By Aidan Joly
It took until mid-February to get a midseason coach firing, but we have one on the board.
Kansas State on Sunday night fired Jerome Tang in the midst of his fourth season with the team.
Tang had a meteoric rise in Manhattan. His first Kansas State team in 2022-23 won 26 games and went to the Elite Eight. But it’s been a slow decline since then – only being in the NIT in 2024, missing the postseason entirely in 2025 and then a 2025-26 where the Wildcats have been largely uncompetitive. At the time of the firing, Kansas State is 1-11 in Big 12 play and 10-15 overall. It has not won a game since Jan. 20. Matthew Driscoll, the longtime head coach at North Florida, will finish out the season.
Kansas State is not a bad job by any stretch, but it’s not one that coaches would be clamoring for. It probably sits somewhere in the middle of the Big 12 in terms of desirability. There is some money here as K-State has made some big splashes in the portal in the past couple years, namely in the forms of Coleman Hawkins and PJ Haggerty. It’s a place where you have a shot to win.
Tang came into the role in 2022 without any previous head coaching experience, so it makes sense that the powers that be in Manhattan will probably want to go with a sitting head coach. That being said, here are seven (and one) potential candidates for the gig. All but one are sitting head coaches.
Josh Schertz, Saint Louis head coach
Schertz is the hottest candidate to move up and he will surely be on the call list. After moving up from the Division II ranks in 2021 he had Indiana State rolling with a 32-win season in 2023-24 before taking the gig at Saint Louis, where he has the Billikens at 24-1 in his second season. He’s a guy who wins everywhere he goes.
This all being said, Schertz will likely have his pick of open jobs in this cycle. The regional ties are there, but this does not feel like the one he will end up picking.
Jerrod Calhoun, Utah State head coach
Another name that will be on the call list for every opening at the high major level. Calhoun got Utah State to the NCAA tournament in his first season last year and has followed that up with another strong season.
One problem: Calhoun is an Ohio native and Cincinnati graduate, and Cincinnati feels very likely to open. If it does, Calhoun will be the heavy favorite there.
Ben Jacobson, Northern Iowa head coach
It wouldn’t be a flashy hire, but Jacobson is an example of a guy who has built a consistent winner at Northern Iowa for 20 years. He has won nearly 400 games in his time as a head coach. He has brought Northern Iowa to the NCAA tournament four times in his tenure, but not since 2016.
If the top names don’t hit, Jacobson could be a solid backup plan.
Travis Steele, Miami Ohio head coach
Steele is set to be another hot name in the coaching carousel. He coached at Xavier from 2018 to 2022 before going to Miami (Ohio), where he has the RedHawks to 25-0 this season.
Steele doesn’t have a ton of area ties, but if he wants to get back into the high major ranks this could potentially be a fit.
Matt Braeuer, Stephen F. Austin head coach
Braeuer is the second-youngest name on this list, just 39 and in the middle of his first season as a head coach. He has Stephen F. Austin at 23-3 in his first season at the helm after stints with Grant McCasland at North Texas and Texas Tech.
He has the area ties too, as an alum of Wichita State. It may be a little bit too big of a jump too early in his coaching career, but he will certainly be a name to keep an eye on.
Chris Jans, Mississippi State head coach
Jans is by far the most successful coach on this list. The 57-year-old has taken the Bulldogs to the NCAA tournament in each of his first three seasons after a successful stint at New Mexico State.
However, it is certainly fair to wonder if Jans has hit the ceiling at Mississippi State. Kansas State offers more resources-wise than Mississippi State does. He also had two stints as an assistant at Wichita State, so he knows the area. Who knows if Kansas State can pluck another high major coach, but it could be worth giving it a shot.
Chester Frazier, Virginia Tech associate HC
A tick younger than Braeuer, Frazier is the youngest candidate on this list and the only one without head coaching experience. However, he’s the only one with significant ties to Kansas State. He spent seven seasons as an assistant under former head coach Bruce Weber. He has also spent time at Illinois and West Virginia on top of Virginia Tech.
It’s hard to see Kansas State going the way of high-major assistant again. However, if that is the route they go, Frazier is probably the name that makes the most sense.
Brad Underwood, Illinois head coach
And here’s the shoot for the moon option. Underwood is a Kansas State alum and a Kansas native, not to mention one of the best head coaches in college basketball right now.
The odds of him leaving Illinois are very low. Kansas State would have to pay a hefty buyout. It might take Kansas State leaving a blank check paired with Underwood feeling compelled to save the program to even consider the move. Probably won’t stop Kansas State making a phone call, though.
Prediction: It’s tough to say. It doesn’t feel like there’s an obvious option here.
Getting Schertz or Calhoun would be a major win for the program, but it feels unlikely. But getting a head start certainly doesn’t hurt.
Jans would kind of make sense, but they are banking on him being willing to leave another high-major job. However, that should be the plan, and make sure to give him better resources than he currently has. Let’s go with him.
AJ Hoops 