WVU Basketball Confirms Addition of Johnny Estelle to Coaching Staff

To confirm WV Sports Now’s reporting from the end of last week, the WVU basketball program has announced one more assistant coach to Ross Hodge’s staff. Johnny Estelle becomes the latest coach to follow Hodge from North Texas to West Virginia.

WVSN’s Mike Asti reported the news from the WVU Coaches Caravan event at Tom’s Watch Bar on Pittsburgh’s North Shore Friday evening.

At the WVU Coaches Caravan event in Pittsburgh and men’s basketball head coach Ross Hodge mentioned Johnny Estelle as one of his assistants in attendance. He hasn’t been officially announced by West Virginia yet so add him to the staff.

— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) May 9, 2025

“Johnny’s impact will be felt all throughout the program,” Hodge said as part of the official announcement. “He is intentional and has a unique ability to develop impactful relationships that last. He has been inducted into two separate hall of fames, which speaks directly to his ability as a basketball coach and his influence as a person.”

Estelle was a member of Hodge’s coaching staff at North Texas for the last two seasons. Estelle was named the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches D1 Assistant Coach of the Year following the 2023-24 season when the Mean Green won 19 games.

The 28-year coaching veteran graduated from Texas A&M-Kingsville, where he began his coaching career as a student assistant in 1996. His first full-time job was as an assistant at Northland Pioneer College in 1999. He moved to Navarro College as an assistant in 2000 and was promoted to head coach in 2008. He amassed a 126-48 record at Navarro.

In 2013, he became an assistant coach at Houston before becoming the head coach at his alma mater in 2014. He went 137-112 as head coach at Texas A&M-Kingsville before joining Hodge at UNT in 2023.

Estelle is the latest UNT coach to join Hodge’s coaching staff in Morgantown, along with Mike Randle, Jason Martinez, Sean McClurg, Jase Herl and Phil Forte.