- Darian DeVries led West Virginia to a 10-win turnaround in his lone season with the program.
- Darian DeVries had a 150-55 record at Drake over six seasons and made three NCAA Tournament appearances.
- Darian DeVries worked for Dana Altman and Greg McDermott at Creighton.
BLOOMINGTON — Indiana has announced Darian DeVries as the its next men’s basketball coach, per a press release from the school.
The Hoosiers conducted a nationwide search to replace Mike Woodson, who announced in February he would be stepping down as coach at the end of his fourth season with program.
Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson followed a similar blueprint to the one he used when hiring football coach Curt Cignetti that included hiring prominent national search firm TurnkeyZRG and having his staff conduct a study of what’s worked for like-programs over the last three decades to come up with a list of candidates.
“Once we had a chance to talk to him, we knew we had the right person,” Dolson said in a statement. “Darian has a plan for building a championship culture that can compete at the highest level on a year-in, year-out basis.”
DeVries called the the head coaching job at Indiana “unquestionably one of the top jobs in America” in a statement.
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“As someone who grew up in the Midwest loving the game of basketball, I’ve always admired the IU Basketball program for its championship-level success, tradition, and fan support,” DeVries said. “There’s a passion to succeed at the very highest levels both within the Big Ten and in the NCAA Tournament, and that’s a desire that as a coach I share.”
Darian DeVries led West Virginia to best one-year turnaround in program history
DeVries, 49, is coming off successful one-year stint at West Virginia where he orchestrated a 10-win turnaround and guided the Mountaineers to a sixth place finish in the Big 12 (10-10) a year removed from tying for last place in the conference.
In 2024-25, they won six games against Quad 1 opponents including four teams ranked in the top 20 of the NET Rankings — Gonzaga (No. 8), Arizona (No. 12), Kansas (No. 20) and Iowa State (No. 9) and the biggest surprise snub by the NCAA Tournament committee.
“Obviously, we are extremely shocked, saddened and disappointed with not being selected for the NCAA Tournament,” DeVries said in a statement on Selection Sunday. “We strongly believe that we have a résumé that is worthy of an NCAA Tournament team.”
“I am incredibly proud of this team and what they accomplished. They poured their hearts into this season and put all their collective efforts into making the NCAA Tournament, and I believe they did that.”
Dolson mentioned West Virginia’s turnaround in the statement IU put out on Tuesday night.
“He inherited a last-place Big 12 team with no significant contributors returning, and managed to more than double its win total despite a pair of significant season-ending injuries,” Dolson said.
He signed a five-year deal with West Virginia that paid him an average of $3 million per year. He would owe the school 37.5% of his remaining salary if he leaves before the end of the deal in April 2028.
According to a report
that would be roughly $4.66 million, if he’s hired by April 1.
Darian DeVries’ broke into the head-coaching ranks with stellar stint at Drake
DeVries, who played college basketball at Northern Iowa and was inducted into the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) Hall of Fame in 2015, broke into the coaching ranks as a grad manager at Creighton. He spent two decades at the school working as an assistant for Dana Altman (2001-2010) and Greg McDermott (2010-2018).
The program had a 460-211 overall record and earned 12 NCAA Tournament bids during his time on staff.
DeVries had instant success as a first-time head coach at Drake where he went 150-55 over six seasons with three NCAA Tournament appearances. The Bulldogs won the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title in his first season and they never finished with less than 20 wins during his tenure.
He was 1-3 in the NCAA Tournament with the lone win coming in 2021 when Drake beat Wichita St. in the First Four. It was the program’s first win in the tourney since beating Notre Dame in the opening round back in 1971.
DeVries was a two-time MVC Coach of the Year (2019 and 2021) and finalist for the Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year Award given annually to the top mid-major head coach in 2024.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
