For the second straight offseason, West Virginia is in the market for a new coach. After just one year on the job, Darian DeVries left Morgantown to take the same post at Indiana, leaving WVU in the lurch. DeVries and his Mountaineers were left out of the NCAA Tournament field on Selection Sunday, and he added to the heartbreak by taking off for Bloomington just 48 hours later.

West Virginia now has its second coaching search in 12 months, and that’s on top of a tumultuous transition in June 2023, when the school forced Bob Huggins to resign one day after the legendary coach was arrested and charged with driving under the influence. WVU turned to an interim boss in assistant coach Josh Eilert that summer, but that was not a long-term solution.

DeVries and the Mountaineers also had to build a roster from scratch a year ago. And with another coaching change, that might be the case once again this offseason. That kind of total turnover can hamstring a program (not to mention, frustrate the fans), so finding a stable option would make a lot of sense.

Let’s take a look at some names who would make sense as candidates in Morgantown.

Jerrod Calhoun, Utah State

Calhoun makes a ton of sense for a multitude of reasons. He was an assistant at West Virginia from 2007 to 2012, spending time under Huggins before taking a head coaching job at Division II Fairmont State. He eventually ended up getting the head coaching job at Youngstown State in 2017. After losing DeVries so quickly, the WVU administration might see some appeal to a coach with ties to the university.

He built Youngstown State, a very challenging job, into a winner, and despite never making an NCAA Tournament there, Utah State recognized his upside and plucked him out of Ohio. He rewarded that faith with a 26-win season (so far) and an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in his first campaign in Logan. He is an innovative and malleable coach, varying his style based on the players he has each season. Case in point: At Utah State, he hired Eric Haut from old Horizon League rival Northern Kentucky to help install a tricky matchup zone that spurred the Aggies’ success.

At only 43, Calhoun has already proven himself at multiple levels of college basketball. He seems to be the perfect blend of the “great young coach” and “ties to the school” factors that loom large in many searches.

Will Wade, McNeese

Wade’s name has been a hot one at multiple big jobs in the last two cycles, having fully proven himself as a coach once again in Lake Charles, La. The Cowboys are headed to their second NCAA Tournament appearance in as many years. Wade’s track record at Chattanooga, VCU and LSU before the “strong-ass offer” controversy that landed him in hot water with the NCAA is tremendous. He appears more than ready for another shot at the big leagues.

The worry with Wade is that he might already be in talks with other schools (NC State is among those with reported interest). However, West Virginia and the Big 12 would surely be a compelling pitch, and Wade would be wise to listen.

One other drawback: Wade might not be a Mountaineer for the long haul if he posts a couple of hugely successful seasons. That would be a good problem for West Virginia to have, but after DeVries’ tenure lasted only a season, WVU’s administration might prefer someone with more lasting ties.

Ben McCollum, Drake

McCollum is a terrific basketball coach. He has won everywhere and was rumored to be in the mix at Indiana before DeVries ended up with the gig. Four Division II national titles earned him the Drake job. In his debut season, he won 30 games en route to capturing both the Missouri Valley regular season and tournament championships.

McCollum is said to be extremely particular about moving jobs, though, which would explain why he spent so much time dominating Division II before finally taking the Drake job. He has not recruited at this level before — most of his Drake squad is composed of Division II transfers that followed him from Northwest Missouri State — but it’s tough to make a case against him building a winner with solid resources.

Chester Frazier, West Virginia associate head coach

The internal promotion candidate would be Frazier, who has spent time as an assistant at multiple power conference schools: Illinois, Kansas State and Virginia Tech. He is well-regarded as a recruiter and would bring some stability after the tumultuous past couple of years, but West Virginia could prefer someone with head coaching experience.

An offshoot of the Frazier promotion approach would be Erik Martin. Martin, a former Bob Huggins assistant in Morgantown for 15 seasons who left for the South Carolina State head job in July 2022, has sparked some positive momentum at the moribund MEAC program. However, it would be an enormous jump in competition level from the MEAC to the Big 12.

Scott Cross, Troy

Cross has won repeatedly at two mid-major stops. In his final three years at his alma mater UT Arlington before a stunning firing, he went 72-33, including a regular season conference championship. He has now been at Troy for six seasons, and his Trojans have crossed the 20-win threshold in four consecutive seasons, culminating in capturing an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Cross may be more of a stealthy name right now, but he is highly regarded by his peers. If he and his Trojans take down Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, his candidacy could catch fire at multiple places.

Notable: Two other big names, Niko Medved (Colorado State) and Ryan Odom (VCU), have already been linked to other openings. WVU might be a little too late to the party for those two.

(Photo of Jerrod Calhoun: David Becker / Getty Images)