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VCU Targeting Bryant's Phil Martelli Jr. to Replace Departed Coach Ryan Odom
VCU—the land of rising coaching stars—reportedly has its next one.
The Rams are targeting Bryant coach Phil Martelli Jr. as their next head coach, according to a Tuesday evening report from Pete Thamel of ESPN. Martelli, 43, would replace coach Ryan Odom; Odom left for Virginia on Friday.
Martelli—the son of longtime former Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli Sr., who per CBS's Jon Rothstein is expected to join his son's staff—has spent two years with the Bulldogs. He led them to a 20-13 record in 2024 and a 23-12 record in 2025; the latter season ended with an NCAA men's tournament berth.
Bryant lost 87–62 to Michigan State in the first round Friday, ending its season.
Sources: VCU is targeting Bryant coach Phil Martelli Jr. to be the school’s next coach. A deal is expected to come together in the near future. He's 43-25 in two seasons at Bryant and led them to the NCAA Tournament this year. pic.twitter.com/PBJz8BVcOu
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 26, 2025
For VCU, Martelli Jr.'s hire continues a remarkable track record of identifying and hiring rising coaching talent. Each of the Rams' last six coaches are currently plying their trade elsewhere: Jeff Capel (Pittsburgh), Anthony Grant (Dayton), Shaka Smart (Marquette), Will Wade (NC State), Mike Rhoads (Penn State) and Odom (the Cavaliers).
The Rams went 28-7 in '25, their best record since 2012; they lost to BYU in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
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Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .