Mountain West coaching carousel: Jerrod Calhoun to remain at Utah State; Niko Medved heads to Minnesota

UNLV finalizing deal with Josh Pastner

Utah State Aggies head coach Jerrod Calhoun. / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Utah State head coach Jerrod Calhoun, a top candidate for the West Virginia job, will remain with the Aggies and is expected to sign a lucrative extension, according to multiple reports. 

In his first season at the helm, the 43-year-old Calhoun led Utah State to a 26-8 record and the program’s third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Utah State reached the three NCAA Tournaments under three different head coaches. 

The bizarre streak will not continue as Calhoun is set to become the second-highest-paid coach in the Mountain West Conference behind San Diego State’s Brian Dutcher, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reported Tuesday morning. Dutcher will make $2.4 million this year. 

Calhoun was an assistant under legendary coach Bob Huggins at West Virginia from 2007-12. Prior to taking over Utah State last March, Calhoun was the head coach at Fairmont State (2012-17) and Youngstown State (2017-24). 

The Aggies jumped out to a 16-1 start this season but sputtered down the stretch. Utah State received a 10 seed for the NCAA Tournament and fell to UCLA in the opening round. 

Calhoun’s next task is retaining star guard Mason Falslev, who averaged 15 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.3 steals during his sophomore season. Falslev was voted second-team all-MWC and made the all-defense team. 

Utah State’s 2025 recruiting class is ranked No. 43 nationally in the 247Sports composite rankings. 

Monday morning, Minnesota announced the hiring of Colorado State head coach Niko Medved.

Medved, 51, went 143-85 in seven seasons with the Rams, leading Colorado State to three NCAA Tournaments. The Rams won the 2025 MWC Tournament title and were a Derik Queen buzzer-beater away from advancing to their first Sweet 16 since 1969. 

The Rams finished 26-10 overall and won 11 straight games before the heart-breaking NCAA Tournament loss to Maryland. 

According to multiple reports, Colorado State associate coach Ali Farokhmanesh is the frontrunner to replace Medved. Farokhmanesh coached under Medved at Drake (2017-18) and Colorado State (2018-25).

Farokhmanesh made one of the most famous shots in March Madness history, a dagger 3-pointer that helped Northern Iowa knock off top-seeded Kansas in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. 

UNLV is also closing in on its next head coach after firing Kevin Kruger earlier this month. 

ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Pete Thamel reported Monday night that the Runnin’ Rebels are finalizing a deal with former Georgia Tech (2016-23) and Memphis (2009-16) coach Josh Pastner. 

Pastner spent the last two years working for ESPN. He compiled a 167-73 record with the Tigers — including four straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2011-14 — and a 109-114 mark at Georgia Tech highlighted by and ACC Tournament title in 2021.

Kruger led the Runnin’ Rebels to an 18-15 mark this season and finished 76-55 overall during his four years at the helm. UNLV did not reach the NCAA Tournament under Kruger.

After leading New Mexico to the MWC regular-season title and the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Richard Pitino has been linked to openings at Villanova, West Virginia and Xavier. 

Pitino holds an 88-49 record in four seasons at New Mexico with two NCAA Tournament appearances.