How did the biggest coaching hires from 2024-25 season work out? Grading the top 10 biggest HC changes one year later

As the college basketball year circles again, it's a good chance to look back at a year ago. The 2024-25 season unleashed a fair amount of coaching shift turmoil. Much of its can be traced down to a single line.

Eric Musselman wasn't happy at Arkansas and jumped to USC. That cleared the Razorbacks to nab John Calipari. Which allowed Kentucky to hire Mark Pope. Which freed up BYU to hire Kevin Young.

But with the dust of a season settling, how do these hires stack up. Here's a review of the top 10 hires and how they did in year one.

Grading the top 10 coaching hires for 2024-25 a year later

Pat Kelsey's turnaround of Louisville basketball was one of the big stories of the 2024-25 hiring cycle. (Photo Credit: IMAGN)

10. Chris Holtmann, DePaul (C-)

On the bright side, DePaul did improve from 3-29 in 2023-24. That said, a year into Holtmann's tenure, after a 14-20 season, this job still looks daunting. The Blue Demons have been meaningless for so long that Holtmann has a massive job just to haul them into even being mediocre.

9. Kevin Young, BYU (A+)

After the departure of Mark Pope, Kevin Young took BYU even farther, winning 26 games, finishing third in the Big 12, and reaching the NCAA Sweet 16. Add in massive recruiting upgrades, which allowed the Cougars to sign all-everything freshman AJ Dysbanta and this was a home run hire.

8. Danny Sprinkle, Washington (C-)

Washington hung around .500 back in the Pac-12, but Sprinkle's first year in the Big Ten didn't go well. The Huskies went 13-18 and just 4-16 in league play. For Washington to complete in that league, Sprinkle will have to do some significant heavy lifting.

7. Dusty May, Michigan (A)

After missing the NCAA Touranment in Juwan Howard's last two years, Michigan was back under May. He won 27 games, took the Wolverines to second in the Big Ten and reached the NCAA Sweet 16. Portal recruiting has taken a big step forward to. Big-time hire a year later.

6. Josh Schertz, St. Louis (B-)

A 13-20 season under Travis Ford caused a coaching change. Schertz was solid in his first year, going 19-15. But keeping the Billicans relevant as a bit player in the transfer portal era will take some crafty work. Not a bad hire, but Schertz hasn't yet knocked anybody's socks off.

5. Chris Mack, Charleston (B)

Off a 27-8 season with Pat Kelsey, Charleston re-hired Chris Mack. Mack had a 24-9 season, but came up shy of the NCAA Tournament. It still looks like a solid hire, but as with Schertz, winning at this level will be tough for any coach over the long haul.

4. Mark Pope, Kentucky (A-)

Pope went 24-12, posting a Calipari-like record, but did salve some UK wounds by reaching the Sweet 16, something Calipari hadn't done since 2019. His first UK team was a bit short handed, but given his work in the portal, there's reason to think Kentucky found their guy.

3. John Calipari, Arkansas (B)

Eric Mussleman was off a terrible 16-17 season, but had taken the Hogs to the Sweet 16 in each of the prior three seasons. Calipari had a rough start, but rallied to 22-14 and the Sweet 16. It was solid work, but there is some reason to wonder how much coaching fuel Calipari still has in the tank.

2. Eric Musselman, USC (C)

Off a 15-18 season, Muss delivered a 17-18 season. USC will have to work hard to keep up in the Big Ten and year one certainly didn't go swimmingly for Musselman. He now has two straight losing seasons off his run of three Sweet 16 appearances in a row.

1. Pat Kelsey, Louisville (A+)

Along with Young and May, the best hires of the group. Kelsey posted a 27-8 record, which is more wins than in the three seasons (and two coaches) who preceded him. For a team without an NCAA Tournament win since 2017, Kelsey did a great job of making them immediately competitive. The NCAA streak continued after a first-round loss, but a great class says that won't last.

What do you think of the coach hirings of a season ago? Share your take below in our comments section!