Ross Hodge was officially named the 24th head coach of Mountaineer Basketball. Hodge will be the fourth head coach the men’s program has had in four years.
Spending the last two seasons as the head coach with North Texas, Hodge led his team to an overall record of 46-23 and will compete in the semi-finals of the NIT next Tuesday. He served as an assistant coach when current WVU athletic director Wren Baker was the athletic director for North Texas.
“He has won more than 80% of his games as a head coach while establishing himself as one of the best defensive minds in college basketball. His teams play with toughness and grit and Mountaineer Nation will love the passion his players have for the game,” Baker said.
This season, North Texas finished second in the American Athletic Conference, five spots higher than its preseason seeding. The team’s 27 wins are the second most single-season wins in the program’s history.
“It is with great honor and humility that I accept the head men’s basketball coaching position at West Virginia University,” Hodge said. “I have such respect for the toughness, grit and pride of the people of West Virginia, and my hope is that we can reflect that with how our team competes on the court.
College basketball analysts such as Fran Fraschilla, Pete Thamel, and Jeff Goodman had positive things to say about the hire and Hodge’s ability to lead the Mountaineers to success.
Fraschilla described him as “a very capable ball coach, quietly super competitive, and smart.” He acknowledged that he has an athletic director who believes in him and Fraschilla doesn’t believe he will cut out like DeVries.
Hodge agreed to a five-year deal.
Photo courtesy of WVU Athletics.
