College basketball coaching carousel tracker 2026: Kansas State is the first high-major opening of the cycle

We're in the first week of March, and there are already double-digit college basketball coaching jobs guaranteed to change. Eleven schools are involved in the 2026 carousel. In a week's time, that number may well double, with the expected flips popping at the mid-major level. 

Among the power-conference openings, we're looking at anywhere from nine to potentially as many as 12 job swaps by the first week of April. You can get a wide view of the hot seat and what will/should/might/won't change among the big schools right here. (I also can't shake the feeling we're going to have one power-conference school come open that's not on the radar as of today.)

Anyway, welcome back to my annual coaching tracker. The thing about March: The basketball is irresistible and loud, but the off-the-court headlines are nearly as noisy. So as March moves along, I'll update this story daily with information and context on the jobs that come open and potential candidates to know about. If you're interested in keeping up with the scuttlebutt, check back in frequently and be sure to follow me on social media to get the news as it happens in real time. 

Here's the first filing on the carousel, with more to come very soon.

High-majors

KANSAS STATE | OUT: Jerome Tang
The first power conference job to hit the market in 2026, and it did so in a noisy fashion. Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor fired Tang for cause on Feb. 15. University lawyers and Tang's legal representation are in an ongoing legal dispute over the validity of a for-cause firing which, if K-State was successful, would mean $0 owed to Tang. If fully unsuccessful, Tang has more than $18 million coming his way. I'm expecting a settlement with terms undisclosed. Regardless, it's a messy end that was precluded by a postgame rant that made national headlines — one in which Tang called out his players and said many of them would not be back with the program next season. The search for Tang's replacement is already well underway, with a variety of initial interviews having already been conducted quietly behind the scenes in the past week. K-State's goal is to land a sitting head coach. Its pool for NIL will be a sticking point, as Tang was given a lot of money to use the past two cycles, only to see it largely go to waste. 

Mid-majors

AIR FORCE | OUT: Joe Scott
Scott had two runs at Air Force, the first from 1999-2004, the second from 2020 until earlier this year, when Scott was put on leave in January amid an investigation into his treatment of players. That ultimately led to a severance between he and the school, though the two sides ended things amicably with kind words when the split was made official on Feb. 26. A military academy program in the Mountain West, Air Force easily ranks among the 10 toughest jobs in all of college hoops. Scott had four single-digit win seasons in his second run here and didn't finish above .500 once.

CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD | OUT: Rod Barnes
There are a few jobs that have been open the entire season, and this one applies. Barnes was fired last September after 14 years on the job. The school never offered clarity on the reason for the split, and the spot's taken an image hit in the process. There have also been changes in leadership in the athletic department. The team has sputtered under interim coach Mike Scott as well, going 8-22 with a last-place finish in the Big West. 

KANSAS CITY | OUT: Marvin Menzies »» IN: Mark Turgeon
A huge get for the Roos, who have pulled off a rarity: A school with zero NCAA Tournament appearances hired a coach with at least 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, at least 15 years of experience of high-major coaching and at least 450 wins. The only other instance of this that I can recall where that exact scenario applied is when High Point hired Tubby Smith in 2018, but he was an alum. Turgeon played at Kansas and therefore has some semi-local ties. He heads to the Summit League with a healthy boost in NIL support, determined not to let his rickety exit from Maryland in 2021 be the end of his story. 

LAMAR | OUT: Alvin Brooks
Brooks went 62-95 across five seasons in the Southland. This season's team went 12-19 overall, but didn't qualify for the conference tournament after finishing outside the top eight by ending the season on a nine-game losing streak. The Cardinals last made the NCAA Tournament in 2012 under Pat Knight. 

NORTH FLORIDA | OUT: Matthew Driscoll
This job has been open dating back to last May, when Driscoll left after 16 seasons to be Jerome Tang's top assistant at Kansas State. Now Driscoll is wrapping up a disappointing season in Manhattan, Kansas, in the wake of Tang's mid-February firing. At UNF, the Ospreys struggled under interim Bobby Kennen; the team went 7-24 this season. It's been a Division I program for two decades, with its lone NCAA Tournament trip coming in 2015 under Driscoll. 

OREGON STATE | OUT: Wayne Tinkle 
For Tinkle, the high point was the unexpected run to the Elite Eight in the 2021 COVID NCAA tourney, when the Beavers won three games as a 12-seed after earning the auto bid by winning the Pac-12 Tournament. But now, one of the tallest coaches in college hoops (Tinkle is 6-10) is out after a dozen years in Beaverton. Tinkle will coach out the string with OSU in the WCC Tournament, but the search is already on for his replacement. Athletic director Scott Barnes may well turn to a young, ambitious coach to get Oregon State into the mix immediately as the school transitions to the reborn Pac-12 later this year. 

SAN DIEGO | OUT: Steve Lavin   
The 61-year-old Lavin will move on after his team's run in the WCC Tournament comes to an end. He was hired in 2022 after his second lengthy stint working as an on-air commentator, but Lavin couldn't bring the program to consistency in the Gonzaga-dominated WCC. The program has not made the NCAAs since 2008 under Bill Grier. Athletic director Kimya Massey has been interviewing a variety of candidates in the past two weeks (mid-major head coaches and high-major assistants), with the intention of landing on a replacement sooner than later, sources said, ideally before Selection Sunday.

TARLETON STATE | OUT: Billy Gillispie 
The former Kentucky and Texas A&M coach oversaw Tarleton State's transition into Division I, with the high point being a 25-10 season in 2023-24. The WAC-based school went 92-90 in six years at the D-I level under Gillispie. The university, based in Stephenville, Texas, is about 70 miles southwest of Fort Worth. "On behalf of Texan Nation, I want to thank head coach Billy Gillispie for his efforts in building upon the storied history of Tarleton State basketball," school president Dr. James Hurley said. "Coach Gillispie helped usher us into NCAA Division I competition and celebrated some incredible wins during his tenure. We wish him the very best moving forward."

TENNESSEE TECH | OUT: John Pelphrey
The program fired Pelphrey on Tuesday after his seven-year run in the Ohio Valley. Pelphrey went 79–138 at what is obviously a very hard job with limited resources. The school says it will use CSA Search & Consulting to land its next coach. TTU last won the regular-season title in the OVC in 2005.

WAGNER | OUT: Donald Copeland 
Wagner has been coached by interim Dwan McMillan since the start of the season after Copeland was put on indefinite leave amid a school investigation into alleged abusive coaching tactics, including withholding water breaks during practice. One former player went on record with the New York Post last fall to confirm the allegations, but the school has yet to fire Copeland, who is still listed on the team's website. The Seahawks went 16-13 in the regular season and are the 7-seed in the NEC bracket.