New Faces on the Sidelines: ACC Coaching Changes for 2025-26

There are four new head coaches set to begin their tenure in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference | David Yeazell-Imagn Images

Each brings a different background as they prepare their teams for the season opener in November.

Here are the four ACC programs with new head coaches in 2025-26.

Florida State Seminoles

In: Luke Loucks
Out: Leonard Hamilton

Loucks, 35, is a Florida State alum who played four years with the Seminoles, finishing his career in 2012. He was fifth on the team in scoring that season at 7.7 points per game. In his junior year, he helped Florida State reach the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for the first time since 1993.

Loucks is a two-time NBA champion and spent time on the Golden State Warriors coaching staff with Steve Kerr. Since 2022, he has been an assistant with the Sacramento Kings. This is his first head coaching job.

Miami Hurricanes

In: Jai Lucas
Out: Jim Larranaga

Jai Lucas takes over at Miami after being named head coach in March 2025. He has never been a head coach before, serving as an assistant at Texas, Kentucky, and most recently Duke.

Lucas played college basketball at Florida before finishing at Texas. He had a short playing career in Latvia and the NBA G-League before retiring in 2013.

NC State Wolf Pack

In: Will Wade
Out: Kevin Keats

Will Wade gets another opportunity at a power conference program. At 42, he has been a head coach since 2013 when he took over at Chattanooga. He owns 246 career wins, including five in the NCAA Tournament.

Wade went 50-9 in two seasons at McNeese State, reaching the round of 32 last year before leaving for NC State. His time at LSU produced 105 wins and a Sweet 16 trip in 2019, but it also ended with his firing for recruiting violations.

Virginia Cavaliers

In: Ryan Odom
Out: Tony Bennett

Ryan Odom, 51, takes over at Virginia after two strong seasons at VCU, where he won 52 games and last year’s Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament titles. He previously coached at Utah State and UMBC, where he famously led the first 16-seed to upset a 1-seed in NCAA Tournament history.

Odom played college basketball as a point guard at Division III Hampden-Sydney in Virginia. He grew up in Durham, North Carolina, and is the son of former Wake Forest head coach Dave Odom.

All four coaches face immediate challenges but also bring reasons for optimism. The ACC will test them right away, and each program is counting on their offseason additions to pay off from the start of the 2025-26 campaign.

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