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.