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.
Putnam City West High School will shift to virtual learning on Tuesday after an incident involving two students prompted an investigation by the district and Oklahoma City police, according to Putnam City Schools.
District officials said administrators were alerted near the end of the school day Monday to an altercation involving two students in the school’s arena area.
Officials said the students left campus, and the case was turned over to Putnam City Campus Police and the Oklahoma City Police Department for investigation.
District officials said no students or staff were harmed and there is no ongoing safety threat related to the incident.
What we know
Putnam City West sent the following email to all families and staff at the school:
All PCW students and staff will transition to virtual learning for Tuesday, April 21st.
Today, an isolated serious incident involving two students occurred on school grounds. Near the end of the school day, administrators were alerted to an altercation between two students in the arena area. The individuals involved quickly left campus, prompting an initial fact-finding response by school administrators before the matter was turned over to Putnam City Campus Police and the Oklahoma City Police Department for further investigation. Because this is an active investigation involving students, no further information will be released at this time.
We understand this information may be concerning to students, staff, and families. Please know we are committed to maintaining a safe, secure, and positive learning environment for all students. At Putnam City Schools, student and staff safety remains our highest priority. Therefore, out of an abundance of caution and to allow for a thorough investigation, all PCW students and staff will transition to virtual learning for Tuesday, April 21st. Students will need to check Google Classroom for updates from teachers.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support of PC West.
Putnam City Schools
All students and staff at Putnam City West will transition to virtual learning on Tuesday, April 21, while investigators continue their work, according to the district.
Students were told to check Google Classroom for instructions from teachers.
The district said it is withholding additional details because the case involves students and remains under investigation.
School officials have not said what triggered the incident or whether any arrests have been made.
This is a developing story. Updates will be added as more information becomes available.
TULSA, OKLA (KTUL) — A new program in Oklahoma is giving adults another way to finish high school by allowing them to use past credits and test scores to earn a diploma, an option officials say could help thousands of people and strengthen the state’s workforce.
For years, adults in Oklahoma who did not finish high school largely had one main option: earning a GED. Now, Oklahoma CareerTech is rolling out the Career Readiness Diploma, a pathway designed to build on what students have already completed rather than requiring them to start over.
“So in Oklahoma right now, if you look at the demographics, we have about 279,000 people in our state without a high school diploma. So it’s almost 10% of our population doesn’t have a high school diploma,” said Lance Allee, an adult education and family literacy specialist with Oklahoma CareerTech.
Allee said the program allows adults to apply previously earned high school credit and combine different assessment scores into a single record to qualify for a diploma.
“It allows the student to use previously earned high school credit. So, it’s kind of like a portfolio where you can take multiple assessment scores and put them into one portfolio to get your high school diploma,” Allee said.
The program is open to adults 21 and older. In some cases, officials said, participants can finish in just weeks, depending on how many credits they already have.
CareerTech officials say the program is also aimed at improving job prospects for individuals while helping Oklahoma remain competitive when attracting employers.
“When you’re a company and you’re looking at moving into Oklahoma, you look at the demographics and say, is there a workforce there that we can employ? And you say, well, about 10% of the population doesn’t have a diploma, they may start looking at states that surround us. So, we definitely want to get as many diplomas out there as we can,” Allee said.
The program started issuing diplomas in recent weeks, and officials said dozens more people are already in the process. For more information or to sign up click here.
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NORMAN — Cord Rager’s return comes at a pivotal time for Skip Johnson’s Oklahoma Sooners. Not only do they get their day three starter back in time for big road matchups against Auburn and Arkansas on the horizon, but the Sooners pitching strength, their rotational depth, is primed and ready for the test.
The freshman lefty finished with eight strikeouts and only gave up one hit in only 65 pitches before his day ended in the sixth.
No. 14 Oklahoma earn its first conference sweep of the season, defeating Missouri 8-4. It was OU’s fourth conference series win.
Oklahoma (27-12, 10-8) put their best foot forward as they turn the page to the meat of their schedule where they will do battle against No. 13, No. 20 and No. 16 over the next three weeks — two of those series’ on the road.
Four runs in five hits in the second got things rolling for the Sooners.
Camden Johnson continued his brilliant play of late with a triple in the second. This came after a Brenden Brock solo home run to put OU up 1-0. Deiten LaChance grounded out to short but scored Johnson. Dasan Harris and and Nolan Stevens each found home before the inning ended.
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OU found fortune from the plate again in the fourth. Four runs off of four hits highlighted by a three-run home run by Johnson put Oklahoma up 8-0. It was Johnson’s seventh home run of the season, second on the team behind Brock’s nine.
Trent Collier got the nod in the sixth to relieve Rager.
In the seventh, Missouri finally got on the board for the first time since the ninth inning of Friday night’s Sooner victory. Cam Durnin hit a solo shot — his fourht of the season — to make the score 8-1 in favor of the home team.
The Tigers got their third hit of the game shortly after. From there, Collier’s short day was done. Gavyn Jones came on to relieve
LaChance missed a home run by inches when Tiger center fielder Kaden Peer made a leaping catch, jumping into the fence.
In the eighth, the Tigers continued to chip away. With bases loaded, Blaze Ward hit a basehit to score two Missouri base runners. OU led 8-3 heading into the final inning.
Harris led the Sooners with three hits. His day was accented by an RBI, stolen base and a run.
Oklahoma will travel to Auburn to take on the No. 13 Tigers for a three game series starting on Friday. Before that, they will host Oral Roberts for a midweek game at Kimrey Family Stadium in Norman. The Sooners won 4-0 against ORU earlier this season.
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