Report: West Virginia to Hire Drake’s Darian DeVries as Next HC

Drake HC Darian DeVries is finalizing a deal to become the next men’s basketball head coach at West Virginia, as first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

DeVries becomes the 23rd coach for WVU’s men’s basketball program on a five-year deal.

Sources: West Virginia is finalizing a five-year deal to hire Drake’s Darian DeVries as the school’s next men’s basketball coach. DeVries led Drake to the NCAA tournament in three of the past four seasons. pic.twitter.com/0cAQMuFrMR

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 24, 2024

DeVries built a program of consistency during his six seasons at Drake. The Bulldogs have won 20-plus games in each of DeVries’ seasons at the helm, with three NCAA Tournament appearances. Drake has one NCAA Tournament win from the play-in game vs. Wichita State in 2021. The Bulldogs returned to the tournament this season, falling to 7-seed Washington State on Thursday.

Drake finished with a 28-7 record this season, going 16-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference and then winning the MVC Tournament. Drake had four wins over NCAA Tournament teams: Oakland, Akron, Nevada and Grambling State. The Bulldogs did lose to an NCAA Tournament team in UAB earlier in the season.

Drake had a top-45 offense in the country, averaging 80 points per game. The Bulldogs shot 37% from three as a team, which is 36th in the country. Drake allowed 70.4 points per contest this past season.

DeVries leaves Drake with a 150-55 (73.2%) record over six years.

DeVries replaces interim HC Josh Eilert, who West Virginia moved on from on March 13. Eilert took over the program for nine months as he filled in after Bob Huggins’ resignation last June.

West Virginia currently hasn’t lost any of its eight eligible players for next season to the transfer portal. DeVries and his next staff will attempt to retain the roster while working at building a complete roster for the 2024-25 season.