Top Three Candidates to Replace Kevin Kruger as UNLV Men's Basketball Coach

Who will be the next head coach of the men's basketball team at UNLV following the firing of Kevin Kruger?

Former UNLV Rebels head coach Kevin Kruger reacts to a play in the first half against the San Diego State Aztecs at Thomas & Mack Center. / Candice Ward-Imagn Images

The UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball program has decided to make a leadership change and have fired head coach Kevin Kruger. This has led to many of their top players racing to the transfer portal.

Change In Leadership Announced https://t.co/Yxu0ffW6Rl pic.twitter.com/8MqG5XYD5s

— UNLV Men's Basketball (@TheRunninRebels) March 15, 2025

So their next coaching hire will be extremely important whether it comes to bringing back players who are considering leaving or rebuilding the program from the ground up. These are three potential coaching candidates that UNLV could target to replace Kruger. 

Tony Bennett

UNLV could go after the former Virginia Cavaliers head coach. This would be the dream hire for the Runnin' Rebels. Bennett has an NCAA National Championship on his resume from his 2018 - 2019 title run and has led his teams to multiple No. 1 rankings. If they could reel in Bennett who shockingly retired prior to this season, it would immediately give this program a ton of credibility and do wonders for recruiting. What this comes down to is what Bennett wants to do with his career moving forward and if the UNLV athletic program can raise the money needed for the hire. 

Virginia Cavaliers head men's basketball coach Tony Bennett speaks at a press conference announcing his immediate retirement at John Paul Jones Arena. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Carlin Hartman

Hartman is currently the associate head coach for the Florida Gators who many consider the favorites to win the 2025 NCAA Tournament. They are one of the four No. 1 seeds and it's time for Hartman to move on to his first head coaching job. The link to UNLV comes from his spending time on Kevin Kruger's staff back in 2021 - 2022.  In his previous three full seasons he spent with the Oklahoma Sooners, each season ended with an NCAA Tournament bid. 

Josh Pastner

The former Georgia Tech head coach is currently working a television job but has expressed his desire to return to coaching after being out of coaching since 2023. He led the Yellow Jackets to four NCAA Tournaments in seven seasons and this signing would have a lot of parallels to the Dan Mullen signing who came out of the studio after leaving the Florida Gators to rebuild the football program.  

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