Jerrod Calhoun's First Cincinnati Coaching Staff Reportedly Finalizing Ahead of 2026 Transfer Portal Frenzy

Things are all set up for the new Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball roster to hit the ground running and grow this offseason quickly. Who all those players will end up being is a mystery, but we do have a coaching staff finalizing around one head coach, Jerrod Calhoun.

Reports previously surfaced that chief of staff Paul Molinari (a 30-year coaching veteran who started with Calhoun at Fairmont State) and assistant Mantoris Robinson were on the way with Calhoun, and The Enquirer's Scott Springer dropped a report with the other coaches as well.

Four more names are joining the aforementioned pillars in Max Bent, Curran Walsh, Johnny Hill, and Ben Asher. They are set up and ready to attack the transfer portal when it opens tomorrow.

“Part of being a successful head coach is having assistant coaches and staff members who understand your day to day,” Calhoun said in a press release on April 7. “No person is bigger than the program. All six of these guys coming to the University of Cincinnati have experienced high levels of success. They know what success looks like on a daily basis, whether it’s with our players, in the office or in the community. I look forward to continuing a great journey with this group of guys.”

Calhoun's Crew

Cincinnati head coach Jerrod Calhoun speaks during a press conference announcing him as the head men's basketball coach at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati on Wednesday, March 25, 2026. | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Check out more information on the new names' careers below:

Hill: The rising assistant is re-joining Clahoun's staff after spending the past two seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Illinois-Chicago. He was heavily involved in their defensive and scouting efforts and came there after coaching at USU in 2023-24, the year before Calhoun arrived from Youngstown State.

“Johnny has a tremendous pedigree, playing college ball for Matt Painter at Purdue,” Calhoun noted. “He will be our defensive coordinator, locking in on that side of the ball. Johnny will focus on defense but is really, really good in all aspects of coaching.”

Asher: A Calhoun guy through and through. Asher has been on his staff since 2021 as an assistant. Before joining that Youngstown State group, Asher rolled through five campaigns at Rutgers (2016-21), including a role as the director of basketball operations and recruiting for two years.

He has won multiple rising-coach awards this decade while sharpening his craft under Calhoun.

“Ben Asher will work on the offensive side of the ball, where he will focus on game-planning and offensive concepts,” Calhoun said. “He’ll also be in charge of scheduling. Ben has a great motor, is very well-rounded and will be a significant part of our staff.”

Walsh: The USU director of player personnel and analytics last season, Walsh rejoined the program after serving as an assistant coach at Denver in the 2024-25 season, where, prior to that, he spent three seasons as the director of men's basketball operations at Utah.

He also worked for USU from 2019-21 as the director of player development.

“Curran is a guy who has really come up the ranks in the last several years,” Calhoun said. “He will be a personnel coach, diving into not only our personnel, but that of the opponent, and will be a key part of our staff.”

Bent: A first-year assistant coach for Utah State last season, Bent joined the Aggies after spending three seasons (2021-24) as an assistant coach and the recruiting coordinator at the University of Charleston, a Division II program in Charleston, West Virginia. He was the USU video coordinator in 2024-25 before rising to assistant.

“Max will be working primarily on the offensive side of the basketball,” Calhoun said. “He’s a John Beilein disciple. What sets Max apart is he is tremendous with analytics and truly an up-and-coming basketball mind.”

Check out the full list from Springer here.

Announcing six new additions to @CoachCalhoun_UC's staff.

📝: https://t.co/qLuX5lJ3TW pic.twitter.com/wGnm4m8LZ7
— Cincinnati Men’s Hoops (@GoBearcatsMBB) April 7, 2026

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