MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — Moments ago, it has been confirmed by multiple sources that West Virginia University is hiring Darian DeVries as its next head basketball coach! According to Pete Thamel, the school is finalizing a 5 year deal for DeVries.
DeVries, 48, was the head coach at Drake University and started his career at Creighton, where he was a long-time assistant coach before accepting the job at Drake in 2018. While at Drake, DeVries has led the basketball program to incredible success.
DeVries’ Drake team lost in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday night to Washington State, 66-61, and Wren Baker wasted no time in going after his top candidate.
In his six seasons with the program, DeVires has put together an impressive 150-55 record (.732 winning percentage) and a 78-33 record in the tough Missouri Valley Conference. DeVries, a native of Aplington, Iowa, has led Drake to 3 NCAA Tournament appearances, a Missouri Valley Conference Championship in 2023 and was named the Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 2019 and 2021. DeVries has been incredibly successful in a short period of time, and has proven that he can quickly turn a program around.
In addition, DeVries’ son, Tucker DeVries, is a current player at Drake and is the two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, averaging 21.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game this season while leading the Bulldogs to a 28-7 record this season. Tucker DeVries has a year of eligibility remaining and will certainly follow his father to Morgantown next season.
Our Opinon on the Hiring
DeVries is widely considered one of the top young coaches in college basketball, and Wren Baker once again has made a home run hire! DeVries bringing his son and perhaps a couple of other talented players from Drake is only icing on the cake. Baker had 10 months to find the right coach and this is exactly who he wanted. Although Florida Atlantic’s Dusty May was seen as the top candidate, DeVries has actually been more consistent than May during their young careers.
DeVries is currently making approximately $627,000, so if West Virginia signs him to a yearly contract in the $2.8 million to $3.4 million range, they will give him a huge raise and also save quite a bit a money. Remember, Bob Huggins made $4.2 million a year in his final season last year.
All things considered, DeVries is the perfect man to lead the Mountaineers moving forward, and there is a lot of reasons for West Virginians to be excited for the future of the Mountaineers’ basketball program!
Sources: West Virginia is finalizing a five-year deal to hire Drake’s Darian DeVries as the school’s next men’s basketball coach. DeVries led Drake to the NCAA tournament in three of the past four seasons. pic.twitter.com/0cAQMuFrMR
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 24, 2024
The Voice of Morgantown’s Top Choice to become the next head basketball coach at #WVU!
Read here: https://t.co/GUmm2uWnvc pic.twitter.com/8jAl7OYuMt
— The Voice of Morgantown (@voicemorgantown) March 10, 2024
