Below is an updated IU basketball 2025 coaching search hot board after more than a month since the program publicly announced it will have a job opening at the end of the season.
After a couple quiet weeks, there has been enough activity and mentions of late to warrant an update.
We continue to show the candidates in four categories: Tier 1, Tier 2, other names to know, and the candidates that seem unlikely at this point. Moves from earlier versions are noted.
Coaching records through March 12.
Tier 1
These are the candidates where we believe Indiana will have the heaviest level of interest, and there will be enough reciprocal interest to merit a serious pursuit. Everyone is listed in alphabetical order.
(Click each name for a more in-depth profile)
Brad Brownell
(moved up from Tier 2 in version 2.0)
Brownell is an Indiana native. He was a former high school teammate of Calbert Cheaney in Evansville. He has had Clemson playing at a high level recently, especially on the offensive end. They went to the Elite Eight in 2024, just upset No. 2 Duke and also beat Kentucky and North Carolina this year. If you only look at the last three years, Brownell has the resume of a top-tier candidate at a historically difficult place to win. He has 73-27 (.730) record over that span, and is currently second in the ACC and No. 19 in KenPom.
- Current job: Clemson head coach
- Age: 56
- Years as D1 head coach: 23
- D1 record: 458-279 (.621)
Chris Collins
(moved up from Tier 2 this update)
Collins led Northwestern to the program’s first ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2017. In total he has produced four 20 win seasons and three NCAA appearances (with a win each time) at a place very difficult to win. The prior two seasons he won 22 games and finished second and third in the Big Ten, respectively. Very few coaches have done more with less. He has a great pedigree with his father being NBA coaching great Doug Collins and long time at Duke under legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski.
- Current job: Northwestern head coach
- Age: 50
- Years as D1 head coach: 12
- D1 record: 193-189 (.505)
Darian DeVries
(moved up from Tier 3 this update)
- Current job: West Virginia head coach
- Age: 49
- Years as D1 head coach: 7
- D1 record: 169-67 (.716)
It’s been an up-and-down year for DeVries in year one at West Virginia. He has the same record as Indiana, at 19-12, and 10-10. But he took over for a 9-23 team in complete disarray, completely rebuilt the roster, and lost his son and key player Tucker DeVries to injury early in the year. And before taking the head coaching job at West Virginia, DeVries led Drake to four straight 25-plus win seasons, including NCAA Tournament appearances in three of those four seasons. With top shelf resources at Indiana, it would be interesting to see what he could do. DeVries currently has former IU player Kory Barnett and assistant Tom Ostrom on his staff.
Ben McCollum
(moved up from Tier 2 in version 3.0)
The clear favorite from the probably still too unproven but wow look at the incredible track record ranks. While this is his first year at the Division I level, all he has done previously is win four NCAA Division II national titles in a six year span (2017-2022) at Northwest Missouri State. And now he has Drake off to a fast start in his first year at D-1. The only questions — is it too soon to take the risk? Would his approach translate with highly ranked and paid players? And will the Iowa City native end up at his hometown Iowa sometime soon instead? McCollum is worthy of a very close look.
- Current job: Drake head coach
- Age: 43
- Years as D1 head coach: 1
- D1 record: 30-3 (.909)
Buzz Williams
(moved up from Tier 2 in version 3.0)
Williams might have one of his best teams this year, and he’s doing it a very challenging conference. His current season includes wins over Ohio State, Creighton, Purdue, Missouri, Texas and Texas Tech. He’s had six seasons of 25 or more wins. Williams has a peculiar resume with lateral moves from Marquette to Virginia Tech to Texas A&M after five to six year stays. He’s in year six at A&M. It’s reasonable to wonder what he could do with elite talent and resources. Williams’ best NCAA success was way back in 2011-13 with Marquette, when he made the Sweet 16 three straight years, with one Elite Eight.
- Current job: Texas A&M head coach
- Age: 52
- Years as D1 head coach: 18
- D1 record: 370-226 (.621)
Tier 2
These are the candidates that certainly have some degree of appeal, and would likely have some level of reciprocal interest. But there may be more question marks about the prospects in this group for one reason or another. Shown in alphabetical order.
Mark Byington
(moved up to Tier 2 in version 2.0)
Byington has taken over at Vanderbilt, historically one of the most difficult jobs in the Power 4. The SEC is the most difficult conference this season by a wide margin, and he has picked up some eye-catching wins, including over Tennessee and Kentucky. There was report IU football coach Curt Cignetti put in a good word for his former James Madison colleague, although Cignetti denied that claim.
- Current job: Vanderbilt head coach
- Age: 48
- Years as D1 head coach: 13
- D1 record: 240-148 (.619)
Mick Cronin
(moved down from Tier 1 this update)
- Current job: UCLA head coach
- Age: 53
- Years as D1 head coach: 21
- D1 record: 502-233 (.683)
Cronin could almost certainly bring Indiana more success than what they’ve seen over the last decade. He’s won 27 or more games in five of his last eight seasons, while IU hasn’t won 27 games since 2016. He also made 11 straight NCAA Tournaments before missing a year ago. But he reached only one Final Four in that span. Cronin is a Cincinnati native. His defenses have generally been better than the offense, but he did boast three-straight KenPom top-25 offenses from 2021-2023.
Scott Drew
(moved down from Tier 1 this update)
- Current job: Baylor head coach
- Age: 54
- Years as D1 head coach: 23
- D1 record: 482-268 (.643)
All Drew has done is complete the greatest rebuild in college basketball history. It reached its completion in 2021, as he led Baylor to its first National Championship and the first Big 12 title in school history. Entering his 22nd season in 2024-25, Scott Drew is tied as the Big 12’s longest-tenured head coach. Drew is an Indiana native who coached at Valparaiso and attended Butler. He has turned down top-tier job opportunities recently, including Louisville and Kentucky last spring. It’s reasonable to wonder whether he’s at Baylor for good. But maybe coming back to Indiana means something?
Chris Jans
Jans is flying under the radar in Starkville, but doing a solid job at a tough place to win. He wouldn’t be a sexy pick, but he’ll probably get a big chance somewhere. He’s been to the NCAA Tournament five times in the last seven years at low profile schools with difficult paths to the Big Dance. And Jans appears to have Mississippi State head back in 2025. His MSU teams have not shot the three ball well, which could be a turnoff given IU’s recent history.
- Current job: Mississippi State head coach
- Age: 55
- Years as D1 head coach: 9
- D1 record: 205-82 (.714)
Pat Kelsey
(moved up from Tier 3 this update)
Kelsey has done an admirable job at Louisville, demonstrating his acumen for quickly turning around a program in a high pressure environment. After completely rebuilding Louisville’s roster during the offseason, Kelsey and the Cardinals went 18-2 this season in the ACC. A Cincinnati native, Kelsey said in November in grew up an Indiana fan. But the big question here is whether he could be convinced to make another big move, and a lateral one at that, after just one season.
- Current job: Louisville head coach
- Age: 49
- Years as D1 head coach: 13
- D1 record: 286-128 (.691)
Grant McCasland
(moved down from Tier 1 this update)
McCasland just wins. Google him. IU fans might remember McCasland coaching North Texas in 2021 when they upset Purdue in the NCAA Tournament. Now he has Texas Tech rolling at 20-5 and the No. 7 team in KenPom. His teams have consistently been among the nation’s best 3-point shooting teams, and the best and guarding the arc on the other end. He’s a Texas native who has spent his playing and coaching career there. He could be hard to extract from the Longhorn State, but his resume suggests a heavy pursuit is worthwhile.
- Current job: Texas Tech head coach
- Age: 48
- Years as D1 head coach: 9
- HC record: 258-107 (.707)
Greg McDermott
The longtime head coach at Creighton might not ever leave. But he has been mentioned some during this search. And he could bring some modern, spaced and up-tempo offense to IU. He had four-straight sub- .500 teams at Iowa State — a place where Fred Hoiberg and Otzelberger had no trouble flipping the switch. Defense held his teams back early in his career, but McDermott’s teams have been improved on that end. With 31 years as a head coach, how motivated is McDermott to jump into this high profile job?
- Current job: Creighton head coach
- Age: 60
- Years as D1 head coach: 31
- D1 record: 627-364 (.633)
T.J. Otzelberger
(moved down from Tier 1 in version 4.0)
Otzelberger just signed an extension, so there’s some who believe he’ll be in Ames for the long haul. But ESPN hinted that extension might have lowered his buyout, and multiple national commentators have mentioned Otzelberger as a good fit in Bloomington. He’s from Big Ten country (Wisconsin), so there could be appeal. Otzelberger inherited a 2-22 team and has Iowa State among the nation’s best with a KenPom top-10 defense each of the last four years. He went 29-8 last year and won the Big 12 Tournament. He is on a similar trajectory in 2025.
- Current job: Iowa State head coach
- Age: 47
- Years as D1 head coach: 9
- D1 record: 193-106 (.645)
Shaka Smart
Smart’s teams play with great energy and there’s something very unique about his program. He hasn’t brought in a player from the transfer portal since the start of the 2022-23 season. Smart has had a KenPom top-25 offense for three straight years, and he almost always has a good defense. It’s very possible he’s quite content at Marquette, but his resume speaks for itself. Smart is worthy of a very close look.
- Current job: Marquette head coach
- Age: 47
- Years as D1 head coach: 16
- D1 record: 369-181 (.671)
Will Wade
(moved up from Tier 3 in version 4.0)
There’s no doubting Will Wade’s ability as a basketball coach. Under his direction McNeese State is 56-10 over the last two seasons after 11 straight losing seasons. Wade also coached LSU for five years and led them to a 16-2 season in the SEC and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2019. He had a KenPom top-12 offense three straight years in Baton Rouge and recruited Christian Watford’s brother to play there. Wade has been in the crosshairs of the NCAA, and is currently serving the end of a two-year show-cause penalty that restricts some of his recruiting activity until June.
- Current job: McNeese State head coach
- Age: 42
- Years as D1 head coach: 11
- D1 record: 244-104 (.701)
Tier 3 — Other names to know
- Chris Beard — moved down from Tier 2 this update
- Dennis Gates (Missouri)
- Todd Golden (Florida) — moved down from Tier 2 this update
- Alan Huss (High Point) — new addition this update
- Tommy Lloyd (Arizona)
- Bucky McMillan (Samford)
- Porter Moser (Oklahoma)
- Nate Oats (Alabama)
- Bruce Pearl (Auburn)
Mentioned but don’t count on it
- Steve Alford (Nevada)
- Randy Bennett (St. Mary’s)
- Billy Donovan (Chicago Bulls)
- Fred Hoiberg (Nebraska)
- Dusty May (Michigan) — moved here from Tier 1 in version 3.0
- Rick Pitino (St. John’s) — moved here from other names to know in version 3.0
- Josh Schertz (St. Louis)
- Micah Shrewsberry (Notre Dame) — moved here from Tier 3 in version 3.0
- Brad Stevens (Boston Celtics) — moved here from Tier 1 in version 2.0
- Jay Wright (retired)
For complete coverage of IU basketball, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- You can follow us on Twitter: @daily_hoosier
- Find us on Facebook and Instagram
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
