Indiana basketball coaching search hot board: An early look at potential candidates

With today’s news that Mike Woodson will not return for the 2025-26 season, it’s officially coaching search season in Bloomington.

Inside the Hall will have complete coverage of the program’s search for its 31st head coach. Here’s our initial hot board examining names that could be candidates for the job.

Because the search is in its initial hours, potential candidates are listed alphabetically. The inclusion of any name below does not confirm interest from IU or interest from the candidate in the job.

Chris Beard, Ole Miss

A cloud of uncertainty looms over Beard’s potential candidacy due to his off-the-court history, but there’s no denying he’s capable of winning at the highest levels of the sport.

Beard led Texas Tech to a national championship game appearance in 2019 and has already transformed Ole Miss into one of the top programs in the SEC in two seasons. Knight is one of Beard’s biggest influences in coaching and his teams defend at an elite level. Whether he would be seriously considered is an open question.

Mark Byington, Vanderbilt

Like Curt Cignetti, Byington jumped from James Madison to a power five job and is having great success in his first season. The 48-year-old has Vanderbilt, which finished last season 9-23, in position to make the NCAA tournament.

Last season, Byington led JMU to the NCAA tournament round of 32 and beat Wisconsin in the opening round. It might not be easy to win the press conference by hiring Byington, but turning Vanderbilt into a respectable SEC program in one season after it was a doormat for years under Jerry Stackhouse is no small feat.

Jerrod Calhoun, Utah State

An Ohio native, the 43-year-old Calhoun replaced Danny Sprinkle last spring at Utah State and is enjoying success in the Mountain West conference. The Aggies are 20-3 this season under Calhoun and in the top 50 of KenPom.

It’s unlikely Indiana would get to Calhoun’s name early in its search, but he’s won 20 games the last three seasons and is one of the top up-and-coming coaches in the sport.

Chris Collins, Northwestern

Collins knows the Big Ten as well as any coach on this list, having spent the last 12 seasons in Evanston leading Northwestern. Collins has taken the Wildcats to the NCAA tournament three times, including back-to-back appearances in 2023 and 2024.

The argument for Collins would be recognizing his success with meager resources at Northwestern and a bet that he could win at a much higher level with IU’s financial commitment to the program.

Mick Cronin, UCLA

A midwesterner now in Westwood leading the Bruins, does Cronin want to get back to his roots? He’s already led UCLA to a Final Four appearance in 2021 and back-to-back Sweet Sixteen appearances in 2022 and 2023.

The 53-year-old prioritizes defense above all else and while his style of play isn’t exciting, he’s proven he can reach the NCAA tournament consistently.

Scott Drew, Baylor

Drew said no to Kentucky and Louisville last spring, so would he even entertain an overture from Indiana? The Hoosiers could make the call to find out.

The reality is that Drew is Baylor basketball. He’s won a national championship in Waco, is beloved in the community and can likely stay in the job until retirement. But if he’s ready for a new challenge, the one in Bloomington could pique his interest.

Todd Golden, Florida

Golden, 39, is one of the brightest young coaches in America. His first head coaching job came at San Francisco, where he reached the NCAA tournament in 2022. After that season, his third at San Francisco, he landed the Florida job and now has the Gators in the top 10 of KenPom in year three of his tenure.

He was recently cleared in a Title IX investigation that was launched last fall which accused him of sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, stalking and cyberstalking from multiple women. That investigation, despite the outcome, may complicate his candidacy.

Chris Jans, Mississippi State

Jans made it to the NCAA tournament three times at New Mexico State. He is currently on track for his third NCAA tournament appearance in three seasons at Mississippi State.

The 55-year-old has worked his way up through the coaching profession and has a national championship in the junior college ranks.

Tommy Lloyd, Arizona

A Washington native, the 50-year-old spent 21 seasons at Gonzaga before landing his first head coaching job at Arizona in 2021. The Wildcats have ranked in the top 15 of KenPom in each of Lloyd’s four seasons at the helm.

Moving forward, Lloyd will need to determine what resources will be available at Tucson in the revenue-sharing era. With its tremendous resources, would a program like Indiana appeal to Lloyd?

Dusty May, Michigan

May worked as a student manager under Bob Knight, made a Final Four run at Florida Atlantic University and is now enjoying success in his first season at the high-major level as Michigan’s coach.

He’s just 48 years old and plays an exciting style of basketball, but would he leave Ann Arbor after one season and make a move within the conference? The ties to Bloomington are clear, but the timing might be a year too late for the Hoosiers.

Grant McCasland, Texas Tech

Another Texas native, McCasland won a junior college championship at Midland College. He got his first Division I head coaching job at Arkansas State in 2016 after five years as an assistant coach at Baylor under Scott Drew.

After six seasons at North Texas from 2017 through 2023, the 48-year-old McCasland accepted the Texas Tech job in 2023 and guided the Red Raiders to an NCAA tournament appearance in 2024. This season, Texas Tech is on track for another trip to March Madness and his modern style of play that features a high volume of 3-pointers wins games and is fun to watch. It could be difficult to McCasland to leave his home state.

Ben McCollum, Drake

McCollum won four NCAA Division II championships at Northwest Missouri State before accepting the Drake job in the spring of 2024. He’s had great success in his first season at the Division I level and at just 43 years old, appears to have a bright future in the long term.

The question is whether he’s proven enough to be a serious candidate for the Indiana job. McCollum has won everywhere he’s been, but are the Hoosiers willing to risk that he can translate that success to the highest level of the sport?

Greg McDermott, Creighton

McDermott regularly takes the Blue Jays to the NCAA tournament and is one of the top offensive coaches in college basketball. He recently signed a contract extension, but there are reports that his buyout isn’t prohibitive.

He’s enjoyed great success at Creighton, including a trip to the Elite Eight in 2023. The Blue Jays finished in the top 12 of the KenPom rankings in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.

TJ Otzelberger, Iowa State

Otzelberger recently agreed to a contract extension through 2032 and seems well entrenched at Iowa State, which is enjoying success under his leadership.

He’s reached the NCAA tournament in each of his first three seasons in Ames and at just 47 years old, will be on the wish list for any program looking to make a hire this spring. Whether he’s willing to listen to offers is another story.

Bruce Pearl, Auburn

The 64-year-old Pearl has Indiana roots from his time as a head coach at Southern Indiana from 1992 through 2001. Since 2014, Pearl has built Auburn from an afterthought to a perennial power.

Pearl made the 2019 Final Four and is a three-time SEC coach of the year. It’s unclear if he would be interested in the job or if his buyout would eliminate him, but there’s no doubt he would bring energy and could quickly turn around the program.

Josh Schertz, Saint Louis

Schertz, 49, was highly successful at Lincoln Memorial at the Division II level before landing the Indiana State job in 2021. He guided Indiana State to the finals of the NIT last spring before accepting the Saint Louis job.

Known as a great X&O’s coach who values analytics, Schertz is a forward-thinking coach who had an elite offensive team in his final season at Indiana State. If he’s considered, he’s unlikely to be in the top tier of candidates.

Brad Stevens, Boston Celtics

Stevens, the president of basketball operations for the Celtics, will be on every list of candidates for the IU job, even if his candidacy seems far-fetched. He led Butler to back-to-back national championship game appearances and is a native of Zionsville who grew up with an affinity for IU basketball.

Whether he’s interested or not, the call has to be made to Stevens to ensure it’s still a no before moving down the list of candidates.

Will Wade, McNeese

Wade has rehabilitated his career after being fired from LSU following NCAA rule infractions. Known as an elite recruiter, the 42-year-old Wade took McNeese to an NCAA tournament in the 2024 season, his first with the program.

With his NCAA show-cause expiring this summer, Wade could soon be an attractive candidate to high-major programs.

Buzz Williams, Texas A&M

The 52-year-old Williams made multiple Sweet Sixteens and an Elite Eight at Marquette and a Sweet Sixteen at Virginia Tech. He’s now in his sixth season at Texas A&M and has the Aggies competing near the top of the SEC.

Williams is a native of Texas, so it’s unclear whether he’d be looking to leave the state. It’s also unclear if his candidacy would have broad appeal to the IU fanbase. Texas A&M is a below-average shooting team grinding out games with its defense this season.

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