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New Mexico State Basketball: Wichita State’s Chris Jans a great coaching hire for Aggies

By Taylor Sturm

Mar 17, 2017; Tulsa, OK, USA; New Mexico State Aggies guard Matt Taylor (24) reacts with guard Braxton Huggins (2) after the game against the Baylor Bears in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at BOK Center. Baylor defeated New Mexico State 91-73. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 17, 2017; Tulsa, OK, USA; New Mexico State Aggies guard Matt Taylor (24) reacts with guard Braxton Huggins (2) after the game against the Baylor Bears in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at BOK Center. Baylor defeated New Mexico State 91-73. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports /
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After losing their head coach to the New Mexico Lobos, the New Mexico State Aggies have made a coaching hire.

First reported by CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish via Twitter, New Mexico State has hired former Wichita State Shockers’ associate Head Coach Chris Jans.

Parrish also went on to report that NMSU signed Jans to a four-year contract that averages around $275,000 a year.


The Aggies’ previous head coach, Paul Weir, left for a job with the New Mexico Lobos at the end of a successful season with NMSU. The Aggies lost to the Baylor Bears in their opening game of the 2017 NCAA Tournament but finished the season with an impressive 28-6 record (11-3 WAC). They made their run to the NCAA Tournament by winning the WAC Tournament.

Jans will inherit a team that has several returning talented players and should be able to recruit to the school almost immediately. Do not be surprised if this team picks up where they left off last season and makes another appearance in the Big Dance.

Jans has coached a division one school in the past, as he led the Bowling Green Eagles to an impressive 21-12 record during the 2014-15 season that culminated with a second-round loss in the CIT. He returned to Wichita State shortly after that, but his brief time coaching a mid-major was a success the first time around.

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The hire, while it will likely take a back seat to other bigger-name coaching hires this offseason, could mean that NMSU is the face of the WAC for a long time.