WVU basketball coaching candidates: Insider reveals two major names as possible Darian DeVries replacements

Darian DeVries has been in the spotlight after leaving his coaching job at West Virginia following one season with the Mountaineers. DeVries agreed to become the new coach of Indiana on Tuesday, but there is now intrigue on who will take up the vacant coaching seat at West Virginia.

On Wednesday, college basketball insider Pete Nakos reported that two candidates, Chester Frazier and Jerrod Calhoun have been linked with taking up the West Virginia coaching job.

During his only season with West Virginia, Darian DeVries led the team to a 19-13 record. The Mountaineers finished tied for seventh in the Big 12 and then lost their first game in the conference tournament against Colorado.

All we know about the two candidates who could replace Darian DeVries at West Virginia

NCAA Basketball: Former West Virginia HC Darian DeVries- Source: Imagn

Chester Fraizer spent the 2024 season as West Virginia's associate head coach. He could reportedly be promoted to become the team's next head coach for the 2025-26 season.

Although Frazier does not have prior head coaching experience, he spent time as a graduate assistant at Illinois after playing four years with the program. In 2012, he was appointed as an assistant coach at Kansas State and helped the team make the NCAA Tournament for five years until his departure in 2019.

Frazier then worked as an associate head coach at Virginia Tech from 2019 to 2021. He returned to Illinois in 2021 as an assistant coach and worked three years with the Fighting Irish before joining West Virginia.

Many believe that Frazier is the favorite to succeed Darian DeVries as West Virginia's next head coach since he already knows most of the roster.

Meanwhile, Jerrod Calhoun is another top candidate to take up the West Virginia job. He is currently preparing for his first NCAA Tournament with No. 10-seed Utah State.

Calhoun began his coaching career as a student assistant at Cincinnati in 2003. He then had stints as an assistant at Walsh and also worked at West Virginia.

In 2012, Calhoun got his first head coaching job at Fairmont State and led the program to a 124–38 record across five years. He won the MEC regular-season title in 2017, which was also his final season with the program.

In 2017, Calhoun took up the coaching job at Youngstown State. He posted a 118–106 record with the team across seven seasons. He led the Penguins to the Horizon League regular-season title in 2023.

In 2024, Calhoun was appointed as the Utah State coach. It will be interesting to see if he can lead the Aggies to a deep run in March Madness.