Indiana tabs West Virginia’s Darian DeVries as new head coach

Indiana has its next head coach.

West Virginia‘s Darian DeVries has accepted an offer to become Indiana’s head coach, the program announced Tuesday.

“This is unquestionably one of the top jobs in America. As someone who grew up in the Midwest loving the game of basketball, I’ve always admired the IU Basketball program for its championship-level success, tradition, and fan support,” DeVries said in a statement. “There’s a passion to succeed at the very highest levels both within the Big Ten and in the NCAA Tournament, and that’s a desire that as a coach I share. On top of that, the alignment is there on a department and university level to make that happen. I’m excited for this opportunity and am ready to work relentlessly to assemble a staff and a roster that competes for championships.”

DeVries, who’ll turn 50 in April, just finished his first season as West Virginia’s head coach. The Mountaineers went 19-13, picking up strong wins throughout the Big 12 slate and building a résumé that many thought would be strong enough to earn an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. However, West Virginia didn’t hear its name get called on Selection Sunday, with the selection committee later sharing that the Mountaineers were the first team out of the tournament.

Indiana was also on the bubble, going 19-13. Before the Hoosiers were among the first four teams out, the program announced in February that Woodson would step down at the end of the season after four years at the helm.

This will mark DeVries’ third head coaching gig. He was previously Drake‘s head coach, going 150-55 in six seasons. Drake won the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title in 2018-19 before winning the conference tournament in back-to-back years in 2023 and 2024, and DeVries took the Bulldogs to three NCAA Tournaments during his tenure. He went 1-3 in tournament games, winning a First Four matchup over Wichita State in 2021.

Prior to his stint at Drake, DeVries was a longtime assistant at Creighton. He first coached under Dana Altman, joining his staff in 2001. He remained on Creighton’s staff when Greg McDermott was hired in 2010, remaining there until he took the Drake job in 2018.

“We went into this coaching search with some very specific things we were looking for in our next head coach, and Darian emerged as someone who, on paper, met and often exceeded our criteria,” Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson said in a statement. “Once we had a chance to talk to him, we knew we had the right person. Darian has a plan for building a championship culture that can compete at the highest level on a year-in, year-out basis. He has extensive D-1 coaching experience that includes 15 trips to the NCAA Tournament as a head coach or as an assistant.

“This past season at West Virginia, he inherited a last-place Big 12 team with no significant contributors returning, and managed to more than double its win total despite a pair of significant season-ending injuries. Finally, he is passionate about the opportunity to lead our program. We are excited to welcome Darian and the entire DeVries family to our Hoosier family.”

The hiring of DeVries marks the third head coach hire Indiana has made since 2017. It fired Tom Crean that offseason and hired Archie Miller, who failed to make the NCAA Tournament in any of his four seasons as head coach. Woodson replaced Miller in 2021, leading the Hoosiers to two straight tournament appearances in his first two seasons with the program. Indiana failed to make it to the tournament in 2024 before falling short again in 2025.

Now, DeVries will be tasked with trying to bring Indiana basketball back to its glory days. The Hoosiers have had some strong seasons since Bob Knight’s departure in 2000, but have mostly fallen short of being a national title contender since the turn of the century. They’ve only made it to the Final Four once, which came in 2022, and haven’t been to the Sweet 16 since 2016.

As for West Virginia, it’ll be back on the coaching carousel after making multiple head coach changes in recent years. Longtime head coach Bob Huggins resigned after a drunk driving arrest in June 2023, with Josh Eilert serving as West Virginia’s interim head coach for the 2023-24 season.

DeVries signed a five-year deal to become West Virginia’s head coach last offseason. He brought along his son, guard Tucker DeVries, from Drake as well. The younger DeVries won Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year in his final two seasons at Drake, but was injured eight games into his first season at West Virginia. DeVries is expected to file for a medical redshirt to gain one more season of eligibility, West Virginia announced in February.

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