Jerrod Calhoun leaving Youngstown State to take over at Utah State
Utah State announced on Saturday the hiring of Jerrod Calhoun as its next head men’s basketball coach. Calhoun has been the head coach at Youngstown State for the last six seasons, building that program up from 8 wins in his first year to back-t0-back 22+ win seasons for the first-time in its history.
“Jerrod Calhoun embodies all the qualities we are looking for as the next leader of our men’s basketball program,” said Sabau. “He is energetic, enthusiastic, a player’s coach and is motivated to keep our current student-athletes in Logan. He is a formidable recruiter, an exceptional motivator, and has a keen understanding of the competitive nature of NIL and will be a great partner in growing the Blue A Collective.”
Calhoun was hired in 2017 to replace Jerry Slocum, taking over a program that had finished above .500 just four times in the previous 30 seasons and had only been in one D-I postseason tournament (2013 CIT). During his tenure, he built the Penguins into a Horizon League contender and earned the program’s first-ever NIT bid in 2023 (also tied the school record for wins that year with 24).
Prior to YSU, Calhoun spent five seasons at D-II Fairmont State (WV), where he won 20+ games every season including a 34-3 record and D-II NCAA Runner-Up finish in 2017. He was part of a NAIA National Championship team, from his time as an assistant at Walsh University in Ohio (2004-07).
He’s a member of the Bob Huggins coaching tree, starting with a stint as one of his student assistants at Cincinnati and then later spending five seasons on his staff at West Virginia (2007-12). He was part of the 2009-10 Mountaineers’ squad that went to the Final Four.
“I am honored that Diana and President (Elizabeth) Cantwell have entrusted me with the privilege of leading the storied Aggie program,” said Calhoun. “I could not be more excited about the opportunity to work alongside them. I look forward to making Aggie Nation proud of our program, both on and off the court, and competing for championships on an annual basis. Sarah, Jordan, Kendall, Kennedy, Quinn and I are eager to put down roots in Logan and get to work.”
Calhoun, 42, takes over for Danny Sprinkle, who led the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament and a 28-7 record in his lone season at the helm before leaving for Washington last week. Utah State has been to four of the last five NCAA Tournaments and has seen three-straight head coaches leave for bigger jobs after having success in Logan (Sprinkle, Ryan Odom and Craig Smith).
