2025 coaching carousel: Grading every high-major college basketball hire as West Virginia, Xavier replace exits

The 2025 college basketball coaching carousel is already closing in on its conclusion this year, with many teams making sure to handle business before the transfer portal opened in full force. Villanova remains open, and that job could have a ripple effect, but for now, there are plenty of grades ready to hand out.

There are multiple trends starting to develop this cycle, starting with the hires made at Miami and Utah, continuing with a hire by Florida State. NC State and Texas went another direction by hiring coaches who fit a different mold.

The moves all send a clear message to other programs to move quickly, because the best candidates will come off the board fast. While some of the marquee coaches across college basketball might not be in play due to various factors, there are plenty of interesting names mentioned with each job.

The final grades for every college basketball hire do not come until their tenure ends – whether in a matter of years or decades. However, initial grades take into account the expected prestige of the job and the current pedigree of the coach. Take a look at the early grades for every high-major coach hired during the 2025 offseason so far.

Florida State

Out: Leonard Hamilton
In: Luke Loucks
Grade: B-

Florida State moved quickly to find Leonard Hamilton’s replacement as the college basketball legend retires, keeping it in the family with a former player from the previous era. They locked in on 34-year-old Sacramento Kings assistant Luke Loucks, following the recent trend of poaching promising NBA talent for the college sideline as the front office era grows.

Loucks is very young in the coaching profession and has not run a team of his own at any level yet, building his staff with talented recruiters early as the Seminoles look to rebuild the program. As with any coaching jumping from the NBA to college, his success will be heavily tied to his ability to adjust to the differences in the game.

Indiana

Out: Mike Woodson
In: Darian DeVries
Grade: A-

Indiana was among the first teams to join the search for a new coach and concluded its process early thanks to controversial NCAA Tournament bubble decisions, which left West Virginia out of the field. Just one year after taking the West Virginia job, it is only fair to give a similar grade given DeVries’ relatively successful season in a power conference.

After a long run of success at Drake, he successfully made the jump to the high-major level, and will see how much he can make out of increased resources at one of college basketball’s blue-blood programs. Bringing his son Tucker, who was shut down with injury this season, would kickstart the rebuilding process for a team featuring plenty of talent.

Iowa

Out: Fran McCaffery
In: Ben McCollum
Grade: A-

Iowa made the bold choice to capitalize on a rare influx of Iowa-connected head coaches atop the college basketball landscape by moving on from long-time leader Fran McCaffery. The Hawkeyes now turn to a perineal winner across multiple levels, Ben McCollum, who will bring a change of pace they hope can break through the difficult Big Ten standings.

After backing up four Division II national championships with an NCAA Tournament run at Drake, McCollum quickly moved toward the top of coaching hot boards across the country. The biggest questions facing his jump to Drake were squashed early. However, with another jump, questions about his ability to recruit at a high level and utilize resources to handle yet another jump in competition remain.

Miami

Out: Jim Larrañaga
In: Jai Lucas
Grade: B+

Miami was in need of a hard reset, with Jim Larrañaga ready for retirement. The program has recent NCAA Tournament success to lean on but suffered a dramatic fall from glory to the bottom of a weak ACC. Enter a young, up-and-coming coach with experience in the conference, a long list of recruiting successes, and multiple stops working or playing for some of the best coaches in the sport.

With the NIL resources that Miami has boasted for the college basketball program and the obvious location bonus, Lucas promises to continue his strong recruiting in a new spot. The question here comes with a jump in responsibility from assistant to head coach at such a high level with such a gap to make up.

Minnesota

Out: Ben Johnson
In: Niko Medved
Grade: A-

Minnesota has fallen into the bottom group of Big Ten teams struggling to contend in one of college basketball’s most difficult conferences. By hiring Colorado State’s Niko Medved, there is a clear investment in improved results, but resources must follow to push the team into the category of contenders. Watch for the impact they can make through the offseason under the new staff.

Medved turned Colorado State into a consistent Mountain West contender with multiple NCAA Tournament appearances to back up his success, often finding the team’s best form entering March. Beyond that, he has now placed multiple players in the NBA after identifying talent and developing it beyond where projections believed possible.

NC State

Out: Kevin Keatts
In: Will Wade
Grade: A+

Will Wade receives the first A+ given out in the two-year history of these coaching grades, standing out as the all-in move of the offseason by NC State. Despite NCAA troubles, which ended his LSU tenure prematurely, many of the problems are resolved in a new landscape of NIL, revenue-sharing and the transfer portal.

Wade has led three programs to the NCAA Tournament, including an impressive stint at McNeese where he turned a Southland roster into an analytics darling which sat higher in the NET rankings than 13 ACC teams in 2024-25. With a power vacuum in the conference, the Wolfpack is ready to push toward the top of the standings quick.

Texas

Out: Rodney Terry
In: Sean Miller
Grade: B+

Texas stuck with Rodney Terry after an impressive run as the interim but always felt likely to move on when things started to trend in the wrong direction. The Longhorns now circle back to a candidate from that initial coaching search, tabbing Xavier coach Sean Miller as the new program leader. He, like Will Wade at NC State, returns to the tier of job he had before the NCAA investigation, which has minimal impact on the new era.

Miller had a good run of success at Arizona between Xavier stints. He now looks to regain that recruiting advantage by way of NIL investment and redevelop the pipeline of NBA players under his coaching. While there is plenty to like here, he has never cracked the Final Four code despite numerous trips to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

Utah

Out: Craig Smith
In: Alex Jensen
Grade: B

After deciding to move on from Craig Smith early, Utah worked quickly on Dallas Mavericks assistant Alex Jensen in a deal that draws a striking resemblance to the 2024 cycle. Like their rival BYU did last year, the Utes turned to a coveted NBA assistant with ties to the area.

The next step for Utah is raising NIL funds to a level that can compete with not only their in-state rivals but the rest of the Big 12 as well. Given the current state of the program, there is no extreme makeover necessary to enter NCAA Tournament consideration early.

Virginia

Out: Tony Bennett
In: Ryan Odom
Grade: B

Virginia suffered the worst possible timing for a Hall of Fame retirement, going into the season with an interim head coach. After battling through, the Cavaliers now jump on the opportunity to hire a coach with ties to the program and a long track record of success, leading three teams to the NCAA Tournament so far in his career.

Adding further to the storybook path, Ryan Odom beat the Cavaliers in the first-ever 16-over-1 upset in history during his UMBC tenure. Now, on the other side, Odom looks to prove himself by recruiting top-end players at the high-major level. He joins the influx of ACC coaches, making their case for increased resources as the conference looks to make a resurgence on the national stage.

West Virginia

Out: Darian DeVries
In: Ross Hodge
Grade: B-

After losing Darian DeVries after just one season, West Virginia went back into the coaching market, landing on Ross Hodge. The decision promises to bring them a new style of play which has produced results at prior stops but is not always the fan favorite. A slow tempo and focus on defense are not for every fan.

The good news for Hodge and West Virginia is that the program’s identity for long stretches embraced playing a style that was not for everyone. If he can use that reputation to recruit to a high-major level and continue his growth as a young head coach hailing from an accomplished coaching tree, there is plenty of hope he could grow into the role well.

Xavier

Out: Sean Miller
In: Richard Pitino
Grade: A-

Xavier has done an outstanding job hiring coaches in recent history and now must replace Sean Miller for a second time as he leaves for a bigger job. The Musketeers land on Richard Pitino, one of the top coaches on the market, who was in position to pick and choose where he felt comfortable making the leap to high-major basketball once again.

Despite a mixed bag in his first high-major head coaching role at Minnesota, Pitino has grown over the past few seasons at New Mexico, turning them into a perineal contender for the NCAA Tournament. Now, he looks to utilize the growing resources of the Big East to compete head-to-head with his father, among other top coaches in the conference.

Open jobs

As most of the country moves at a fever pace to fill coaching vacancies, there is one left running down the clock to find the right candidate. Villanova has its pick to get things back on track and further stack the Big East coaching ranks.

Of course, that decision could extend the coaching cycle if they are able to poach a high-major coach. Throughout this process, multiple mid-major programs are also looking to fill vacancies.

Remaining jobs with vacancy to fill: Villanova

Indiana, NC State and Virginia make moves to secure the future of their programs. Meanwhile, West Virginia has replaced its head coach for a third time in a year and a half.

All teams to this point have received high marks for their coaching hires. There has been a lack of head-scratching moves throughout the cycle which promises to set up the teams and conferences involved to continue growing.