Texas Tech hires Grant McCasland as men’s basketball coach

The Red Raiders’ new men’s basketball coach, Grant McCasland, was appointed by Texas Tech to a six-year contract, the school announced on Friday.

Over the course of his six seasons as head coach at North Texas, McCasland has gone 135-65 with the team and won three Conference USA titles. The school’s first 30-win season came to an end on Thursday night as the Mean Green (31-7) won the NIT championship.

McCasland, who holds a master’s degree from Texas Tech, said in a statement, “The commitment and vision for Texas Tech has no limits and we look forward to loving our team everyday with a greater purpose.” “We will work tirelessly to achieve excellence in all facets of our program, uphold moral principles, and win championships while valuing relationships along the way.

McCasland earned his undergraduate degree from Baylor, where he was listed as a 5-foot-9 walk-on player who got into 47 games over four seasons, from 1995-99. He later was an assistant coach for the Bears from 2011-16 under coach Scott Drew.

“Our search committee was immediately impressed not only by Coach McCasland and his ability to win at every level of college basketball, all while creating a positive culture built upon toughness, but also his passion for Texas Tech and his vision for our basketball program,” Kirby Hocutt, Texas Tech’s athletic director, said.

Following two seasons in which they held opponents to only 55.7 points per game, UNT led the country in scoring defense. This season, UNT has kept 27 of its 38 opponents’ scores below 60.

UNT sports director Jared Mosley said, “He established a program that has won championships, reached new postseason heights, and brought many moments of excitement to Mean Green fans.” “He and his family will be missed in Denton, but we are excited about the foundation that has been built and what is to come for UNT Basketball.”

McCasland, who has a career 211-89 record and has coached at Arkansas State, Midwestern State, and Midland College, will take over for Mark Adams, who resigned from his post on March 8 after receiving a suspension for making what the institution described as a “racially insensitive, inappropriate, and inappropriate comment.”

Although the Texas Tech investigation concluded that Adams’ remarks were accidental and a one-time occurrence, the coach stated he resigned because he and the school believed the event had become a distraction for the team.

Corey Williams, the assistant coach, served as the temporary head coach for the Big 12 tournament.

Texas Tech, which finished 16-16 this season, has advanced to four of the past five NCAA tournaments, including the Sweet 16 in 2022.

McCasland began his career at Texas Tech as the men’s basketball director of operations from 1999 to 2001.

At the age of 27, he was appointed head coach for the first time in 2004 at Midland College in Texas, where he guided the team to the junior college national championship in 2007. Between 2009 and 2011, he had a 56-12 record at Midwestern State, including two consecutive trips to the NCAA Division II tournament regional finals.

“I am thrilled for Coach McCasland, his family and Texas Tech. He has worked tremendously hard throughout his career preparing for this moment, experiencing great success at every stop along the way,” Drew said. “I have no doubt he will be an asset to our conference, Texas Tech and the West Texas region as a whole.”