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Jeff Borzello
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ESPN Staff Writer
- Basketball recruiting insider.
- Joined ESPN in 2014.
- Graduate of University of Delaware.
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Pete Thamel
UMass has made the decision to move on from men’s basketball coach Matt McCall, the school announced Tuesday.
McCall will continue coaching the Minutemen through the conclusion of the Atlantic 10 tournament, according to a school statement.
“Matt poured himself in to this role and has been a great teammate and partner as we worked to build a championship program. Unfortunately, we have not met the results we desire on the court and I believe a change at the end of the season is in the best interest of the program,” UMass athletic director Ryan Bamford said in a statement. “I am grateful that Matt and I shared a mutual desire to have him finish the 2021-2022 campaign with the men in our program over the coming weeks.”
Hired in 2017 to replace Derek Kellogg, McCall has yet to lead the Minutemen to the postseason. The team is currently 12-16 overall and 5-11 in the Atlantic 10. In his five seasons in Amherst, he’s 58-81 overall and 28-52 in conference play.
McCall’s buyout is for just under $800,000, sources told ESPN.
Prior to taking over at UMass, McCall had two successful seasons at Chattanooga, going to the NCAA tournament in 2016. He was an assistant coach under Billy Donovan at Florida from 2011 to 2015, and also spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Florida Atlantic.
UMass went to the Final Four under John Calipari in 1996 but has struggled to reach national relevance since that time. The program has just one NCAA tournament appearance since 1998, which came in 2014 under Kellogg.
Potential names expected to be involved in UMass’ coaching search include Vermont’s John Becker, Missouri State’s Dana Ford, Wagner’s Bashir Mason, Yale’s James Jones, Bryant’s Jared Grasso and former Indiana coach Archie Miller.