The Texas A&M Aggies lost head coach Buzz Williams to the Maryland Terrapins, sending the program into the college basketball coaching carousel with many of the top options off the board. With the Texas A&M coaching search underway, efforts to replace Williams haven’t gone well.
Texas A&M athletic director Trev Alberts, who took over the position in 2024, first targeted Ole Miss basketball coach Chris Beard. However, the University of Mississippi offered Beard a lucrative contract extension that included an increased NIL budget. The Aggies quickly pivoted to another top target, but have since been rejected once more.
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According to Pete Nakos of On3.com, the Aggies reached out to Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball coach Grant McCasland to gauge his interest in the gig. However, Texas A&M officials were quickly informed he had no interest in taking the position.
After being turned down by Beard and McCasland, a new pool of Texas A&M basketball coaching candidates has reportedly emerged.
Who will be the next Texas A&M basketball coach?
According to Nakos, High Point basketball coach Alan Huss, Oklahoma State coach Steve Lutz and Charleston coach Chris Mack have emerged as candidates to become the next Texas A&M basketball coach. In addition, the program is reportedly looking into UConn Huskies assistant coach Luke Murray.
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Lutz, a San Antonio native, took over as the Oklahoma State men’s basketball coach in 2024. The 52-year-old went 17-18 in his first season, which came after a one-year stint at Western Kentucky (22-12). Before his stints at Oklahoma State and Western Kentucky, Lutz coached at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, where he led the program to a 47-23 record, including an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2023.
Huss, age 46, took over at High Point in 2023. He’s earned the Big South Coach of the Year award in consecutive seasons, orchestrating back-to-back conference titles in the regular season. Prior to his stint at High Point, Huss served as an assistant at New Mexico (2014-’17) and Creighton (2017-2023).
Mack, age 55, has a lengthy head-coaching career with stints at Xvier (2009-2018), Louisville (2018-2022) and Charleston. He finished his tenure at Xavie with a 215-97 record and got off to a strong start at Louisville – 44-21 in first two seasons – before being fired in 2022 amid a 6-8 start.
Murray has spent his entire coaching career as an assistant, joining Dan Hurley’s staff at UConn in 2021 following stints at Xavier (2015-’18) and Louisville (2018-’21). Texas A&M would be his first head-coaching job, but he has previously been a top candidate for a number of Division 1 programs.