Report: Missouri hires Cleveland State head coach Dennis Gates

Missouri is ending its men’s basketball head coaching search, according to a report from PowerMizzou, as the Tigers are planning on hiring former Cleveland State men’s basketball coach Dennis Gates, provided that the move is met with approval from the board.

“To officially hire Gates, a contract must be approved by the University Board of Curators,” Game DeArmond of PowerMizzou wrote. “By state law, the Curators are required to issue a 24-hour public notice prior to the meeting. That notice has not been issued at this time. But sources have said the only hurdle between Gates being the next coach is the stamp of approval from the board.”

Gates has been the head coach at Cleveland State since 2019 and has turned the Vikings program around in a three-year span. At the time of his hiring, Cleveland State had not amassed a .500 record in five years and the Vikings had not made the NCAA Tournament since the 2008-09 season; after an 11-21 campaign in the 2019-20 season, Gates’ first at the helm, the Vikings went 19-8 in the COVID-abbreviated season, winning the Horizon League regular-season crown, the Horizon League Tournament and making the NCAA Tournament. Cleveland State finished the 2021-22 season 20-11, a record good for the regular-season Horizon League title, but the Vikings lost in the semifinals of the conference tournament and did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

Two regular-season titles and one conference title later, Gates is set to leave Cleveland State in favor of Missouri after amassing a 50-40 record at the helm. He was named the Horizon League Coach of the Year in two of his three seasons at the helm.

Cleveland State marked Gates’ first head coaching job. A former All-Pac-10 academic selection at Cal, Gates arrived at Cleveland State after a nine-year stint as an assistant at Florida State. In addition to his experience at Florida State, Gates has served as an assistant at Nevada, Northern Illinois and Cal, along with graduate assistant experience at Florida State and Marquette.

Once a mainstay in the NCAA Tournament, Missouri has since faded from the spotlight, and Gates will look to rebuild momentum in Columbia. The Tigers lost in the first round of the 2020-21 NCAA Tournament and the first round of the 2017-18 NCAA Tournament and have made it to March Madness just twice since 2013-14. Missouri last won an NCAA Tournament game in 2012-13, its first season in the SEC, which also marked the fourth consecutive year of losing in the second round.

Gates, 42, will replace Cuonzo Martin, who was fired after five seasons on March 11. Martin came to Missouri in 2017 after three seasons as California’s head coach; he had also the head coach at Tennessee and Missouri State. Martin — who amassed a 61-41 record in three years at Missouri State, a 63-41 record in three years at Tennessee and a 62-39 record in three years at California — went 78-77 in five years at Missouri, making the NCAA Tournament in his first and fourth seasons at the helm. Missouri finished the 2021-22 regular-season campaign with a 12-21 record (5-13 in SEC play) before the Tigers replaced Martin with Gates.