While the regular season still has a month to go, Kansas State didn’t waste time in announcing a program-changing move. Jerome Tang has been fired as head coach after just under four seasons helming the Wildcats. Assistant Matthew Driscoll will take over as interim head coach while Kansas State begins a search for his permanent successor.
Tang’s path to Kansas State was really straight forward but was certainly an involved journey. He was born in Trinidad and Tobago, grew up in the Virgin Islands, and later spent significant time in Texas. His coaching career began with a long stint at the high school level in the state of Texas before joining Scott Drew’s Baylor staff back in 2003. Tang was Drew’s right-hand man for the next 19 seasons, helping shape one of the greatest rebuilds in college basketball.
Twelve months after cutting down the nets as a national champion with Baylor, Tang was hired by Kansas State for his first collegiate head coaching position. The results were immediate and fantastic, taking the Wildcats to a 26-win season and a trip to the Elite Eight. Unfortunately, Kansas State couldn’t live up to expectations, with a pair of 9th place finishes in the Big 12 in the following seasons. At the time of his firing, Tang was 10-15 with a dreadful 1-11 mark in conference play.
The Wildcats are looking in a new direction for leadership of this program and we’re going to consider a number of names that might fit well in Manhattan. We’re weeks away from the end of the season and there will certainly be other names that pop up for this position, but this is the first major coaching opening and it’ll be interesting to see just who the Kansas State brass hone in on.
Casey Alexander
A longtime player, assistant, and head coach at Belmont, Alexander has 15 years of D1 head coaching experience, with solid work at Stetson and Lipscomb before rejoining the Bruins in 2019. After taking Lipscomb to the Big Dance and a deep NIT run, he’s led Belmont to six-straight 20-win seasons and has the Bruins sitting atop the standings in the MVC. Alexander seems ready to make the jump to the next level but it’s all about if he’s the fit at Kansas State.
Jerrod Calhoun
Another coach on the rise, Calhoun has more than a decade of head coaching experience and has been at the D1 level since 2017. The former West Virginia assistant did solid work at the D2 level at Fairmont State before turning around Youngstown State during a 7-year run. Calhoun landed at Utah State two seasons ago and is nearly at 50 wins already, with his Aggies trending towards the Big Dance and perhaps a MWC title in the weeks ahead.
Bryan Hodgson
Another name you’ll see mentioned for many openings in the years ahead, Hodgson grew to prominence as a major piece of Nate Oats’ coaching staffs at Buffalo and Alabama. His head coaching career began at Arkansas State in 2023, winning 45 games across two seasons, including a Sun Belt regular season crown. Hodgson took the South Florida job last offseason and is 17-8 but might jump at a bigger opportunity. He’s spent the last decade helping author great turnarounds for programs both big and small.
Chris Jans
A former junior college coach in Kansas, Jans is an Iowa native with extensive coaching experience. He’s led more than half a dozen college programs, including impressive work at New Mexico State and Mississippi State over the last decade. He’s responsible for an NCAA Tournament win with the Aggies and has taken the Bulldogs to the Big Dance in each of his first three years in Starksville. Could Jans be a more natural fit in the Big 12 and with great resources available at Kansas State?
Ulric Maligi
It’s worth considering someone with familiarity and Maligi certainly checks that box. He’s spent the last twenty years as a D1 basketball assistant, including a recent stretch under Tang with these Wildcats. Maligi has been responsible for recruiting and coaching some incredible talent at Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and other schools over the years. He doesn’t have any head coaching experience and was there for some recent struggles, but perhaps the Kansas State brass would still look at their former associate head coach.
Ryan Miller
Miller spent many years in coaching before getting his head coaching shot. He worked for a number of schools for more than two decades, including stints with Auburn, Memphis, and TCU. Miller spent the last four seasons on Creighton’s staff before taking Murray State’s head coaching job this past offseason. He’s quickly made an impact with the Racers and has that program sitting 2nd place in the MVC and will certainly be mentioned for significant openings, especially with his recent coaching experience in the Big 12 and Midwest.
Erik Pastrana
If a lack of head coaching experience doesn’t matter, then Kansas State should certainly look at Pastrana, who began his coaching career as a graduate assistant there nearly two decades ago. He’s worked under some great coaches over the years, helping build success at Stephen F. Austin, Oklahoma State, Florida, and Georgia. Pastrana just started as an assistant at Miami and has already had an effect on the Hurricanes and could do wonders leading this Big 12 program.
Josh Schertz
One more name that will be on many radars, Schertz has really exploded onto the college basketball scene in recent years. After tremendous work at D2 Lincoln Memorial, he built a powerful team at Indiana State in 2024 before taking the Saint Louis gig. One look at the national rankings showcases his work with the Billikens, who sit 24-1 as one of the nation’s best mid-majors. The biggest question here is if Schertz himself would be interested in the position, as nearly every major opening will have him in their sights.
Takayo Siddle
While still under 40 years old, Siddle has built quite a reputation even if he’s flown under the radar. He gained great experience on the staffs of Chris Holtmann and Kevin Keatts, including a stint in the ACC at NC State. His first head coaching job has been UNC Wilmington who hired him in 2020 and haven’t regretted that choice. He led the Seahawks to the Big Dance last season, has a CBI title, and has been winning a boatload of games. One day he’ll get his chance and is certainly a young coach on the rise.
Travis Steele
Few can ignore that Steele has Miami-Ohio undefeated halfway through February, but he checks another box for the Wildcats. Steele is a former power conference coach and even if he flamed out at Xavier that still means something. He gained valuable experience working under Kelvin Sampson and Chris Mack and is clearly showing with the Redhawks that he knows how to build and run a program. After all, Steele did far better even at his worst with Xavier compared to the current state of Kansas State basketball.