The Indiana basketball team’s exclusion from the NCAA Tournament has allowed it to shift its focus to finding its next head coach. With Mike Woodson’s four-year run now officially in the past, the Hoosiers are reportedly turning their attention to West Virginia head coach Darian DeVries.
DeVries, whose Mountaineers were also left out of the NCAA Tournament bracket, has emerged as a top candidate for the job, per college basketball analyst Jeff Goodman. The analyst’s ‘Field of 68′ network also reported that Indiana also has a “mystery candidate” in mind.
DeVries just wrapped up his first year with West Virginia, leading the Mountaineers to a 19-13 record and a seventh-place finish in the Big 12. He earned the job after a successful six-year stint at Drake, where he led the Bulldogs to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in 2023 and 2024.
Coincidentally, Indiana is also considering DeVries’ replacement at Drake, Ben McCollum, per Goodman. McCollum, the former longtime head coach of Division II powerhouse Northwest Missouri State, took the Bulldogs back to the big dance in his first year. As successful as DeVries was with the team, McCollum led Drake to its first 30-win season in program history.
As many teams in similar positions tend to do, Indiana will likely wait until after the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament to make its decision. The school’s next head coaching hire will be its third since 2017, when they fired longtime leader Tom Crean.
Indiana, Mike Woodson miss postseason for second straight year
Due to its decorated history and dedicated fan base, Indiana does not tend to give coaches much of a leash. As such, the Hoosiers released Woodson midway through his second consecutive middling season. Though he led the team to two NCAA Tournament appearances in his first two years, fans still felt he underwhelmed in the job given the talent he had to work with.
In 2024, Indiana went just 19-13, including just 10-10 in the Big 10. In the first year of the expanded conference, the Hoosiers finished just ninth in the league and suffered a loss to Oregon in their first game of the Big 10 Tournament. The early exit was particularly disappointing with the tournament being held in Indianapolis. They have never won the Big 10 Tournament and have not claimed a regular season title since 2016.
After the loss, Woodson was confident in his team’s tournament odds, but they ended up being part of the “first four out.” Indiana subsequently declined further postseason opportunities, which presumably included the inaugural College Basketball Crown. The Hoosiers will instead pack it in and keep a close eye on the coaching market.
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