Oklahoma
10 Mid-Major Coaches to Know in Oklahoma State’s Coaching Search
Oklahoma State’s basketball coaching opening coincides with a time in the sport where there are a lot of attractive options among the mid-major ranks.
OSU fired Boynton on Thursday. With the school starting a national search to find his replacement, I thought it would be good to break down some of the most eligible mid-major coaches in this cycle. Upon Boynton’s dismissal, I listed five initial candidates. Four of those guys are also on this list. I’ve also listed a potential sneaky Division-II coach that has been dominant as a bonus name. This list could be longer with guys like Mark Byington (James Madison), Niko Medved (Colorado State) and more all also having impressive resumes.
Danny Sprinkle
Current School: Utah State
Current Season Record: 27-6
Career Record: 108-49
Other Stops: Montana State, Cal State-Fullerton (assistant), Cal State-Northridge (assistant)
NCAA Tournaments Qualified for as Head Coach: 2 (projected to be in for No. 3)
Notes: Danny Sprinkle has only been at Utah State one season, but it has been a good one. Sprinkle’s Aggies won the highly competitive Mountain West conference this season, climbing as high as No. 16 in the AP Poll. Before this year, Sprinkle led Montana State to back-t0-back tournaments, going a combined 52-18 in those seasons.
Darian DeVries
Current School: Drake
Current Season Record: 28-6
Career Record: 150-540
Other Stops: Creighton (assistant)
NCAA Tournaments Qualified for as Head Coach: 3
Notes: DeVries has only been a head coach since 2018 when he started at Drake, but he has since led the Bulldogs to three NCAA Tournaments, two Missouri Valley tournament titles and a Missouri Valley regular season crown.
Pat Kelsey
Current School: College of Charleston
Current Season Record: 27-7
Career Record: 261-121
Other Stops: Winthrop, Xavier (assistant), Wake Forest (assistant)
NCAA Tournaments Qualified for as Head Coach: 5
Notes: Kelsey coached at Winthrop from 2012 to 2021, leading the Eagles to back-to-back Big South regular season and tournament titles in his final two years with a combined record of 47-12. He then made the move to Charleston, where after going 17-15 in Year 1, Kelsey’s Cougars have won back-t0-back Colonial Athletic Association regular season and tournament titles with a combined record of 58-11.
Will Wade
Current School: McNeese
Current Season Record: 30-3
Career Record: 226-99
Other Stops: LSU, VCU, Chattanooga, Harvard (assistant)
NCAA Tournaments Qualified for as Head Coach: 6
Notes: As controversially as his time at LSU might have ended, no one can deny Will Wade’s ability to win basketball games. With Wade’s McNeese Cowboys winning the Southland regular season and tournament title this season, Wade has now qualified for the NCAA Tournament at three different schools. He made the Tournament at both of his seasons at VCU, made three tourney appearances in five seasons at LSU (winning the SEC regular season one of those years) and now has stormed through the Southland in his one season there.
Bryce Drew
Current School: Grand Canyon
Current Season Record: 28-4
Career Record: 256-139
Other Stops: Vanderbilt, Valparaiso
NCAA Tournaments Qualified for as Head Coach: 5 (playing in the WAC title game Saturday night)
Notes: The younger brother of Baylor coach Scott Drew, Bryce Drew took over at Valparaiso in 2016 after being an assistant with the Crusaders since 2005. In five seasons as Valpo’s head coach, Drew led the Crusaders to two NCAA Tournaments, four Horizon League titles and a combined 124-49 record. He then made the move to the high-major level with Vanderbilt. Vandy made the Tournament in Drew’s first year but went just 21-43 in his final two years with the program. But he has been grand at Grand Canyon, winning the WAC’s regular season crown and tournament in his first year. The Antelopes are in the WAC championship game Saturday night looking to secure a third NCAA title bid in four seasons under Drew.
Josh Schertz
Current School: Indiana State
Current Season Record: 28-6
Career Record: 62-39
Other Stops: Lincoln Memorial (D-II), High Point (assistant), Queens (assistant), Lynn (D-II, assistant)
NCAA Tournaments Qualified for as Head Coach: 0 (on the bubble entering Selection Sunday)
Notes: Schertz has been a Division-I head coach for only three seasons, but he has already made an impact, as his Sycamores won the Missouri Valley’s regular season crown. After falling to Drake in the tournament final, Indiana State is on the bubble heading into Selection Sunday. Prior to his time at Indiana State, Schertz was 337-69 in 13 seasons at D-II Lincoln Memorial, making three Final Fours.
KT Turner
Current School: UT-Arlington
Current Season Record: 20-13
Career Record: 20-13
Other Stops: Kentucky (assistant), Oklahoma (assistant), Texas (assistant), SMU (assistant), Wichita State (assistant), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (assistant)
NCAA Tournaments Qualified for as Head Coach: 0 (playing in the WAC title game Saturday night)
Notes: A longtime highly regarded assistant, Turner took his first head job with UT-Arlington ahead of this season and has the Mavericks playing in the WAC title game with a chance to make just their second NCAA Tournament ever. Turner also has a lay of the land, coaching in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas.
Dusty May
Current School: Florida Atlantic
Current Season Record: 25-7
Career Record: 126-67
Other Stops: Florida (assistant), Louisiana Tech (assistant), UAB (assistant), Murray State (assistant), Eastern Michigan
NCAA Tournaments Qualified for as Head Coach: 1 (projected to be in for No. 2)
Notes: After leading Florida Atlantic to the Final Four last season, Dusty May will likely have his pick of open jobs should he choose to leave FAU. The Owls were 66-56 in May’s first four seasons before taking off to a 35-4 record last year. Entering Saturday’s American semifinal, FAU is 25-7 this season, climbing as high as No. 7 in the AP Poll.
Richard Pitino
Current School: New Mexico
Current Season Record: 24-9
Career Record: 218-177
Other Stops: Minnesota, Florida International, Louisville (assistant), Florida (assistant), Duquesne (assistant), Northeastern (assistant), College of Charleston (assistant)
NCAA Tournaments Qualified for as Head Coach: 2 (playing in the Mountain West title game Saturday night)
Notes: The son of Rick Pitino, Richard has carved out a solid coaching resume of his own. At 24-9, New Mexico is on the bubble entering Selection Sunday, but Pitino has gotten the Lobos in the AP Poll each of the past two seasons. He was at Minnesota for eight seasons from 2013-21, leading the Gophers to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.
John Becker
Current School: Vermont
Current Season Record: 28-6
Career Record: 308-119
Other Stops: Catholic (D-III, assistant), Gallaudet (D-III)
NCAA Tournaments Qualified for as Head Coach: 6
Notes: John Becker has ran the American East for the better part of a decade, winning eight straight regular season titles. Winning the conference tournament again this season, the Catamounts have made three straight NCAA Tournaments.
Bonus Name: Ben McCollum
Current School: Northwest Missouri State (D-II)
Current Season Record: 27-4
Career Record: 392-90 (all at Northwest Missouri State)
Other Stops: Emporia State (assistant)
Notes: Hiring Ben McCollum to lead a Big 12 program from the Division-II level would be quite the risk, but McCollum has won four D-II titles in the past seven seasons, going for another this season.
The Oklahoma Sooners surprised the college football world with their breakthrough 2025 season. The Sooners made the College Football Playoff after a 6-7 season in 2024.
The Sooners navigated one of the toughest schedules in college football and still finished the regular season with a 10-2 record. With another offseason of development and the return of several key contributors, expectations are high around Norman heading into 2026. However, that optimism has not carried over to the national conversation.
ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) projects the Sooners will finish with a 7-5 record this season. Despite that projection, FPI still ranks Oklahoma as the No. 12 team in the country. That disrespect likely comes from the up-and-down tenure under head coach Brent Venables. So far, he’s had two double-digit-win seasons, while also having two losing seasons. Oklahoma hadn’t had a losing season since 1998 until Venables took over before the 2022 season.
On3’s Ari Wasserman said that Oklahoma has been overlooked nationally on his show with Andy Staples.
Oklahoma has already shown it can compete at the highest level after making the College Football Playoff in its first season as an SEC member. Now, the challenge is proving that last season was not just a one-year breakthrough.
With a talented roster, an elite defense, and key players returning, the Sooners have the opportunity to exceed national expectations and establish themselves as a consistent contender in the SEC.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X (formerly known as Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on X @jaronspor.
Du Plessis returns to the Octagon for the first time since losing his middleweight title to Khamzat Chimaev last August. Standing across from him is Usman, a former welterweight champion who defended his title five times, with signature wins over Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington. The pair headline a stacked card filled with rising contenders and can’t-miss prospects.
Where To Watch UFC Oklahoma City
Live results, highlights, fight recaps, post-fight interviews and more will be added throughout the event. Preview each matchup below before the action begins. The main card kicks off Saturday at 8pm ET/5pm PT live on Paramount+ in the United States.
UFC Oklahoma City Main Card Results:
TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa’s U.V. Okies are six-time undefeated Wii bowling champions of the Tulsa Senior Inter-League — and now they’re leveling up.
Nintendo America contacted University Village Retirement Community after the senior bowling team’s story went viral- thanks to their Instagram reels, and features by news outlets like the New York Times and 2 News Oklahoma.
WATCH: POSITIVELY OKLAHOMA: Tulsa Gaming Seniors level up to Nationals:
POSITIVELY OKLAHOMA: Tulsa Gaming Seniors level up to Nationals
Inspired by their story, the company is donating Nintendo Switch 2 systems to each retirement community in the Tulsa league.
Wayne Wall, Life Enrichment Coordinator at University Village, said the outreach came as a surprise.
“I did not expect to hear from Nintendo at all,” Wall said.
GALLERY: “ALWAYS OPTIMISTIC!” Tulsa’s U.V. Okies level up with Nintendo donation
The company reached out to Wall about what the team had come to represent.
“They contacted me and said we’re excited about how Wii bowling is bringing people together at this stage of their life and helping them to have that camaraderie and have fun in this stage of their life and we would like to do something to contribute to that, to be a part of that,” Wall said.
Nintendo donated two Nintendo Switch 2 systems for each retirement community in the league, along with additional gear like extra Joy-Cons, and games. Teams from across Tulsa picked up their gifts at the championship celebration on July 16, 2026, at University Village in Tulsa — and the timing could not have been better. The old equipment had run its course.
“The Wii systems were becoming obsolete and hard to replace,” Wall said.
Come spring 2027, the Tulsa league will make the switch to bowling on the Switch 2. Competing Tulsa teams hope the new systems evens things out.
Fritz Gernandt of the Town Village Strikers had a message for the six-time champions.
“I can only say it once and really loud, look out,” Gernandt said.
The U.V. Okies are not intimidated. Phyllis Wimer, 95 — known on the lanes by nicknames like “The GOAT” and “The Killer” — has already been putting in work on the Switch 2.
KJRH
“I’ve got the new system at home, and I have bowled a 300 on it, and I’m the only one so far that has,” Wimer said.
Dorothy Salen, 101, who led the U.V. Okies in the national league last fall and goes by “Dangerous Dorothy,” is keeping her trademark outlook heading into the new season.
“Always optimistic!” Salen said.
For the U.V. Okies, the game — and the fun — is never over.
The team has one more Wii bowling match planned before their equipment gets retired. They will play the staff at University Village to raise money for Alzheimer’s awareness next week.
2 News Oklahoma was the first to bring you the story of the U.V. Okies success, and we’ve been updating you along the way.
You can learn more about University Village HERE.
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