COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – Texas A&M athletic director Trev Alberts will have to make the third coaching hire in approximately a year in Aggieland after the departure of men’s basketball head coach Buzz Williams to Maryland.
Alberts was brought to A&M from his alma mater Nebraska due to his business acumen, hoping he could maintain the financial health of the athletic department with potential revenue sharing with athletes on the horizon.
In that vein, Alberts’ first “hire” was to consolidate the men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs under director Blaire Anderson. He followed that with hiring former assistant coach Michael Earley for a baseball program abandoned by Jim Schlossnagle in favor of the Texas job.
Alberts’ financial focus could be put to the test against a fan base that always wants a splashy hire.
However, anyone entertaining the Aggie job will understand they are taking over a program that will need revitalization on the roster and in the stands. Frequently, neutral site games in the state of Texas were one-sided affairs against the Aggies as the fan base did not show. NCAA Tournament appearances were also sparsely attended over the last three years.
Williams did not mince words when he said A&M had to get in the Players Era Festival in November that guaranteed name, image and likeness money to every participating program. That money was necessary to build A&M’s roster, having spent two years prior with little NIL support.
On a similar, but different, note, A&M men’s basketball ranked seventh in the athletic department in donations to the 12th Man Foundation last year, according to A&M’s NCAA financial report.
Here are some possible candidates:
Chris Beard – Ole Miss
Just like Ole Miss football head coach Lane Kiffin, when a coaching job becomes vacant, Beard becomes a natural name to throw in the hat.
Beard would be a more natural fit in College Station as an alumnus of Texas with previous coaching stops at Texas Tech and in Austin. He has proven he can win, coaching the Red Raiders to the national title game in 2019.
Beard holds a 215-97 overall record with seven NCAA Tournament appearances.
However, Beard comes with baggage. His tenure at Texas lasted a season and eight games after he was arrested on third-degree felony assault charges for alleged physical abuse on his fiancée. The charges were later dismissed by the Travis County District Attorney’s Office.
Beard would require a serious financial commitment in salary, buyout and NIL pools.
Chris Jans – Mississippi State
Jans made a name for himself at New Mexico State, taking those Aggies to three NCAA Tournaments in five years. He’s followed that with three consecutive March Madness bids in three seasons at Mississippi State.
He has a 206-84 career record, including a 63-40 mark in Starkville.
The 55-year-old coach would also require significant financial commitment as he received a contract extension and salary raise this month. According to the Clarion Ledger, Jans will earn $4.4 million next season, with escalators through the 2029-30 season.
Greg McDermott – Creighton
McDermott has spent the last 15 years at Creighton, where he has amassed a 350-171 record with 10 NCAA Tournament appearances. The Blue Jays are currently on a five-season March Madness streak.
McDermott worked in close quarters with Alberts, who served as the athletic director of cross-town Nebraska-Omaha.
Scott Cross – Troy
Cross is a Texas native with plenty of basketball ties to the Lone Star State.
Currently, he serves as the head coach at Troy and took the Trojans to its first NCAA Tournament since 2017 this season.
Cross played and graduated from Texas-Arlington, where he was recruited by a young Buzz Williams. He became the head coach at UTA in 2006 and put together a 225-161 record in 12 seasons, giving him the record for most wins in school history.
He served as an assistant at TCU for a season before landing the job at Troy.
Grant McCasland – Texas Tech
Another coach with plenty of Texas ties, having served as the head coach at North Texas before his last two seasons in Lubbock.
He has a 206-97 overall record and took the Red Raiders to the Elite Eight this season.
It would be another pricey hire, as McCasland signed a new contract in June, which is worth $24.9 million over the next six seasons, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
Also, would McCasland leave a good thing he has going in West Texas?
Brad Underwood – Illinois
Would the architect of Stephen F. Austin’s rise to prominence want a return to Texas?
In Underwood’s first three seasons as a head coach, he took the Lumberjacks to three NCAA Tournaments. However, two of those seasons had games vacated due to NCAA violations.
Trouble with the NCAA also followed Underwood to Oklahoma State, where he only spent a season.
Underwood has been in Illinois for eight seasons where he has a 165-101 record with five NCAA Tournament appearances.
Kyle Smith – Stanford
The El Paso native took the Cardinal to the National Invitation Tournament in his first season in Palo Alto.
He has a 279-207 career record with stops at Washington State San Francisco and Columbia.
He took Washington State to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2024.
KBTX senior Texas A&M sportswriter Travis L. Brown can be reached by email at [email protected]
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