This is March: WVU Basketball Head Coach Watch List

It is now officially the month of March, which means it’s almost time for WVU to look for a new men’s basketball head coach.

West Virginia is currently led by interim head coach Josh Eilert, who regardless of circumstances, sits at 9-19 (4-11 Big 12). WVU director of athletics Wren Baker will evaluate Eilert’s job at the end of the season and will most likely decide to move forward with a new era of Mountaineer basketball.

Here’s a list of potential candidates for the job in the early stages. All coaches listed below are ranked in tiers and are in order alphabetically. WV Sports Now will continue to update this list throughout the month of March.

Niko Medved / Colorado State Athletics

The Usual Names

Mark Byington, James Madison

Age: 47

Current record: 31-3 (15-3 Sun Belt)

Career timeline: Georgia Southern (2013-20), James Madison (2020-)

NCAAT appearances: 1 (2024)

Darian DeVries, Drake

Age: 48

Current record: 28-6 (16-4 MVC)

Career timeline: Drake (2018-)

NCAAT appearances: 3 (2021, 2023-24)

Dustin Kerns, App State

Age: 44

Current record: 27-6 (16-2 Sun Belt)

Career timeline: Presbyterian (2017-19), App State (2019-)

NCAAT appearances: 1 (2021)

Niko Medved, Colorado State

Age: 50

Current record: 22-9 (10-8 Mountain West)

Career timeline: Furman (2013-17), Drake (2017-18), Colorado State (2018-)

NCAAT appearances: 1 (2022)

Dusty May / Florida Atlantic Athletics

Wildcards

Dusty May, FAU

Age: 47

Current record: 24-7 (14-4 AAC)

Career timeline: Florida Atlantic (2018-)

NCAAT appearances: 1 (2023 Final Four)

Pat Kelsey / CofC Athletics

Could Gain Momentum

Chris Jans, Mississippi State

Age: 54

Current record: 19-12 (8-10 SEC)

Career timeline: Bowling Green State (2014-15), New Mexico State (2017-22), Mississippi State (2022-)

NCAAT appearances: 4 (2018-19, 2022-23)

Pat Kelsey, College of Charleston

Age: 48

Current record: 26-7 (15-3 CAA)

Career timeline: Winthrop (2012-21), College of Charleston (2021-)

NCAAT appearances: 3 (2017, 2021, 2023)

Josh Schertz / Indiana State Athletics

Unlikely

Chris Mack

Age: 54

Career timeline: Xavier (2009-18), Louisville (2018-22)

NCAAT appearances: 9 (2010-12, 2014-19)

Josh Schertz, Indiana State

Age: 48

Current record: 28-6 (17-3 MVC)

Career timeline: Lincoln Memorial – DII (2008-21), Indiana State (2021-24)

NCAAT appearances: N/A

Will Wade, McNeese State

Age: 41

Current record: 28-3 (17-1 Southland)

Career timeline: Chattanooga (2013-15), VCU (2015-17), LSU (2017-22), McNeese State (2023-)

NCAAT appearances: 5 (2016-17, 2019, 2021-22)

Bucky McMillan / Samford Athletics

Zero Chance But, Hey, Nice Season!

Amir Abdur-Rahim, South Florida

Age: 42

Current record: 23-6 (16-2 AAC)

Career timeline: Kennesaw State (2019-23), South Florida (2023-)

NCAAT appearances: 1 (2023)

Bucky McMillan, Samford

Age: 40

Current record: 29-5 (15-3 SoCon)

Career timeline: Samford (2020-)

NCAAT appearances: 1 (2024)

Kyle Smith, Washington State

Age: 54

Current record: 23-8 (14-6 Pac-12)

Career timeline: Columbia (2010-16), San Francisco (2016-19), Washington State (2019-)

NCAAT appearances: N/A