NCAA basketball coaching carousel

This early offseason has felt very similar to the offseason of the coaching carousel that college football had. It’s headlined by one of the greatest coaches of this generation and of all time stepping down from the college they were at.

For it being three days removed from the national championship, a lot has happened.

John Calipari, Arkansas

That didn’t even feel right typing Arkansas next to Calipari’s name. But he’s now at the helm of the Razorbacks, who have had some success in recent years but had a huge down year this past season.

He coached Kentucky for 15 seasons, starting in 2009, and turned the Wildcats into a national powerhouse that dominated the recruiting trail in the country.

Over the past couple of years, he has had less success in the big tournament and that’s what led to the initial conversation about his time at Kentucky coming to an end.

It did and now he takes over an Arkansas program, looking to rebuild another SEC school.

Eric Musselman, USC

Let’s stay on this connection path. Former Arkansas coach Eric Musselman takes over the job at USC.

The Trojans entered this past season with a ton of hype with the likes of Isaiah Collier and Bronny James committing to the team.

However, they just had no success throughout the season as a team.

In his five seasons at Arkansas, Musselman led the team to three NCAA tournaments including two elite eights.

Now, USC will transition to the Big Ten and will play a ton of teams that favor the style of play that Musselman likes to coach.

Dusty May, Michigan

May became a big name in the coaching industry when he led his Florida Atlantic team to the final four in 2023.

His ability to lead a team that is not from the Power Six to incredibly good seasons while playing some higher competition made him a big name in the early offseason.

May takes over a Michigan squad that had one of its worst seasons in recent history.

The Wolverines finished last in the Big Ten while only winning a total of eight games in the entire season.

There’s some expectation that he will bring some of his top players with him to Michigan, including Johnell Davis and Vladislav Goldin.

Jake Diebler, Ohio State

This decision was about as obvious as a coaching decision could get.

Diebler took over after the Buckeyes let go of Chris Holtmann and turned the team around in a season that seemed lost for the scarlet and grey.

They were just three more wins away from getting the automatic bid and likely only a win or two to get in with an at-large bid.

The team was playing inspired and it was all because of Diebler.

Now he gets the team for a full season.

Chris Holtmann, DePaul

Holtmann is a really good coach and it just seemed like his time at Ohio State was coming to an end.

He was seen as one of the few coaches who could rebuild this struggling DePaul basketball program.

The Blue Demons finished this past season with a record of 3-29. They had three wins all season. They were seen as one of the worst Power Six schools in the country.

If there is a coach to do it, Holtmann can do it, but it’s going to take a long time to turn this program around.

Darian DeVries, West Virginia

Another coach who takes over a struggling Power Six program, DeVries gets his first shot as a head coach in the Power Six.

DeVries brings his son with him, Tucker, who has been one of, if not the best player in the Missouri Valley Conference over the past two seasons.

The Mountaineers have struggled to find any success since the sudden departure of Bob Huggins.

However, DeVries has had tons of success recently, leading Drake to six straight 20-win seasons.

He’ll take over the program in the Big 12 that is expanding and adding more competition.

Andrew Deal is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email asd5765@psu.edu.