Kentucky basketball. It is one of the biggest brands in all of collegiate sports. The most wins and the highest winning percentage in college basketball history. Eight national championships, the second most all time, and have made 17 Final Four appearances, tied for the third most.
It has endured seven head coaches and found success with almost all of them, with five different coaches winning national titles. For the first time since 2009, the program will be searching for a new leader, after John Calipari, who coached the Wildcats for fifteen seasons (2009-2024), is reported to take the Arkansas vacancy.
The biggest job in college basketball is now open. Given the timing, it is important to make a hire quickly, hopefully by Friday. Many will use it as leverage at their current job, and many will get raises, but who’s going to fill it? Let’s look at the top candidates.
Scott Drew, Baylor
Age: 53
Overall Record: 466-255 (64.6%), 22 seasons
Accolades: 12 NCAA Tournament Appearances, 3 Regular Season Conference Championships, 1 Final Four (2021), 1 Championship (2021), 3-time Big 12 Coach of the Year
Buyout: $4.5 million
Scott Drew may have the most impressive program turnaround in college sports history. Taking over Baylor in 2003, who was coming off a scandal involving a teammate murdering another, he has led them to 12 of their 16 NCAA Tournament appearances. Ultimately winning the 2021 NCAA Championship. If he can do that at Baylor, he can be successful at Kentucky.
Outside of Drew’s coaching ability, he would be a great spokesperson for the program and he has a close relationship with Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart.
Dan Hurley, Connecticut
Age: 51
Overall Record: 291-163 (64.1%), 14 seasons
Accolades: 6 NCAA Tournament Appearances, 2 Final Fours, 1 Championship (maybe two depending on outcome 4/8/2024), 2 Regular Season Conference Championships, 2 Conference Tournament Championships.
Buyout: $7.5 million
The hottest coach in College Basketball right now, Dan Hurley, will be coaching for a second straight championship on Monday night against Purdue. If they are successful, he will become just the third coach in the Modern era to accomplish the feat, joining Hall of Famers Mike Krzyzewski and Billy Donovan (who appears on this later).
Hurley has a manageable buyout and will have a big roster rebuild with a bulk of the team leaving after the season. That said, there is an indication that Hurley would leave UConn and the Northeast program fits his personality. Then again, he has the confidence to want to take on a challenge like Kentucky. He will be open to listening.
Nate Oats, Alabama
Age: 49
Overall Record: 213-97 (68.7%), 9 Seasons
Accolades: 7 NCAA Tournament Appearances, 1 Final Four, 4 Regular Season Conference Championships, 5 Conference Tournament Championships, 3-time Conference Coach of the Year
Buyout: $18 million
Nate Oats is a coach that Kentucky fans have grown all too familiar with, playing against him in his last season at Buffalo in the NCAA Tournament, and at Alabama since 2019. In that span, he has led the Tide to two SEC Regular season championships, two SEC Tournament championships, and the program’s first Final Four this year.
Oats plays a fun style, is fiery on the sidelines, and is one of the best analytical minds in college basketball. He would certainly be a popular fan pick, but the biggest issue is the $18 million buyout thanks to his freshly signed contract extension. He also noted that he doesn’t want to move his kids out of school.
Billy Donovan, Chicago Bulls (NBA)
Age: 58
Overall Record: 502-206 (70.9%), 21 Seasons
Accolades: 14 NCAA Tournament Appearances, 4 Final Fours, 2 Championships, 8 Regular Season Conference Championships, 4 Conference Tournament Championships, 3-time SEC Coach of the Year.
Buyout: NBA
Is Billy Donovan still looking for a horse farm in Lexington? The Rick Pitino protege who turned down Kentucky twice in the past, has reportedly expressed interest in the Kentucky job this time around. At 58, Donovan is the oldest candidate, but also the most accomplished, going to four Final Fours and winning two national titles.
Donovan is a great coach but has been in the NBA for almost a decade, since 2015, and has not experienced college basketball with NIL and the transfer portal. But, being in the NBA he has experienced free agency. Is he willing to adapt at his age?
Mark Pope, BYU
Age: 51
Overall Record: 187-108 (63.4%), 9 Seasons
Accolades: 2 NCAA Tournament Appearances
Buyout: Unknown, Private University
Probably the least accomplished coach on this list, Pope has the biggest connection to Kentucky, being a former player from 1994-1996. He will receive support from his former coach and mentor Rick Pitino, not that Barnhart will take that with much merit.
At BYU the last five seasons, Pope has taken them to the NCAA Tournament twice in four possible seasons (COVID cancelled 2020 tournament), but yet to win a postseason game, and they finished 5th in a very strong Big 12 in their first season in the conference.
“Oh, I love Kentucky. You don’t understand; I love Kentucky. Like, in my soul, I love Coach P (Pitino) and I love Kentucky,” Pope said just last week. The search should not get this far.
Tommy Lloyd, Arizona
Age: 49
Overall Record: 88-20 (81.5%), 3 seasons
Accolades: 3 NCAA Tournament Appearances, National Coach of the Year, 2 Regular Season Conference Championships, 2 Conference Tournament Championships
Buyout: $12 million
The least tenured coach on this list, but don’t take that for inexperience. Lloyd was an assistant at Gonzaga for over 20 years where he became the top became one of the best international recruiters in the country, and was key in player development for multiple Gonzaga stars.
In his first season at Arizona, Lloyd ran away with National Coach of the Year honors en route to a number 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Lloyd has reached the Sweet Sixteen in two of his three years. He has been a West Coast guy his whole life and just inked an extension in February.
TJ Otzlberger, Iowa State
Age: 46
Overall Record: 169-98 (63.3%), 8 seasons
Accolades: 5 NCAA Tournament Appearances, 2 Regular Season Conference Championships, 3 Conference Tournament Championships, Summit League Coach of the Year
Buyout: $17.5 million
In 2021, Otzlberger inherited an Iowa State team that was coming off a historically bad season, going 2-22 overall and 0-18 in the Big 12. Just 12 months later, he had them in the Sweet Sixteen for just the sixth time in program history. This year, he led them to the Big 12 Tournament championship and another Sweet Sixteen appearance.
Otzelberger’s offensive philosophy has been criticized, but his defenses have been ELITE: 5, 8, 1 over his three seasons.
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