Year 1 coach progress reports: Providence's Bryan Hodgson earns 'A-', North Carolina's Michael Malone gets 'B'

Not all Year 1 rebuilds are equal, and we have an early look at roster construction for new college basketball coaches entering 2026–27

David Cobb

Apr 15, 2026

1:09 pm ET

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8 min read

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Never has the pressure been greater for first-year college basketball coaches. Whether it's truly realistic everywhere or not, the achievements of coaches like Iowa's Ben McCollum at Iowa, Virginia's Ryan Odom and Miami's Jai Lucas suggest that big things can happen immediately under a new regime.

While a Year 1 breakthrough is more feasible than ever before because of the blank canvas afforded to new coaches via the transfer portal, the task has never been more daunting. Many new coaches are replacing virtually their entire rosters all while getting to know the terrain in an unfamiliar location.

For every McCollum, Odom or Lucas, there is an example illustrating how tough it can be to turn a wayward ship. Utah went from 16-17 in Craig Smith's final season to 10-22 this past year in Alex Jensen's debut. Indiana's transition from Mike Woodson to Darian DeVries did not yield immediate dividends. Minnesota finished with nearly the same record in Niko Medved's first season (15-18) as in Ben Johnson's final campaign (15-17).

Not every situation is the same, but even seemingly dire situations are ripe for quick turnarounds in this era. Dusty May inherited an 8-24 team at Michigan, went 27-10 with a Sweet 16 appearance in his first season and then broke through for a national title in Year 2.

Against that backdrop, here are the early progress reports on roster construction for the new high-major coaches busy constructing their 2026-27 rosters.

Almost done

We have a pretty good idea of what these teams will look like in the 2026-27 season.

Butler (Ronald Nored)

Nored is not relying exclusively on the transfer portal as he seeks to revitalize his alma mater. He's got a couple of potential starters returning in point guard Jalen Jackson and big man Drayton Jones. From a traditional recruiting perspective, four-star prospect and former LSU commit Herly Brutus committed to the Bulldogs last week. Then, there's the commitment of 6-6 Serbian forward Asim Djulovic, who is putting up impressive stats as a 20-year-old in the Adriatic League. Last but not least, Nored's portal haul includes:

- Eduardo Klafke, a two-year role player at Ole Miss who is a career 44.6% 3-point shooter.

- Samis Calderon, a toolsy 6-8 forward who appeared in 16 games as a reserve during his freshman season at Kansas.

- Treyson Anderson, a stretch big who averaged 10.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.9 blocks for a North Dakota State team that won the Summit League.

- Jordan Ellerbee: coming off a standout freshman season at FGCU in which he averaged 13.1 points while showing promise as a pick-and-roll scorer

It's a well-balanced roster with players from a variety of sources and archetypes, but to this point, it lacks the high-end pop that is likely needed for a big Year 1 breakthrough.

Early grade: B

Creighton (Alan Huss)

The internal handoff from Greg McDermott to Huss has led to more retention than what you get during a normal coaching change. Rotation-caliber pieces Jasen Green, Austin Swartz, Isaac Traudt, Hudson Greer and Jackson McAndrew are all returning. There are plenty of high-major programs not undergoing a coaching change that don't have that much retention. As for additions, the Bluejays have made some nice ones.

Providence transfer Oswin Erhunmwunse will bring the rim protection that Creighton sorely missed this past season following the departure of program staple Ryan Kalkbrenner. South Florida flamethrower Wes Enis will help replace the 3-point shooting of Josh Dix. Meanwhile, San Diego State transfer BJ Davis is a veteran floor general and strong perimeter defender. Between Huss' coaching acumen and the quality of this roster, look for Creighton to get back in the NCAA Tournament picture next season.

Early grade: A-

Kansas State (Casey Alexander)

Kansas State's midseason firing of Jerome Tang and March 13 hiring of Alexander from Belmont gave the Wildcats a jump start on roster assembly. In terms of numbers, the Wildcats are nearing the finish line.

In terms of the actual talent that will be required to field a competitive team in the Big 12, there's still a long way to go. This team will likely hope to follow the 2024-25 Vanderbilt model. Here is what that looks like: an unfamiliar coach takes over a struggling program, puts together a seemingly underwhelming roster and then proceeds to surge past lackluster preseason expectations. It's a narrow path.

Early grade: C

Getting there

We're starting to get an idea of what these teams will look like in the 2026-27 season, although there is still work to be done.

Cincinnati (Jerrod Calhoun)

Calhoun has already landed three top-200 transfe