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ESPN Staff Writer- Basketball recruiting insider.
- Joined ESPN in 2014.
- Graduate of University of Delaware.
West Virginia has named North Texas' Ross Hodge as its men's basketball coach, it was announced Wednesday.
Hodge, who agreed to a five-year deal with WVU, will continue to coach North Texas through the NIT, a school spokesman told ESPN. The Mean Green have advanced to the semifinals as they seek a second NIT title in three seasons.
"Ross Hodge is a proven winner and leader who has demonstrated success at every stop of his career," West Virginia athletic director Wren Baker said in a statement.
Baker knows Hodge from his time as UNT's AD from 2016 to 2022. Hodge was an assistant coach with the Mean Green under Grant McCasland from 2017 to 2023 before taking over as the head coach when McCasland left for Texas Tech two years ago.
Hodge led North Texas to a 19-15 record in his first season as head coach, but he made major strides this season as the Mean Green (27-8) finished second in the AAC.
He will replace Darian DeVries, who left the Mountaineers last week to take over at Indiana. DeVries was in Morgantown for only one season, leading the Mountaineers to a 19-13 record.
"It is with great honor and humility that I accept the head men's basketball coaching position at West Virginia University," Hodge said in a statement. "I have such respect for the toughness, grit and pride of the people of West Virginia, and my hope is that we can reflect that with how our team competes on the court.
"... We believe we have everything we need to be successful and to challenge for Big 12 championships and look forward to competing against the best coaches and best teams in the country."
Over the past five years, North Texas has had the second-best scoring defense in the country, behind only Houston. The Mean Green ranked third nationally this season in that category, allowing fewer than 60 points per game.
Prior to joining McCasland's staff at Arkansas State and then North Texas, Hodge had experience as an assistant coach at Colorado State and Southern Miss and spent time as a head coach at Midland College and Paris Junior College.
He has a career record of 192-47 (.803) in seven seasons as a head coach.
"You'll see he will win in the Big 12," the Red Raiders' McCasland said of Hodge on Wednesday. "And it will not be what other people think. It will be at the highest level. And I'm not looking forward to playing him, but I am looking forward to going on this journey with him, because I love him. And I love him because who he is as a husband, and who he is as a father and who he is as a friend."
West Virginia's roster will undergo its third straight season of makeovers. Five players on the current roster have entered the NCAA transfer portal, including four starters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.