Texas Basketball: 4 early coaching candidates to replace Chris Beard

Ryan Odom, Utah State HC

A fast riser in the college basketball coaching ranks is the second-year Utah State Aggies head coach Ryan Odom. The former Charlotte 49ers and UMBC Retrievers head coach Odom is someone that is starting to become a real proven winner that can turn around programs very quickly.

Odom started out his college hoops coaching journey when he was hired as a graduate assistant with the South Florida Bulls back in 1996. He spent the next dozen years or so jumping around various Division I assistant coaching roles with programs like the Virginia Tech Hokies and Furman Paladins.

In 2010, Charlotte hired Odom as an assistant coach. He would serve on Charlotte’s coaching staff for roughly five years until he got his first shot as a college hoops head coach.

Odom would serve as Charlotte’s interim head coach for the bulk of the 2014-15 season after the 49ers parted ways with Alan Major. But Odom would post a record of 8-11 with the 49ers to round out the 2014-15 campaign. Charlotte parted ways with him after that season.

The next year and a half would see Odom take his first full-time head coaching position at Lenoir-Rhyne.

Odom spent one season at Lenoir-Rhyne before he got his first Division I at UMBC ahead of the 2016-17 campaign.

He served as the UMBC head coach for five seasons, leading UMBC to two conference titles and one NCAA Tournament appearance. Odom even led the Retrievers to a Sweet 16 appearance in 2018, which was also the first time that UMBC won a conference title under his direction.

After five solid seasons at UMBC, Odom took the head coaching job with Utah State prior to the start of last season. He got the job after third-year Utah State head coach Craig Smith left to take the same position with the Utah Utes.

While Odom did take over a winner at Utah State from the prior few seasons under Smith, he did have a tough task on his hands to build the culture up in the model he wanted for the program. And some of the growing pains showed last season as Utah State was just two games over .500 and missed out on the NCAA Tournament.

But Odom looks to have Utah State headed in a good direction this season, with the Aggies currently sitting with a record of 13-2 (2-0 MWC). Utah State also ranks in the top 35 in the latest KenPom ratings and in the FPI.

If Texas wants one of the hotter rising coaches around the college hoops landscape, then a candidate like Odom would make a lot of sense.