The men’s college basketball coaching carousel never stops spinning, with four job openings in September alone thanks to some early fall chaos. That could be an early sign of an active cycle to come next spring, and some of the top jobs may open via firing or retirement. Who are some of the top names to watch that could be next in line to fill high-major openings? Sports Illustrated has you covered with insights on coaches who could pop up as prime candidates next spring.
Josh Schertz, Saint Louis
The darling of the 2024 carousel after a 32-win season at Indiana State, Schertz could easily be a top target yet again this spring if his Billikens take a step forward in his second year there. Regarded as one of the sharpest offensive minds in the sport, Schertz has built a very talented roster featuring bespectacled sensation Robbie Avila and a number of highly regarded transfers. After seeing the consistent improvement over his three years at Indiana State, it’s easy to bet on a Year 2 jump for Schertz and the Billikens. If he can get Saint Louis to the NCAA tournament, some of the biggest jobs could come calling.
Drew Valentine, Loyola Chicago
Valentine is entering Year 5 as Loyola’s head coach but is just 34 years old after taking over for Porter Moser weeks before his 30th birthday. He has maintained the success the Ramblers had under Moser despite a move up from the Missouri Valley to the Atlantic 10, winning a combined 48 games over the last two seasons and taking Loyola to the NIT semifinals in 2024–25. He has another strong roster on paper this season anchored by star center Miles Rubin, who decided to stay with Valentine in Chicago despite considerable interest from high-major programs. The brother of former Michigan State All-American Denzel Valentine and son of another Spartan player Carlton Valentine, Drew has regularly been brought up as a successor to Tom Izzo if and when Izzo elects to retire. That won’t stop other top programs from inquiring though if Valentine’s success continues.
Tony Skinn, George Mason
Skinn has done an outstanding job in his first two seasons at his alma mater, reestablishing the program’s elite defensive culture that started when he was a player on George Mason’s 2006 Final Four team. Skinn gets his players to play incredibly hard, and Mason overachieved based on its talent level pretty substantially a year ago en route to a 27-win campaign and a trip to the A-10 title game. Skinn will have a new-look roster in 2025–26, but talent-wise the Patriots have enough to stay in the top tier of the A-10. If that happens, he should get plenty of attention from across the high-major ranks, especially considering how down the Mason program had been in the decade after Jim Larrañaga’s departure.
Jerrod Calhoun, Utah State
Utah State has become something of a coach factory, sending Craig Smith, Ryan Odom and Danny Sprinkle to better jobs all in the last five years. Calhoun has continued the program’s consistent success, taking a roster in transition to the NCAA tournament a year ago and building a more talented group top to bottom for 2025–26. His success at Youngstown State shouldn’t be ignored either. He led a program considered by some to be a dead-end job to the top of the Horizon League in back-to-back years. Utah State committed significant resources to him in the offseason and will be well positioned in the new Pac-12, but it wouldn’t be surprising if bigger programs make a strong push this spring if Calhoun can keep things rolling.
Brian Wardle, Bradley
It’s rarely flashy, but all Wardle does is win. He has won 23-plus games in three straight seasons at Bradley, including 28 in 2024–25, rebuilding a program that had lost 20-plus games four times in the five years before he took over. And despite being just 45 years old, Wardle is entering his 16th year as a Division I head coach. His name has been overshadowed in the Valley by Drake’s dominance in recent years and his inability to break through in the MVC tournament, but schools would be wise to look past that and target one of the most consistent winners in mid-major hoops.
Takayo Siddle, UNC Wilmington
Siddle was pursued heavily for the South Florida opening this spring after taking UNCW to the NCAA tournament and putting a scare into Texas Tech in the first round, and should get even more interest if he wins 20-plus games for a fifth straight season in 2025–26. The 39-year-old Siddle’s teams play a fun, aggressive style on both ends, and he has done a great job leveraging NIL to build perhaps his most talented roster yet in 2025–26. This could be another active carousel in the ACC, and Siddle should be expected to be in the thick of those conversations with another strong campaign.
Chris Gerlufsen, San Francisco
Todd Golden’s top assistant at San Francisco has kept the Dons program rolling, withstanding an injury to a huge piece in Ndewedo Newbury to win 25 games a year ago. Gerlufsen has proven to be a creative recruiter and has done an impressive job retaining top talent, including keeping potential NBA prospect Tyrone Riley for his sophomore season after he tested the portal. Breaking through to the NCAA tournament is incredibly difficult in a league with Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s, but the Dons deserve tremendous credit for consistently scheduling up in the nonconference to give themselves a puncher’s chance at an at-large.
Bryan Hodgson, South Florida
Hodgson is entering his first year at South Florida, but is a name already getting significant attention for even bigger jobs thanks to his early success at Arkansas State and his recruiting prowess. He has built a highly impressive Year 1 roster at USF, featuring a level of both talent and depth that’s hard to find in the American. Don’t be surprised if the Bulls give Memphis a serious challenge in the AAC. If he can take South Florida dancing in his first year, the former Nate Oats assistant could be one of the hottest candidates for big jobs this spring. The western New York native has been discussed plenty as a candidate at Syracuse should Red Autry not right the ship there.
Dan Earl, Chattanooga
Earl’s career 141–177 record may be an eyesore, but he’s every bit deserving of being on this list. That ugly win-loss mark is largely driven by his time at VMI, one of the toughest jobs in the country. He found a way to build a competitive team there and has since built Chattanooga into a power, including winning the NIT last year. He’s a brilliant offensive coach who engineered a top-50 offense, per KenPom, last season, and he has consistently proven he can win with under-the-radar talent. He’d be a great candidate, especially for a bad high-major that’s behind resource-wise compared to its competitors.
Preston Spradlin, James Madison
Spradlin won a share of the Sun Belt in his first year at JMU after a strong run at Morehead State, where he recruited some incredible under-the-radar talents including Johni Broome. At 38 years old, Spradlin has already won more than 150 games, and has now won 20-plus in five straight seasons with a pair of NCAA tournament berths mixed in. Moving from the Ohio Valley Conference straight to a high-major would’ve been ambitious, but if he keeps the success up at JMU, he will have plenty of suitors this year and beyond.
Assistant Coaches to Watch
Justin Gainey, Tennessee
Rick Barnes has long been among the best at helping his assistants get head coaching gigs, and Gainey is next in line. He was in the mix for the NC State opening last spring that went to Will Wade and has been a consistent person of interest in mid-major openings across the country in recent years. He has been a part of so much success in Knoxville, Tenn., and is overdue for his own program.
Kimani Young and Luke Murray, UConn
You don’t build a two-time champion without an elite staff, and both Young and Murray have been essential pieces to the success Dan Hurley has had. Both are incredibly well compensated at UConn and wouldn’t leave for just any job, but each could be on the fast track to a high-major should they win quickly at a slightly lower level.
JR Blount, Iowa State
Blount has been part of tons of winning teams, working with Niko Medved at Colorado State and T.J. Otzelberger at Iowa State as they built elite programs at their respective levels. He has been in the mix for just about every Midwest mid-major opening in the last two years and is past due for a shot at his own program.
Jeff Linder, Texas Tech
Linder is different from the other names on this list, having eight years of D-I head coaching experience at Northern Colorado and Wyoming. He left Laramie on his own accord to work for Grant McCasland in Lubbock, a chance to learn and reset while getting away from a Wyoming program that was behind on NIL compared to his Mountain West counterparts. He’s a highly regarded evaluator and developer of talent, and McCasland has given him the keys to the Tech offense to excellent results thus far.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as 15 Rising Men’s Basketball Coaches Who Could Be Next in Line for High-Major Openings.
