College Hoops Analyst Gives Major Love to Wren Baker for Nailing Another Hire

West Virginia athletic director Wren Baker is undoubtedly one of the busiest men in Morgantown. Although WVU basketball has had an up-and-down season, sitting on the bubble, there's plenty of reason to be excited for the future.

ESPN college basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla has a ton of respect for the Mountaineers' athletic director and the work he has done in Morgantown, particularly the hiring of Ross Hodge.

“Kudos to WVU AD Wren Baker, who hired Grant McCasland at North Texas. McCasland then hired Ross Hodge. Baker leaves for WVU & and, later, hires Hodge, who did a great job replacing McCasland at UNT, who left for Texas Tech. I know it’s confusing, but they have turned out to be two outstanding coaches in the Big12 Conference.”

Baker replied to Fraschilla, complimenting his head coach in Hodge and another one of his hires at North Texas, good friend Grant McCasland.

“Blessed to work with both of those guys,” Baker said. “Great coaches & better people! Hope to see you in KC, Fran!”

Baker has had to deal with several coaching changes since he started his position in Morgantown on December 19th, 2022.

It is fair to say that Baker has succeeded, bringing in quality candidates to WVU. Women’s basketball head coach Mark Kellogg was the first head coach Baker hired. In under four months, Baker hired a head coach who has his team in position as the second seed in the Big 12 Tournament, and will clinch his third straight NCAA Tournament berth in three seasons.

Darian DeVries was hired away by the Indiana Hoosiers after just one season in Morgantown. However, it’s hard to blame Baker for bringing in such a quality coaching candidate that he was hired away so quickly. Baker is also responsible for bringing Rich Rodriguez back to Morgantown in an attempt to bring WVU football back to its former glory.

The West Virginia-North Texas Connection Knows No Boundaries

We know that Baker and Hodge spent time at North Texas and found their way to Morgantown, but the newest head football coach of the Mean Green is going the reverse route. Former West Virginia head football coach Neal Brown was hired as the head coach at North Texas after spending a season as an assistant under Steve Sarkisian with the Texas Longhorns.

One thing is clear about Baker’s tenure in Morgantown so far. Baker will hire quality candidates who he believes will build programs. Mountaineers baseball and women’s basketball are more successful than they have ever been, while men’s basketball and football have exciting coaches with track records of building successful teams capable of winning conference championships. Baker is building a quality culture among WVU coaches that people are taking notice of, and a lot of it starts in Denton.