The Big Ten has seen a few changes in the coaching carousel over the last week, with positions opening up for the Indiana Hoosiers, Iowa Hawkeyes, and Minnesota Golden Gophers.
While the Wisconsin Badgers likely won’t be getting a new head coach anytime soon, they’ll be seeing several new faces on opposing sidelines next season.
The Hoosiers made a move quickly, hiring West Virginia head coach Darian DeVries to be their successor to Mike Woodson. DeVries is also expected to bring his star son Tucker DeVries to Bloomington, jumpstarting a rebuild in Indiana.
But, the Hawkeyes and Gophers have finalized their coaching searches, as Iowa zeroed in on Drake’s Ben McCollum as their next head coach on Monday, while Minnesota targeted their search on Colorado State’s Niko Medved, with reports coming out hours later.
McCollum led Drake to a 30-win season in 2024, as the Bulldogs got past the Missouri Tigers in the Round of 64 before bowing out to the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Round of 32.
He gained major steam as a head coach during the tournament, where the national media caught on to some of his coaching techniques, and will now be tasked with turning around an Iowa program that had Fran McCaffrey at the helm since 2010.
McCollum’s style is much different than his predecessor’s, however, as his pace was among the lowest in the country this season, whereas McCaffrey’s always ranked among the top in the nation.
On the other side, Minnesota is expected to hire Niko Medved, who led Colorado State to the Round of 32 as well this weekend, as the Rams beat No. 5 seed Memphis in the first round.
Medved almost had the Rams to a Sweet Sixteen, but Colorado State was shocked by a Derik Queen game-winner in the final seconds on Sunday evening.
Medved will replace Ben Johnson, who struggled to get Minnesota over the hump in his four years at the program, and will have his work cut out for him with the Gophers.
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