Ten Candidates for Kansas State Men’s Basketball Coaching Search After Jerome Tang’s Departure

The first high-major job to open this cycle in men’s college basketball is Kansas State, which parted ways with Jerome Tang on Sunday evening midway through a miserable 10–15 season. It’s an astonishing fall from grace for a coach once seemingly destined for stardom: Tang was the Big 12 Coach of the Year in his debut 2023 season after orchestrating a monster turnaround and led the Wildcats to the Elite Eight, and was a hot name for some of the biggest jobs in the sport both that spring and in 2024.

Things soured quickly though in Manhattan, Kans., missing the NCAA tournament in 2024, finishing below .500 in ’25 despite a huge NIL payroll and following with an even more miserable start to ’26 even with another significant NIL injection into the roster. It forced athletic director Gene Taylor’s hand to make a move, even with Tang’s massive buyout of north of $18 million. The school is reportedly attempting to fire him for cause to void the buyout per The Mercury, though that may simply serve as a negotiating tactic to create a settlement. Sources indicated in recent weeks that Tang had lost nearly all support from a donor base that bankrolled his expensive transfer hauls of the last two years, and that is now often the death knell in this new world of college athletics.

Who’s up next to replace him? Here’s who Sports Illustrated projects could be connected with the opening.

Jerrod Calhoun, Utah State

Calhoun is crushing it at Utah State, one of the sport’s true coaching factories these days. He’s a sharp offensive mind and has the type of energy and personality that would resonate with the Kansas State fan base while also being historically an excellent fundraiser, which could go a long way. But Kansas State could be competing with several other top jobs in the market for his services, including potentially his alma mater Cincinnati. It would be wise to be aggressive early with him with the strength of being the first school in the market officially.

Chris Jans, Mississippi State

Pulling a sitting high-major coach won’t be easy, but Jans might be a realistic target coming from perhaps the toughest job in the SEC at Mississippi State. Jans has won everywhere he has worked, will leave no stone unturned for talent and has ties to the state from being an assistant under Gregg Marshall at Wichita State.

Josh Schertz, Saint Louis

Schertz’s name will be on every AD’s call list for every job this cycle. Kansas State doesn’t seem like the most likely landing spot, but it has proven before it has the resources to spend big on rosters. That could make it attractive enough for Schertz to at least listen.

Saint Louis head coach Josh Schertz will be on the short list for a number of jobs this cycle. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Casey Alexander, Belmont

It’d be quite the culture shock to leave Nashville for Manhattan, but Alexander seems poised to be one of the hot names of the cycle with the best team in the Missouri Valley this season. Hiring Alexander would be a move in a different direction from the Tang era, hiring a guy with less background in the portal but with elite player development and high school evaluation pedigree.

Ryan Miller, Murray State

This might be an early jump for someone in his first year as a Division I head coach, but Miller has done a phenomenal job turning around Murray State. He’s a longtime ace recruiter with deep connections throughout the sport, and his brother Mike is a former NBA star who’s now a major player in the agency world. Plus, Miller is from South Dakota and won’t be afraid of a less urban destination like Kansas State.

Takayo Siddle, UNC Wilmington

He may be more suited for a coastal job like the one he has at UNCW, but Siddle is a proven winner and has the Seahawks rolling atop the CAA at 22–4. His teams are tough, athletic and aggressive, and put a real scare into Texas Tech in the NCAA tournament a year ago.

Carlin Hartman, Florida

It seems unlikely Kansas State would go back to the well of hiring an assistant after Tang, but if it does, Hartman could get a look. He has deep recruiting experience throughout the Big 12 footprint and is the top assistant for the defending champion Gators, where he plays a huge role in developing the Gators’ elite frontcourt. Even if not Kansas State, it’s long past time for him to get some serious looks.

Matt Braeuer, Stephen F. Austin

Another Year 1 hit, Braeuer has crushed it at Stephen F. Austin to the tune of 23–3 after a long run as a successful assistant for Grant McCasland at North Texas and Texas Tech. He’s a Texas native and played his college basketball at Wichita State, which fits right into the regional footprint Kansas State should be looking for. It might just be too early for a jump of this magnitude though, and hiring another from the extended Baylor tree (McCasland, like Tang, is a former Scott Drew assistant) could also be a problem.

Bryan Hodgson, South Florida

Hodgson built a reputation at Alabama for being one of the best recruiting assistants in the sport, and has succeeded early in head coaching stints at Arkansas State and now South Florida. It is a poorly kept secret in industry circles that Syracuse is the job he covets should it open, but Kansas State would be wise to at least talk to the guy currently leading the AAC.

Ben Jacobson, Northern Iowa

This wouldn’t be a flashy hire, but Jacobson has a long-term winning track record at Northern Iowa with almost 400 career wins and familiarity with Taylor from their time at North Dakota State. It’d likely take a return trip to the NCAA tournament to earn more serious consideration, but Northern Iowa has won four of five since getting healthy and this is the type of proven winner you could land on if this search misses its top targets.

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