When Bruce Pearl retired from Auburn a few weeks ago, fresh off a trip to the Final Four, the school had a plan in place, promoting from within and elevating top assistant Steven Pearl into the head coach position. This move allowed Auburn to mostly retain both its staff and established roster with minimal change. However, when it comes to most other coaching changes, scenarios like the one Auburn is dealing with is the exception and by no means the rule.
With the current college landscape that includes NIL financial allocation and the transfer portal, roster turnover -- and often times a complete roster overhaul -- is a common byproduct of a coaching change. Additionally, some coaches have a well-defined style that impacts their roster construction as they move to a new program, while others prefer a more adaptive approach that is built around the strengths of the roster that's in place.
Let's take a brief look at coaching style, expected pace of play and key players for programs in transition as we break down the most impactful coaching changes in college basketball this season.
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Top-10 Most Impactful College Basketball Coaching Changes for 2025-26
10. Richard Pitino, Xavier 
- 2024-25 record 22-12 (5th in Big East)
- Previous Stop- New Mexico 2021-2025 (88-49)
- Coaching Style- Defensive ball pressure, attack with pace on offense
- Key Players- Gabriel Pozzato (Evansville), Tre Carroll (FAU), All Wright (Valparaiso)
- 2024-25 KenPom adjusted tempo ranking (out of 362)
- Xavier- 84, New Mexico- 7
Pitino spent the past four seasons at New Mexico refining his approach following an up-and-down eight-year tenure at Minnesota. Xavier grew accustomed to playing at a faster pace under outgoing coach Sean Miller and will likely see the pace intensify even more with Pitino. However, as with many incoming coaches, Pitino will be dealing with an entirely new roster of players which is likely to lead to a rough season of transition for the Musketeers.
9. Ben McCollum, Iowa 
- 2024-25 record 17-16 (15th in Big Ten)
- Previous Stop- Drake 2024-2025 (31-4)
- Coaching Style- Controlled tempo, strong team defense, point guard-centric
- Key Players- Bennett Stirtz (Drake), Alvaro Folgueiras (Robert Morris), Brendan Hausen (Kansas State)
- 2024-25 KenPom adjusted tempo ranking (out of 364)
- Iowa- 61, Drake- 364
I find this particular coaching hire by Iowa to be fascinating, though it's not likely to lead to a lot of fantasy production. McCollum won four Division II championships at Northwest Missouri State prior to his one season at Drake. His style is methodical to say the least, ranking dead last in possessions per game, a far cry from Iowa's traditional uptempo system under previous coach Fran McCaffery. The player to watch, however, is Bennett Stirtz, who has followed McCollum at each of his three stops. McCollum has an impressive track record of developing point guards, with one coach likening him to Andy Reid and his development of QBs. Expect Stirtz to be among the NCAA leaders in minutes, usage and production from the point guard position.
8. Will Wade, NC State
- 2024-25 record 12-19 (16th in ACC)
- Previous Stop- McNeese 2023-2025 (49-8)
- Coaching Style- Emphasizes spacing, ball movement, attacking the paint
- Key Players- Darrion Williams (Texas Tech), Tre Holloman (Michigan State), Ven-Allen Lubin (North Carolina)
- 2024-25 KenPom adjusted tempo ranking (out of 364)
- NC State- 292, McNeese- 275
Wade gets a second chance at a power program after unceremoniously being let go by LSU in 2022 following reports of recruiting violations. Wade's two-year rehabilitation at McNeese culminated with the program's first ever NCAA Tournament victory last season. Incoming transfer Darrion Williams from Texas Tech was one of the top players in the portal and is a perfect fit for Wade's offensive philosophy.
7. Sean Miller, Texas 
- 2024-25 record 19-16 (14th in SEC)
- Previous Stop- Xavier 2022-2025 (65-39)
- Coaching Style- Modern- Fast pace- focus on threes, shots at the rim and getting to the line
- Key Players- Jordan Pope, Tramon Mark, Dailyn Swain (Xavier)
- 2024-25 KenPom adjusted tempo ranking (out of 364)
- Texas- 176, Xavier- 84
Miller is a known commodity with a 12-year stint at Arizona sandwiched around two stops at Xavier. Miller will bring a faster pace to Texas while successfully retaining four players from last year's Longhorn squad, a true rarity in today's day and age. Xavier transfer Dailyn Swain followed Miller to Austin and will join holdovers Tramon Mark, Jordan Pope and Chendall Weaver to lead a Texas team projected to finish in the middle of a loaded SEC.
6. Jai Lucas, Miami 
- First head coaching opportunity
- Previous Stop- Duke (Associate Head Coach)
- Coaching Style- Defense first with "great positional size"
- Key Players- Tre Donaldson (Michigan), Malik Reneau (Indiana), Shelton Henderson (#30 ESPN 100)
- 2024-25 KenPom adjusted tempo ranking (out of 364)
- Miami- 168, Duke- 269
The son of former NBA coach John Lucas, Jai Lucas was Jon Scheyer's right-hand man at Duke. He's a defense-first coach who has yet to develop an offensive philosophy, which makes projecting offensive production murky at best. Swiping Shelton Henderson, the 30th-ranked freshman in the ESPN 100, away from Duke was a coup, while Tre Donaldson (Michigan) and Malik Reneau (Indiana) were each highly-coveted transfers from big-time programs.
5. Bucky McMillan, Texas A&M 
- 2024-25 record 23-11 (5th in SEC)
- Previous Stop- Samford 2020-2025 (99-52)
- Coaching Style- Hustle, quick threes, smothering defense.
- Key Players- Pop Isaacs (Creighton), Mackenzie Mgbako (Indiana), Rylan Griffen (Kansas)
- 2024-25 KenPom adjusted tempo ranking (out of 364)
- Texas A&M- 215, Samford- 24
"Bucky Ball" makes its way to College Station and is the complete antithesis of Buzz Williams' old-school approach. Expect marked improvement on the offensive end in regard to shooting percentage for the Aggies, who finished dead last in the SEC in field-goal percentage and next to last in shooting from beyond the arc. Expect Pop Isaacs to see massive production as the point guard in this offense while Rylan Griffen is a sleeper who could thrive in this system following a disappointing season in Kansas.
4. Buzz Williams, Maryland 
- 2024-25 record 27-9 (2nd in Big Ten)
- Previous Stop- Texas A&M 2019-2025 (120-73)
- Coaching Style- Adaptable-Most recent an old-school ground-and-pound approach focusing on bigs that can rebound. Not much from outside.
- Key Players- Myles Rice (Indiana), Elijah Saunders (Virginia), Pharrel Payne (Texas A&M)
- 2024-25 KenPom adjusted tempo ranking (out of 364)
- Maryland- 66; Texas A&M- 215
Williams left Texas A&M on his own accord following three-straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament. He joins a Maryland that is in need of a reset following the ugly departure of Kevin Willard. While Williams will bring positivity to a program that was jilted by Willard, he also inherits zero returning players from a Terps squad that made it to the Sweet 16 last season. Buzz Williams' recent teams at Texas A&M struggled to shoot the ball while playing at a methodical pace, traits that are likely to follow him from College Station to College Park this season.
3. Kevin Willard, Villanova 
- 2024-25 record 21-15 (6th in Big East)
- Previous Stop- Maryland 2022-2025 (65-39)
- Coaching Style- Physical, defense-first, but adaptable
- Key Players- Matthew Hodge, Devin Askew (Long Beach State), Acaden Lewis (#32 ESPN 100)
- 2024-25 KenPom adjusted tempo ranking (out of 364)
- Villanova- 351; Maryland- 66
Willard did not leave Maryland on the best of terms, burning bridges on the way while blasting the school for their lack of financial commitment to the program. He takes on a Villanova program that has struggled to find its footing since the departure of Jay Wright and is looking to jump back into national prominence after winning titles in 2016 and 2018. Willard's team last year featured one of the best frontcourts in the country but will likely be more small-ball oriented this season. Look for a breakout performance from freshman Matthew Hodge, who was 95th on the ESPN 100 in 2024 but missed all of last season due to an issue with his eligibility.
2. Darian DeVries, Indiana 
- 2024-25 record 19-13 (9th in Big Ten)
- Previous Stop- West Virginia 2024-25 (19-13)
- Coaching Style- Defensive-minded with slow pace. Offense is guard-centric with reliance on the three ball.
- Key Players- Tucker DeVries (WVU), Lamar Wilkerson (Sam Houston), Reed Bailey (Davidson)
- 2024-25 KenPom adjusted tempo ranking (out of 364)
- Indiana- 137; West Virginia- 331
DeVries rejuvenated West Virginia during his one season in Morgantown, leading the Mountaineers to a 10-win improvement. He immediately parlayed that success to a trip back to his midwest roots, where he takes over an Indiana program that became stale under Mike Woodson. Despite the slow pace, a DeVries offense is much more modern than Woodson's and will focus on strong guard play and shooting the three at a high clip. With a roster that features zero returning players, DeVries brought in a consensus top-10 portal class, including his son Tucker DeVries, who was injured most of last season at WVU but was previously the two-time player of the year in the Missouri Valley.
1. Ryan Odom, Virginia 
- 2024-25 record 15-17 (11th in ACC)
- Previous Stop- VCU 2023-25 (52-21)
- Coaching Style- Fast-paced, aggressive offense. Three-point friendly
- Key Players- Dallin Hall (BYU), Malik Thomas (San Francisco), Chance Mallory (#85 ESPN 100)
- 2024-25 KenPom adjusted tempo ranking (out of 364)
- Virginia- 361; VCU 60
The new head man at Virginia will provide a wildly different look for the Cavaliers, who finished last season 354th in the nation in scoring while ranking 361 out of 364 Division I teams in KenPom's adjusted tempo rating. Odom's offensive attack ranked 60th in the same metric last season at VCU and features a system that emphasizes three-point shooting and creating chaos on offense and defense. That will make this year's Virginia outfit dramatically different and much more fantasy-friendly than the old tempo-controlled/defense-first system of Tony Bennett that continued last season under interim head coach Ron Sanchez.
Other College Basketball Resources:
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- Comprehensive college basketball injury report with estimated return dates.
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- Early fantasy college basketball rankings for the 2025-26 season.
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