Casey Alexander’s highly successful head coaching run at Belmont has come to an end. The 53-year-old Alexander signed a five-year, $17 million contract to become the head coach at Kansas State.
During his seven years at Belmont, Alexander won nearly 75 percent of his games, three league championships and one conference tournament. Counting his last three seasons at Lipscomb, Alexander’s teams have won at least twenty games for ten straight seasons.
The reigning Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year told Kstatesports.com he’s grateful for the opportunity.
“"I'm incredibly excited to join the team at K-State and can't wait to get the journey started," Alexander said. "K-State has such a rich tradition and a wildly passionate fan base and I'm grateful for the opportunity provided by to be a part of it."
Alexander spent twenty-seven seasons with Belmont as a player, assistant coach and head coach. He took over for the legendary Rick Byrd seven seasons ago and won 166 games. Overall, he has collected 303.
Who Replaces Alexander at Belmont?
Leading candidates are emerging. Director of Athletics Scott Corley will move quickly, but judiciously. There are candidates on the current staff and from the ‘Belmont Family’ that make sense.
Brian Ayers
If Corley wants to promote from within, Brian Ayers makes all the sense in the world. Ayers is reported to be the longest tenured assistant coach in college hoops. During his twenty-eight seasons at Belmont, the Bruins have experienced enormous success.
He worked with Byrd and became Alexanders ‘Associate Head Coach’ for the past seven seasons. Belmont has averaged over twenty-three wins per year during his tenure.
Of the current Belmont coaching staff, Ayers is the only staff member with more than four years of experience. Kerron Johnson (4) and Luke Smith (2) are other prominent staff members and Smith is believed to have taken on a larger role this season.
Evan Bradds
Bradds is a Belmont basketball playing legend and currently an assistant coach at Duke. Bradds is Belmont’s all-time Division 1 scoring leader with over 1,900 points and eighth leading rebounder with 920. He was a two-time Ohio Valley Conference player of the year and two-time honorable mention, all-American.
Bradds became a coach and has worked in NBA circles since graduation in 2017. He has worked for the Boston Celtics and Utah Jazz prior to joining the Duke staff this season. He has never been a head coach.
Mick Hedgepeth
Hedgepeth is another former Belmont player. He scored 1,191 points in a Bruin uniform and was inducted into the program’s hall-of-fame in 2023. While the 36-year-old Hedgepeth has head coaching experience it is all at lower levels of college basketball. He was 80-31 at two different Division 3 programs before taking over D2 Alabama-Huntsville.
His 2023 team advanced to the D2 Sweet 16 and his two season record UAH is 53-11. In between his two D3 assignments he spent time on the Belmont staff.
Long Shots
Brian ‘Penny’ Collins is a former Bruin player and assistant and until this past season was the head coach at Tennessee State. While his 98-118 record isn’t stunning, his final three teams (of seven) all won at least 17 games.
He is currently on the staff of the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies.
Illinois assistant coach Geoff Alexander spent five seasons at Evansville when the Purple Aces were CIT champions.
James Madison head coach Preston Spradlin has experienced great success at Morehead State and at JMU. His personna and the Belmont culture are picture perfect matches.