Kentucky Basketball: 8 potential candidates to become next HC if John Calipari leaves

Todd Golden

There are a number of directions the Wildcats could look for their next coach and you can bet there are more prominent names in the sport they’ll consider that aren’t on our list. While everyone is worth some consideration, perhaps Kentucky should be looking at one of the young up and coming head coaches right there in their league.

Golden played ball and reached the Big Dance a few times at Saint Mary’s and later coached under Kyle Smith at Columbia and San Francisco. With a brief SEC stint at Auburn mixed in there, Golden’s head coaching career began in style at San Francisco, leading the Dons to the NCAA Tournament in 2022. Weeks later he took over at Florida and got the Gators back in the Big Dance again this season, with the future looking very bright.

This isn’t a name that will excite fans or the Kentucky brass, but Golden is absolutely a rising name in the coaching world. He hasn’t quite created the success at Florida yet that will inspire those in Lexington, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Florida back in the mix on a regular basis. He’s not the first call, or even likely on the first page of the call list, but Golden could do serious damage with the resources that Kentucky wields.