Randy Bennett has agreed to leave Saint Mary’s after 25 seasons at the helm to become the new head men’s basketball coach at Arizona State. Bennett, 63, is originally from Mesa, AZ and has spent the majority of his career coaching on the West Coast.
“It was going to take a special situation for us to leave Saint Mary’s,” Bennett said, “and I am energized, driven, and focused on taking over Sun Devil Basketball, a program I am very familiar with and grew up watching. We are in the best basketball conference in the nation and I look forward to the opportunity and am excited to meet everyone who wants to help this program reach our goals in the new landscape. My staff and I will be ready for the challenge.”
Bennett compiled a 589-228 record with the Gaels since taking over in 2001 and built the program into a perennial NCAA Tournament team. While Gonzaga has seemingly run the WCC for nearly 30 years, Bennett’s Saint Mary’s squads were often the only team that was competing with – and regularly defeating – the Zags. Over the last five seasons, especially, the Gaels have won or shared four WCC titles and reached five NCAA Tournaments with a 135-36 (27 wins/season on average).
“Coach Bennett is one of the most accomplished and respected coaches in college basketball,” said AD Graham Rossini. “We were drawn to his sustained success over multiple decades, his strong recruiting relationships across the country, particularly on the West Coast, and his proven ability to identify and develop international talent. Just as important, he brings a genuine enthusiasm for leading the Sun Devil Men’s Basketball program. He has deep ties to the Valley, and we are thrilled to welcome Coach, his wife Darlene, and their family to ASU.”
Arizona State parted ways with former head coach Bobby Hurley earlier this month after eleven seasons at the helm. During his tenure, Hurley established himself as a prolific recruiter but was often unable to translate that talent to success on the court. The Sun Devils have been to the NCAA Tournament just four times since 2010 and have not won a conference title since 1975 (when they were in the WAC).
credit to Arizona State Athletics for the image
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