New Mexico basketball has been good in recent seasons under Richard Pitino. But after he left for Xavier, New Mexico had questions about their new head coach. However, they answered those with one of the best coaching candidates from the low/mid-major level. New Mexico announced their decision to hire UC San Diego head coach Eric Olen to take over the helm. So, what’s the grade on this kind of hire? Will New Mexico be able to keep up their strong play with Olen? What sparked the Lobos to hire Olen in the first place? Let’s dive in.
New Mexico Hires UC San Diego’s Eric Olen: Grading the Move
Why Did New Mexico Hire Eric Olen?
His name was thrown around for multiple openings because of the work he did at UC San Diego. UC San Diego came into Division I in 2020. Since then, Olen has turned UC San Diego from 7-10 in his first season (condensed from COVID-19) to 30-5 this season. This past season, he led UC San Diego to the regular season and conference championship in the Big West. There were many questions about whether UC San Diego would get an at-large bid because of their success.
In the NCAA Tournament, the Tritons lost a heartbreaker to Michigan. They led with only a few minutes to play before blowing the lead. However, that doesn’t take away from their incredible season. New Mexico hired Eric Olen because of the success he had this season, but they were undoubtedly drawn to his ability to build a program from the bottom up. A 23-win increase over the five seasons is almost unheard of. New Mexico hired a winner.
Will New Mexico Continue to be an At-Large Threat?
New Mexico may not be a huge program like Duke or Kansas, but they have been very good under previous coach Richard Pitino. In a year that the Mountain West earned six bids, New Mexico won the Mountain West conference tournament. Then, they topped that with even further success, earning an at-large bid in 2025. Olen can keep New Mexico on this upward trajectory. The Mountain West continues to earn respect from the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee and has cemented itself as the top mid-major conference in the country. They lost superstar Donovan Dent to the transfer portal, but Olen probably will do what other coaches have done and bring his stars with him from San Diego.
Grading the Hire
This certainly isn’t as flashy as some of the moves, but New Mexico isn’t as big of a program. Eric Olen likely would have received offers from some bigger programs, but New Mexico was able to hire him. Olen brings some of that same defensive intensity that Richard Pitino brought to the Lobos, too, ranking 31st on defensive efficiency according to KenPom. There will always be bigger coaching hires, but this move makes a lot of sense for both sides. Olen gets a chance at a bigger program, and New Mexico gets a coach who has proven his winning and program-building. Olen may leave if success comes, but right now, this seems like a great marriage. With the new expectations of New Mexico’s program, we will see whether Olen can make the big jump from the Big West to the Mountain West.
Grade: B+
Photo credit: © Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
