Rhode Island Basketball: 5 potential head coaching candidates for Rams

4. Matt Langel

Age: 44
Head Coaching Experience: Colgate (2011-present)
NCAA Tournament History: 2019 & 2021 Round of 64, 2022 TBD (automatic berth)

The last of the up-and-coming coaches on the list is Matt Langel. And “up-and-coming” may be a stretch as he’s been at the same job for 11 seasons, so he’s a known commodity among the AD ranks at this point. Still, what he’s done at Colgate has been impressive.

Three NCAA Tournament bids out of the Patriot League — including three conference tournament wins this season by an average of 22 points — is certainly noteworthy. Bigger schools will be calling if they haven’t been already.

Langel is responsible for more than half of the five NCAA berths that Colgate has received in school history. But the turnaround was a little slow. The Red Raiders were under .500 in each of Langel’s first five seasons at the helm, so that could certainly give other teams pause. But since then, he’s had his teams in the postseason every year. That excluded the COVID-shortened 2020, of course, but Colgate would have landed in some sort of tournament that year if it had played out.

Aside from the extended time to attain a winning record, Langel’s teams also struggle on the defensive end. That’s certainly a concern (as mentioned with Grasso) when moving up to a conference like the A-10. Plus, with Langel’s extended tenure with the Red Raiders, it’s fair to wonder if he’s even interested in making a move. It’s possible he’s happy where he is, but he’s certainly worth a phone call.