On Sunday night, Arkansas sent shockwaves through the college basketball world after hiring John Calipari away from Kentucky. Now, what is considered to be one of the best jobs in college basketball, is open and rumors are swirling. Many big names have been thrown around to be the next Kentucky head coach, let’s see who they are.
Who Will Replace John Calipari As The Kentucky Head Coach?
Billy Donovan
One name that has been heavily rumored to be the next Kentucky head coach is Billy Donovan, the current head coach of the Chicago Bulls. Donovan has been coaching in the NBA for nearly a decade and has had mixed results. His tenure in Chicago has gone poorly and some think he might be willing to make the switch.
Donovan had a great career as a college coach. He began coaching at Florida in 1996 and won back-to-back national titles in 2006 and 2007. In addition to this, he made numerous deep runs in the tournament and won multiple SEC championships. His achievements at Florida were so great that the basketball court was renamed Billy Donovan Court in 2019. But his links to Kentucky come from earlier in his career as he was an assistant at the school from 1989-1994. He knows the SEC well and was a very successful college coach. This appears to be the name on the top of the list to be the next coach at Kentucky.
Scott Drew
Another big name in contention to be the next Kentucky head coach is Scott Drew from Baylor. For many years, Drew has been rumored to leave Baylor for other big-time programs. But Drew has stayed put for now. However, when a program like Kentucky comes calling it can be hard to turn down. Many believe that Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart wants Drew and the two are good friends. But Drew essentially made the Baylor program. He has been there since 2003 and has turned the Bears into a national powerhouse. He won the national title in 2021 and has had other deep runs in March Madness. This seems like another likely candidate for the job.
Dan Hurley
A name that has been thrown around recently has been UConn’s, Dan Hurley. He has completely turned around the UConn program in his tenure going from a good team to arguably the best program in the country. He has won a national championship and is playing for another one tonight. However, this one seems less likely than the other two. Kentucky likely gives Hurley a call, but it probably does not amount to anything. Hurley is an East Coast guy and has it all at UConn. But, if the Wildcats offer him a salary that he can’t confuse, Dan Hurley might be the next Kentucky head coach.
Brad Underwood
Brad Underwood is an interesting name that is being discussed for the job. He has been successful at Illinois but is not nearly as big of a name you would expect to be in consideration to be the Kentucky head coach. Underwood has a solid resume, with a few Big Ten championships and an Elite Eight appearance in 2024. But, overall this seems like a secondary target if Kentucky doesn’t land one of its top choices.
