March Madness Legend Is Favorite to Land Opening at Colorado State

Ali Farokhmanesh was a lead assistant on Niko Medved's staff with the Rams this season.

Colorado State assistant Ali Farokhmanesh is the leading candidate to replace Niko Medved as the program's next head coach. / Timothy Hurst/The Coloradoan

With Colorado State head coach Niko Medved set to leave the program to become the next coach at Minnesota, one of his key assistants with the Rams is a leading candidate to replace him.

Ali Farokhmanesh, a March Madness legend from his buzzer-beating three to sink No. 1 seed Kansas in the 2010 NCAA tournament with Northern Iowa, will be in serious consideration for the position, sources told Sports Illustrated's Kevin Sweeney. Colorado State athletic director John Weber has hired a search firm to help coordinate the program's next hiring, but Farokhmanesh will be a top contender to land the job.

The Field of 68's Jeff Goodman was among the first to report that Farokhmanesh was a leading candidate to replace Medved.

Farokhmanesh has ascended quickly up the coaching ranks. His international playing career ended in 2014, and he immediately joined Nebraska as a graduate assistant. He was eventually promoted in '16 to the role of Director of Player Development for the Cornhuskers, before becoming an assistant under Medved in '17 at Drake. Farokhmanesh followed Medved to Colorado State in 2018, and has been on his staff ever since. This past season, Farokhmanesh served as the program's offensive coordinator and was Medved's top recruiter.

The 36-year-old is a natural replacement who has familiarity with the roster and the school. He is considered one of the top assistant coaches in the Mountain West, and is a perfect fit on paper to bridge the gap with Medved's departure, even with it being his first head coaching job.

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