Who Will Kentucky Hire to Succeed John Calipari as Coach?

Getty Baylor coach Scott Drew.

One of the most coveted coaching jobs in men’s college basketball is about to open.

John Calipari is expected to officially leave Kentucky on April 9 to sign a five-year, $40 million contract with SEC rival Arkansas. Calipari has spent the last 15 seasons leading the Wildcats.

Three potential candidates to fill the expected vacancy in Lexington – UConn coach Dan Hurley, Alabama coach Nate Oaks and retired Villanova coach and current CBS/TBS studio analyst Jay Wright – all said April 8 that they will not be leaving their jobs.

Hurley shot down the idea in a press conference just moments after UConn won its second straight national championship by beating Purdue 75-60 in the NCAA Tournament title game in Glendale, Ariz. He jokingly said his wife would seek a divorce if asked to move farther away from her New Jersey roots.

“I mean, we just went to Rhode Island, which I had to drag her to, and then to Connecticut,” Hurley said. “I got her closer. And now further? I can’t afford a divorce right now, too. I just started making money.”

In a more serious vein, Oats said on social media that he is not leaving the Crimson Tide. Now an analyst for CBS, Wright said following Monday night’s telecast of the UConn-Purdue game that he is not returning to coaching.

Is Scott Drew at the Top of the Kentucky Wish List?

The most intriguing name linked to the vacancy is Baylor coach Scott Drew with Hurley, Oats and Wright off the board.

Drew led the Bears to the national title in 2021 and they have gone to the NCAAs in nine of the last 11 seasons. They went 24-11 this past season, losing to Clemson in the second round of the tournament, after being ranked as high as No. 6 in the Associated Press’ regular-season poll.

Drew has a 466-255 record over his 22-year career, the last 21 at Baylor after one season at Valparaiso. He took over a scandal-plagued program in 2003 at Baylor and led it to the NCAA Tournament four years later.

Louisville tried to lure Drew last month to replace fired coach Kenny Payne. However, Drew rebuffed the Cardinals and has laid deep roots in Waco, where the Bears opened Foster Pavilion in January.

The buyout clause in Drew’s contract is $4.5 million. That certainly would be an affordable number for a program like Kentucky but would Drew want to leave a place he has called home for two decades?

Other Names to Watch at Kentucky

One name that keeps coming up in the rumor mill is Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan.

He led Florida to national championships in 2006 and 2007. The Gators had been the last back-to-back winners until UConn accomplished the feat on April 8.

Donovan is in his ninth season as an NBA coach, including his fourth with the Bulls following a five-year run with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Donovan’s career record in college was 502-206 over 21 seasons, two at Marshall and 19 at Florida.

Two other notable college coaches could also replace Calipari — Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd and Auburn’s Bruce Pearl.

Lloyd has been a head coach for just three seasons following a long tenure as Mark Few’s top assistant at Gonzaga. The Wildcats have gone 88-20 under Lloyd’s tutelage and were 27-9 this past season when they won the Pac-12 regular-season title then lost to Clemson in the West Regional semifinals in the NCAA Tournament.

Pearl has been a head coach at the Division I level since 2001 with stints at Milwaukee (four seasons), Tennessee (six seasons) and Auburn (10 seasons). His career record is 415-228 at the major college level.

Auburn finished 27-9 in 2023-24 and won the SEC Tournament championship. The Tigers were upset by Yale in the first round of the NCAAs, though.

Lloyd signed a five-year contract extension in February that runs through 2029 and includes a $12-million buyout. The buyout clause in Pearl’s contract is $7 million.