Drake athletic director Brian Hardin has officially proven he knows how to hire quality basketball coaches. The Bulldogs have made it to the NCAA Tournament every year since 2021 thanks to the last three coaches that Hardin has brought in, all three coaches that are now at other programs.
It all started with Niko Medved, who coached at Drake for just one season from 2017 to 2018. After just one season, Medved made his move to become the next head coach at Colorado State, where he recently spent seven seasons and made the NCAA tournament three times and the NIT once.
Now, Medved is reportedly finalizing a deal to head back to his Alma Mater and become the head coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
After Medved came Darian DeVries, who spent six seasons with the Bulldogs, compiling a 150-55 record and making it to the NCAA Tournament three times. DeVries, after last season, ended up taking the job of West Virginia and, after one season with the Mountaineers, is now the head coach for the Indiana Hoosiers.
Finally, Hardin hired Ben McCollum to be the next head coach at Drake. McCollum spent one season with the Bulldogs, and it was announced early Monday morning that he has officially agreed to terms with the Iowa Hawkeyes to become their next head basketball coach.
At Drake, in just one season, McCollum went 31-4 with a regular season and tournament championship in the Missouri Valley Conference and won Coach of the Year in the conference as well. McCollum also led the Bulldogs in their upset win over 6-seed Missouri in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Drake’s last 3 men’s basketball coaches now leading Big Ten programs: Niko Medved (Minnesota, reported), Ben McCollum (Iowa) and Darian DeVries (Indiana).
— Tommy Birch (@TommyBirch) March 24, 2025
That means that the past three coaches with the Drake Bulldogs will now lead three Big Ten programs next season. It seems like Hardin knows how to spot good talent when it comes to coaching, and it seems like when a program needs a good coach, they are looking at who is leading the way at Drake.
So far in this coaching cycle, numerous mid-major coaches have made their way to power conference programs, including Medved, DeVries, McCollum, Will Wade to NC State, and Ryan Odom to Virginia.
However, if Hardin continues to bring in high-quality coaches, he just might be getting a few calls from some Power Conference schools looking for a new athletic director.