Texas Basketball: 4 early coaching candidates to replace Chris Beard

Randy Bennett, St. Mary’s HC

If Texas is willing to look outside of the Big 12/ACC for its next head coach to replace Beard, one to watch could be the longtime St. Mary’s bench boss Randy Bennett. The 2021-22 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year is well-regarded among his peers and has a long track record of success at SMC.

In five of the last six seasons where an NCAA Tournament was actually held (excluding the 2019-20 campaign that was shut down early by the COVID-19 pandemic), Bennett has either led SMC to a March Madness berth, a WCC title, or both.

SMC is also well on its way to making it back to the NCAA Tournament again this year. Bennett’s squad currently ranks at No. 14 in the latest KenPom College Basketball Ratings.

And considering the limited resources that Bennett has to work with at SMC, he’s done a pretty nice job on the recruiting trail in the last half-decade or so.

What Bennett excels most at, though, is player development and scheming. In each of the last three seasons, SMC boasted at least two All-WCC First-Team selections. SMC also had an All-American selection that Bennett developed over the course of a four-year career in standout big man Jock Landale.

Bennett is certainly a candidate worth consideration for the Longhorns given his lengthy track record of sustained success at SMC. If CDC and the Longhorns buy into Bennett building a long-term winner on the Forty Acres, this could be a good hire for the school.