The 2023-2024 men’s college basketball season starts on November 6th, and with the new season comes fresh new faces, all vying to improve their programs.
Per ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, 61 schools welcomed new leadership to their staff, a change that started with vacancies at several large programs. Some of those openings were filled with mid-major coaches, creating a chain reaction of teams shuffling the best talent that Division I basketball has to offer, all for a chance at post-season glory.
With basketball just days away, there are 13 new coaches that you’ll want to keep an eye on, including some who are jumping into head coaching for the first time.
1
Adrian Autry - Syracuse Orange
Adrian Autry is replacing legendary Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who retired after 47 seasons. Autry spent seven years as Syracuse’s associate head coach, and one of his first orders of business was to install a new man-to-man defensive scheme.
2
Damon Stoudamire - Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
In March 2023, Damon Stoudamire signed a five-year contract to be Georgia Tech’s basketball coach. Stoudamire brings a wealth of college and NBA experience and is highly- praised for his ability to connect with people.
3
Micah Shrewsberry - Notre Dame Fighting Irish
After an 11-12 record in 2022 and the nation’s third-lowest percentage of returning scorers, Notre Dame plucked Micah Shrewsberry away from Penn State. With him, he’s bringing three players, including his son Braeden, who he will be coaching for the first time.
4
Chris Beard - Ole Miss Rebels
Chris Beard is the lone new head coach in the SEC. Beard joins Ole Miss after being a four-time conference coach of the year and the 2019 national coach of the year. Texas fired Beard in January after he was charged with felony domestic violence. The alleged victim dropped the charges in February, and Beard accepted the Ole Miss job a month later.
Ahead of his debut, he has a message for the Ole Miss fanbase: “I just really encourage people to get the tickets now. I confidently predict there will be a day where you can’t get a ticket once we get this thing rolling.”
5
Mike Rhoades - Penn State Nittany Lions
Before joining the Nittany Lions, Mike Rhoades led the VCU Rams to three NCAA tournament appearances in the last four years. With a rebuilt roster that he had a hand in recruiting, Rhoades is primed to change the program’s trajectory.
6
Grant McCasland - Texas Tech Red Raiders
Right away, new hire Grant McCasland has said his goal is to get Texas Tech’s program back to the NCAA Tournament. To help get there, McCasland brought in five transfers who all played in the tournament in 2022.
7
Josh Eilert - West Virginia Mountaineers
Longtime head coach Mike Huggins used homophobic slurs twice during a radio interview in May and was arrested for drunk driving in June. After seemingly resigning following the DUI, Huggins claimed that never happened and requested to be reinstated.
West Virginia wants to keep things moving onward and upward with interim head coach Josh Eilert. Eilert keeps a photo of the word “interim” in his office as a reminder that he’s all in whether the role is temporary or not.
8
Mark Madsen - California Golden Bears
After a 3-29 record — the worst in school history — Mark Madsen says he can help the California Golden Bears win again. Madsen believes the team has all the pieces to be a “sleeping giant” that will be a contender to make the NCAA Tournament by the end of the season.
9
Rick Pitino - St. John's Red Storm
Hall of Famer Rick Pitino, who’s been coaching since 1974, has been in the Big East on three different occasions with three universities. Yet, this is the first time he will coach a team he grew up watching.
10
Paul Mills - Wichita State Shockers
Paul Mills understands that no magic offensive play or defensive scheme can help push Wichita State higher in annual preseason rankings.
“So much of this job is leadership and teaching guys how to lead and what it should look like,” Mills says. “I’m excited about where we can be, even though prognostications don’t think too highly of us.”
11
Ryan Odom - VCU Rams
Ryan Odom has roots in Virginia, and returning to somewhere he was familiar with made sense. Although things are different now, he knows he can make an impact.
“Recruiting is recruiting,” Odom says. “It’s about getting to know people and relationships and then treating people the right way and making sure you maintain relationships over the course of your career and tapping back into your contacts.”
12
Adam Fisher - Temple Owls
After 15 years in various roles among the college ranks, Adam Fisher will now try his hand at becoming a Division I head coach. He believes the AAC’s recent success will make it easier for Temple to recruit.
13
Jack Castleberry - FDU Knights
Jack Castleberry has expressed some uneasiness about what his time as a head coach will look like, but he knows that if the team stops being “hard-working and gritty,” it won’t go in the right direction. That starts with running a motion offense.
