Report: Colorado State hires Ali Farokhmanesh as next head coach

Colorado State is expected to hire associate head coach Ali Farokhmanesh to replace former headman Niko Medved, according to SI’s Kevin Sweeney.

“CSU did a short search, but this was a no-brainer,” Sweeney reported on X. “Farokhmanesh has been essential to the Rams’ success under Medved and is one of the best young assistants in the sport.”

Medved took the vacant head coaching job at Minnesota after the Rams’ run to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament last weekend. Farokhmanesh, who has been an assistant with Colorado State since 2018, is now set to take over in his stead.

Many fans will recognize Farokhmanesh’s name from his college basketball playing days. He earned a name for himself as an NCAA Tournament icon for nailing a 3-point shot to help Northern Iowa defeat that year’s top-overall seed, the Kansas Jayhawks, in the second round. That shot came just two days after hitting another game winner in the first round against UNLV.

The Rams are coming off their first Mountain West Conference Tournament championship since 2003. This earned them a No. 12-seed in the NCAA Tournament, which saw them make the most of their opportunity in March Madness by knocking off No. 5-seed Memphis 78-70 in the opening round.

Kyan Evans scored a career-high six 3-pointers en route to knocking off the short-handed Tigers. Colorado State would outscore the Tigers 47-34 in the second half to secure the eight-point victory. Colorado State wouldn’t be able to recapture this magic in the second round, falling to No. 4-seed Maryland 72-71 on a driving buzzer beater from Derik Queen.

For Farokhmanesh, he began his coaching career in 2014 after a short stint playing overseas. He was hired onto the Nebraska Cornhuskers’ staff as a graduate assistant before being promoted to the program’s director of player development in 2016. In 2017, he accepted an assistant coaching position at Drake which he held for two seasons.

He joing the Colorado State staff in 2018, and has been an assistant coach on the staff ever since — until now. Farokhmanesh has been an integral part of the Rams’ success as Colorado State has punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament in three of the last four seasons.

However, this will be Farokhmanesh’s first head coaching position. However, it appears that he has the backing of Colorado State’s brass, and now is set to take over the program.