NBA News NBA News, Match Reports and Updates
A significant college basketball coaching shift is happening on the West Coast.
Randy Bennett will be the new Arizona State coach, leaving Saint Mary’s after spending 25 seasons turning the Gaels into a respectable mid-major program. His final game was a 63-50 loss to No. 10 seed Texas A&M in the first round of the 2026 Men’s NCAA Tournament.
Advertisement
REQUIRED READING: Mid-majors proving worth in March Madness. Will it fix schedule problems?
The Saint Mary’s job was Bennett’s first head coaching role when he took it in 2001, taking over a program that had had little success. After just three NCAA Tournaments prior to his arrival, Bennett took the Gaels to the Big Dance 12 times during his tenure, including each of the past five seasons with at least 26 wins in each campaign during the run. The most successful run of Bennett’s tenure was the trip to the Sweet 16 in 2010 as a 10th seed.
During his time, Saint Mary’s elevated itself as one of the most successful mid-majors, competing with fellow West Coast Conference member Gonzaga and often taking down the powerful Bulldogs. By putting out quality teams for most of his tenure, the conference was able to send two teams to March Madness consistently, a rarity for mid-majors.
Saint Mary’s head coach Randy Bennett walks in front of the bench in the first half during a first round men’s basketball game of the NCAA Tournament between St. Mary’s and Texas A&M, at Paycom in Oklahoma City on Thursday, March 19, 2026.
Bennett’s overall record is 589-228 and he won more than 75% of his conference games. The Gaels won seven West Coast Conference regular season titles and four tournament titles. He also developed future NBA championship players in Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova.
Advertisement
While it is a shock to see Bennett leave a role where he spent a quarter of a century, the 63-year-old coach is from Mesa, Arizona, just east of the Arizona State campus in the Phoenix metro area.
He will be tasked with trying to revive the Sun Devils, who were unable to sustain success in the 11 seasons under Bobby Hurley. During Hurley’s time, Arizona State made the NCAA Tournament…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/arizona-state-basketball-hires-randy-204129136.html
Author :
Publish date : 2026-03-23 20:41:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
