This is our first edition with a list of names in no particular order.
Drake head coach Ben McCollum
Age: 43
McCollum is a name that was on the early stages of the Hotboard last season and finds his way back onto it just a year later. There are connections considering that he worked with Athletic Director Wren Baker during his time at Northwest Missouri State. McCollum took over the head coaching position at his alma mater in 2009 and posted a record of 394-91 while earning five NABC Division II National Coach of the Year Awards. He also led the Bearcats to four D-II national championships during his time at the helm. Took over, ironically, the Drake basketball program last season after the departure of Darian DeVries to West Virginia and has led the Bulldogs to a 30-3 record, including 17-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference and earned a trip to the NCAAs.
Utah State head coach Jerod Calhoun
Age: 43
Calhoun has ties to West Virginia as well considering he served as an assistant under previous head coach Bob Huggins from 2007-12 and then spent five years at Fairmont State as the head coach. Moved onto Youngstown State in 2017 and led the Penguins to a 118-106 record during his time there. Calhoun was named the Utah State head coach this past season and took the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament with a 26-7 record. The Ohio native is surely to be a name that is considered this time around given his ties and success that he has experienced at multiple stops in his career.
Colorado State head coach Niko Medved
Age: 51
Medved served as an assistant for 16-years at various stops before getting his first head coaching role at Furman in 2013. He won 23 games in his final year there before spending a season at Drake leading that program. From there, Medved moved to Colorado State where he has spent the past seven seasons including three trips to the NCAA Tournament including this past year. Medved is a Minnesota native and has won 62-percent of his games atop the Rams basketball program. A respected talent developer, Medved is a name that will certainly receive consideration after being in the mix last year for the job.
VCU head coach Ryan Odom
Age: 50
Odom, a North Carolina native, spent almost 20-years as an assistant at various stops including Furman, American, Virginia Tech and Charlotte before he was given his first head coaching job at Lenoir-Rhyne. After one season, he moved onto University of Maryland, Baltimore County where he helped to lead the Retrievers to the NCAA Tournament in 2017-18 and became the first No. 16 seed to knock off a No. 1 seed when they beat Virginia. Odom then moved onto Utah State where he was 44-25 in two seasons including a trip to the NCAA Tournament in his second year before ending up at VCU. Odom has taken the Rams to the NCAA Tournament in both of his seasons atop the program and holds a 52-30 overall record. He has won a total of 63.8-percent of his games over the course of his head coaching career.
High Point head coach Alan Huss
Age: 46
Huss started his career at the high school level and was an assistant at both New Mexico and Creighton for nine seasons prior to getting an opportunity to lead his own Division I program at High Point. In his two seasons there, Huss has led the Panthers to two Big South regular season conference championships and a record of 56-14 including 27-5 in the league. Huss led the Panthers to a 29-5 campaign this past season and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Illinois native played his college basketball at Creighton.
North Texas head coach Ross Hodge
Age: 44
Hodge has been the head coach for the Mean Green since 2023 and has amassed a 43-23 record during that time with the program. Prior to that Hodge spent six seasons on the staff there as the associate head coach and also had been an assistant at Arkansas State, Colorado State and Southern Mississippi. He also previously served as the head coach at both Paris JC and Midland College where he had a combined 146-24 record in his five seasons and was the NJCAA runner up in 2010-11.
West Virginia associate head coach Chester Frazier
Age: 38
Frazier arrived in Morgantown with previous head coach Darian DeVries and has lived up to his billing on being a high-level assistant with great recruiting chops. Frazier has served as an assistant at Kansas State, Virginia Tech and Illinois previously since he first became the associate head coach in Morgantown. Frazier appears primed for the next step in his career and clearly knows what it’s like to coach at West Virginia but it’s unclear if the Mountaineers would want to make the leap to give him the reins.
Grand Canyon head coach Bryce Drew
Age: 50
Drew started his coaching career at his alma mater Valparaiso in 2005 where he started as an assistant before being elevated to associate head coach after a season. Drew was named head coach in 2011 and served in that role for five seasons going 124-49 with two trips to the NCAA Tournament. Drew then was hired at Vanderbilt where he spent three seasons and was 40-59 with a trip to the NCAAs in his first year. After being relieved of his duties, Drew was hired by Grand Canyon where he has gone 120-39 over five seasons with four trips to the NCAA Tournament.
Furman head coach Bob Richey
Age: 41
Richey began his career as an assistant at Charleston Southern for five seasons and then moved onto Furman as an assistant joining the staff under Jeff Jackson. Richey was retained by Niko Medved and spent six seasons as an assistant before he was elevated into the interim head coach role when Medved left for Drake. Following the season, the interim tag was lifted making Richey the 22nd head coach in Paladins program history. During his eight years over top the program, Richey has gone 181-79 including a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2022-23 where his team advanced to the round of 32. The Louisiana native has one conference championship under his belt.
Saint Louis head coach Josh Schertz
Age: 49
Schertz is another name that was on this list last season after successful stints at both Division II Lincoln Memorial and Indiana State. During his time at Lincoln Memorial, Schertz amassed an impressive 337-69 record and 10 of the 13 years was in the tournament including a Final Four and Runner Up. At Indiana State, Schertz spent three years and was 66-40 including a 32-7 mark in his final season there. Was hired by Saint Louis last off-season and was 19-14 in his first year but was on the West Virginia radar during the search last year. A native of New York.
College of Charleston head coach Chris Mack
Age: 55
Mack is a coach that was on this list during the opening last season and has had success at the highest level at both Xavier and Louisville earlier in his career. Mack previously spent time as an assistant at Xavier, Wake Forest and then back with the Musketeers before becoming the head coach when Sean Miller left for Arizona. Mack spent nine seasons at Xavier where he had a 215-97 record and recorded eight trips to the NCAA Tournament including four trips to the Sweet 16 and one Elite 8. Mack then left for Louisville where he spent four seasons with one trip to the NCAA Tournament but was out as the head coach after violating school guidelines. After a two-year hiatus, Mack was hired at College of Charleston and led the Cougars to a 24-9 record this year.
Drake head coach Ben McCollum
Age: 43
McCollum is a name that was on the early stages of the Hotboard last season and finds his way back onto it just a year later. There are connections considering that he worked with Athletic Director Wren Baker during his time at Northwest Missouri State. McCollum took over the head coaching position at his alma mater in 2009 and posted a record of 394-91 while earning five NABC Division II National Coach of the Year Awards. He also led the Bearcats to four D-II national championships during his time at the helm. Took over, ironically, the Drake basketball program last season after the departure of Darian DeVries to West Virginia and has led the Bulldogs to a 30-3 record, including 17-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference and earned a trip to the NCAAs.
Utah State head coach Jerod Calhoun
Age: 43
Calhoun has ties to West Virginia as well considering he served as an assistant under previous head coach Bob Huggins from 2007-12 and then spent five years at Fairmont State as the head coach. Moved onto Youngstown State in 2017 and led the Penguins to a 118-106 record during his time there. Calhoun was named the Utah State head coach this past season and took the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament with a 26-7 record. The Ohio native is surely to be a name that is considered this time around given his ties and success that he has experienced at multiple stops in his career.
Colorado State head coach Niko Medved
Age: 51
Medved served as an assistant for 16-years at various stops before getting his first head coaching role at Furman in 2013. He won 23 games in his final year there before spending a season at Drake leading that program. From there, Medved moved to Colorado State where he has spent the past seven seasons including three trips to the NCAA Tournament including this past year. Medved is a Minnesota native and has won 62-percent of his games atop the Rams basketball program. A respected talent developer, Medved is a name that will certainly receive consideration after being in the mix last year for the job.
VCU head coach Ryan Odom
Age: 50
Odom, a North Carolina native, spent almost 20-years as an assistant at various stops including Furman, American, Virginia Tech and Charlotte before he was given his first head coaching job at Lenoir-Rhyne. After one season, he moved onto University of Maryland, Baltimore County where he helped to lead the Retrievers to the NCAA Tournament in 2017-18 and became the first No. 16 seed to knock off a No. 1 seed when they beat Virginia. Odom then moved onto Utah State where he was 44-25 in two seasons including a trip to the NCAA Tournament in his second year before ending up at VCU. Odom has taken the Rams to the NCAA Tournament in both of his seasons atop the program and holds a 52-30 overall record. He has won a total of 63.8-percent of his games over the course of his head coaching career.
High Point head coach Alan Huss
Age: 46
Huss started his career at the high school level and was an assistant at both New Mexico and Creighton for nine seasons prior to getting an opportunity to lead his own Division I program at High Point. In his two seasons there, Huss has led the Panthers to two Big South regular season conference championships and a record of 56-14 including 27-5 in the league. Huss led the Panthers to a 29-5 campaign this past season and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Illinois native played his college basketball at Creighton.
North Texas head coach Ross Hodge
Age: 44
Hodge has been the head coach for the Mean Green since 2023 and has amassed a 43-23 record during that time with the program. Prior to that Hodge spent six seasons on the staff there as the associate head coach and also had been an assistant at Arkansas State, Colorado State and Southern Mississippi. He also previously served as the head coach at both Paris JC and Midland College where he had a combined 146-24 record in his five seasons and was the NJCAA runner up in 2010-11.
West Virginia associate head coach Chester Frazier
Age: 38
Frazier arrived in Morgantown with previous head coach Darian DeVries and has lived up to his billing on being a high-level assistant with great recruiting chops. Frazier has served as an assistant at Kansas State, Virginia Tech and Illinois previously since he first became the associate head coach in Morgantown. Frazier appears primed for the next step in his career and clearly knows what it’s like to coach at West Virginia but it’s unclear if the Mountaineers would want to make the leap to give him the reins.
Grand Canyon head coach Bryce Drew
Age: 50
Drew started his coaching career at his alma mater Valparaiso in 2005 where he started as an assistant before being elevated to associate head coach after a season. Drew was named head coach in 2011 and served in that role for five seasons going 124-49 with two trips to the NCAA Tournament. Drew then was hired at Vanderbilt where he spent three seasons and was 40-59 with a trip to the NCAAs in his first year. After being relieved of his duties, Drew was hired by Grand Canyon where he has gone 120-39 over five seasons with four trips to the NCAA Tournament.
Furman head coach Bob Richey
Age: 41
Richey began his career as an assistant at Charleston Southern for five seasons and then moved onto Furman as an assistant joining the staff under Jeff Jackson. Richey was retained by Niko Medved and spent six seasons as an assistant before he was elevated into the interim head coach role when Medved left for Drake. Following the season, the interim tag was lifted making Richey the 22nd head coach in Paladins program history. During his eight years over top the program, Richey has gone 181-79 including a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2022-23 where his team advanced to the round of 32. The Louisiana native has one conference championship under his belt.
Saint Louis head coach Josh Schertz
Age: 49
Schertz is another name that was on this list last season after successful stints at both Division II Lincoln Memorial and Indiana State. During his time at Lincoln Memorial, Schertz amassed an impressive 337-69 record and 10 of the 13 years was in the tournament including a Final Four and Runner Up. At Indiana State, Schertz spent three years and was 66-40 including a 32-7 mark in his final season there. Was hired by Saint Louis last off-season and was 19-14 in his first year but was on the West Virginia radar during the search last year. A native of New York.
College of Charleston head coach Chris Mack
Age: 55
Mack is a coach that was on this list during the opening last season and has had success at the highest level at both Xavier and Louisville earlier in his career. Mack previously spent time as an assistant at Xavier, Wake Forest and then back with the Musketeers before becoming the head coach when Sean Miller left for Arizona. Mack spent nine seasons at Xavier where he had a 215-97 record and recorded eight trips to the NCAA Tournament including four trips to the Sweet 16 and one Elite 8. Mack then left for Louisville where he spent four seasons with one trip to the NCAA Tournament but was out as the head coach after violating school guidelines. After a two-year hiatus, Mack was hired at College of Charleston and led the Cougars to a 24-9 record this year.
