It was a long season for fans of the Cincinnati Bearcats basketball team. They missed out on the NCAA Tournament yet again, and parted ways with head coach Wes Miller after five seasons and a good regular season record of 100-75. But things just got a little brighter in the Queen City.
It would appear that the Bearcats are on track to hire Jerrod Calhoun as the program’s 29th head basketball coach. Here are three of the most important things about what looks to be Cincinnati’s new head coach:
He Comes to Cincinnati After Two Extremely Successful Years at Utah State
Calhoun took the helm in Logan, Utah in 2024 and compiled an impressive 55-15 record in that time including back-to-back Mountain West titles and NCAA births. His teams were ranked in the top 30 on offense by the KenPom/Torvik systems and made a big leap this year to also become a top 50 defensive team as well.
This year the Aggies feasted near the basket, ranking 11th nationally in 2-point field goal percentage (59.3\%) and racked up 39 points per game in the paint. On defense in 2025-2026 they flummoxed opponents by ranking 16th nationally in steal percentage (and that was after setting a program record 291 steals in his first year there).
Before his time in Logan, he coached at both Youngstown State where the Penguins captured their first ever conference title in 2023, and Division 2 Fairmont State where he won a national championship appearance in 2017.
He Has Cincinnati Roots
Calhoun has more than a few connections to Bearcat country. He graduated from the university in 2004 and served as a student assistant under Bob Huggins and later followed Huggins to West Virginia as an assistant.
In his time at Cincinnati the team was a powerhouse, finishing 25–7 and winning the Conference USA Tournament while he got valuable experience working with Bearcat greats like James White and Jason Maxiell.
“I learned from Bob that you win the game at 3:00 PM in practice, not at 7:00 PM on game night. If you aren’t the toughest team on the floor, you’ve already lost.” — Jerrod Calhoun on the Huggins influence.
He Is A Superior NIL And Player Manager
Maintaining success at a mid major school is extremely difficult, but Calhoun has shown that he can both retain players and manage tight NIL budgets. When things got tough, Calhoun personally donated $150,000 of his own salary to the university’s Athlete Retention Fund in September 2025.
He didn’t just donate, but ensured that Utah State’s system could continue on, as in March 2025, Calhoun helped spearhead a week-long “NIL Open House” and fundraising barrage that brought in over $1.5 million in just seven days for the school. Under his leadership, Utah State reportedly tripled its basketball NIL budget between his first and second seasons.
And he put that money to good use. Calhoun used NIL resources to secure MJ Collins, who went from a role player in the SEC to a 20 PPG star and first-team All-Mountain West selection at Utah State. He also retained key starters like Mason Falslev and Karson Templin who helped define the Aggies on both ends of the floor.
How He Is An Ideal Fit In Cincinnati
Calhoun has all of the qualities that the Bearcats need to get back on the right path. He knows how to recruit and retain players. That will be an absolutely crucial with key pieces like Jizzle James and Moustapha Thiam being juniors and retaining eligibility. Bringing Paul Molinari (his longtime Chief of Staff) along with him will certainly help with roster continuity and the next few days and weeks will be extremely important to see how fast the Calhoun era will take off.
He has also proven he can win in different ways apart from over reliance on shooting from beyond the arc. The Bearcats, built around Thiam could really thrive under his system and the defensive tenacity they developed under Miller will likely translate seamlessly moving forward.
Calhoun did a masterful job with a fraction of the war chest he will have in Cincinnati. Reports are that he will have an initial NIL budget of approximately $8 million for the 2026–27 season. It must be pleasant for fans to imagine just what he can do with such an increase in resources.
It’s an exciting time to be a Bearcat fan. Fresh starts are a good thing, and when next year’s basketball season begins, this team could be ready to take the first step towards great things.
