienced as Everhart with 15 seasons on staff at West Virginia and recently being promoted into a full-time assistant role but he is well respected and liked within the program. Eilert is a young mind that has served in a number of different positions over his career.
