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Report: West Virginia hires Oklahoma State's Nelson Hernandez as general manager

Alex Weberby:Alex Weber•04/13/24
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Drake head coach Darian DeVries has Drake as a mid-major program humming. (Photo by Rick Ulreich/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Now at a Big 12 job in West Virginia, new Mountaineers head coach for Darian DeVries has decided to hire a general manager for the program.

According to college hoops insider Jon Rothstein, DeVries has tapped Nelson Hernandez for the position, who had been on Mike Boynton’s staff at Oklahoma State before he was let go this offseason. Here was Rothstein’s tweet Saturday morning that news:

“Source: West Virginia’s Darian DeVries has hired Nelson Hernandez as General Manager. Hernandez was on staff at Oklahoma State last season.”

Hernandez only joined the Cowboys’ staff in August of 2023 just ahead of this past season. Boynton hired him as OSU’s Director of Player Development, giving the following statement when bringing him on board:

“Nelson will be a valuable addition to our staff. He has a ton of experience in various roles around college basketball. He will be responsible for many tasks that are vital to a program’s success, including on-campus recruiting, team travel, student-athlete development and more. I look forward to seeing his immediate, positive impact.”

In his prior coaching stops, Hernandez also served as the Director of Player Development for Wright State in 2015-16. Before getting that gig he had been a video coordinator at VCU from 2010-2014 and also at Clemson in 2014-25.

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In between roles in Player Development at Wright State and Oklahoma State, Hernandez was the Director of Basketball Operations back at VCU in 2016-17 and then at LSU from 2017 until 2022 before landing his job at Oklahoma State.

WVU adds Tucker DeVries in transfer portal

Former Drake guard Tucker DeVries, head coach Darian’s son, was the first and most obvious addition for West Virginia out of the transfer portal.

DeVries committed to play for his father at Drake after a decorated high school basketball career in Iowa, where he won the state’s Mr. Basketball award in 2021. Tucker DeVries won back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year awards in 2023 and 2024 at the same time Darian won the league’s Coach of the Year honor.

As a freshman in 2021-22, DeVries won MVC Freshman of the Year as he averaged 13.9 points and 4.6 rebounds. He got better each year, and averaged 21.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 44% from the field in 2023-24 to repeat as the Larry Bird Trophy winner.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.