Next Kentucky Men’s Basketball Coach Odds & Candidates: Who Could Replace Calipari?

The NCAA basketball season is now in the books, but some major dominoes have to fall before we can really look too deeply into what could be ahead next season. The biggest domino at the moment is in the SEC, where longtime Kentucky head coach John Calipari is reportedly on the cusp of leaving Lexington for Fayetteville and conference rival Arkansas.

How did we get here? The most recent expansion-palooza kickstarted it all.

With SMU moving to the ACC, the moment called for adding a notable coach on the hardwood. Out of the door went Rob Lanier, and in went USC coach Andy Enfield, who might have needed a fresh start after going 15-18 in his 11^th and final season in Los Angeles.

To replace Enfield, USC hired Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman, who, like Enfield, also suffered an underwhelming final campaign. The Razorbacks went 16-17 and missed the NCAA Tournament after making two Elite Eights and a Sweet Sixteen in the previous three seasons.

Late on Sunday, the news broke that Calipari was Arkansas’ main target and a deal was in the works.

According to reports, the official word could come today. Why now for Calipari, and why Arkansas?

As with Enfield and Musselman, the timing might not be better. Kentucky’s first-round loss to Oakland was their second first-round exit in three seasons, and the Wildcats have not been to the Final Four since 2016 or the Elite Eight since 2019.

Sometimes, change is the best thing for both parties. That might be the case for Calipari and Kentucky, Enfield and USC, and Musselman and Arkansas.

But who will assume Calipari’s position in the hot seat?

Many sportsbooks have odds on who Kentucky’s next coach will be. That includes BetOnline, an industry leader in sports betting.

Next Kentucky Head Men’s Basketball Coach Odds

As expected, current speculation centers on several big names. One of those names, UConn’s Dan Hurley, has already ruled himself out.

• Scott Drew, Baylor +100
• Nate Oats, Alabama +300
• Billy Donovan, Chicago Bulls +600
• Richard Pitino, New Mexico +1000
• Mark Pope, BYU +1000
• Sean Miller, Xavier +1600
• J. Otzelberger, Iowa State +1600
• Dan Hurley, UConn +1600
• Chris Beard, Ole Miss +1800
• Four at +2000: Rick Pitino (St. John’s), Kelvin Sampson (Houston), Scott Padgett (assistant to the head coach at Mississippi State), Shaka Smart (Marquette)

Who Are the Top Kentucky Basketball Coaching Candidates?

Scott Drew, Baylor (+100)

Drew, who has been the head coach at Baylor since 2003, has been linked with numerous jobs as he has taken the Bears from a scandal-ridden program to a perennial winner.

Last month, he was linked to Louisville, who fired Kenny Payne (a former Calipari assistant) after two seasons. But he rejected their reported overtures, and the Cardinals eventually hired Charleston’s Pat Kelsey.

Could Kentucky be the opportunity that finally lures Drew away from Waco?

While there is certainly pressure to continue winning at a high level at Baylor, the pressure that the Kentucky job would bring is much, much different.

But it also brings the opportunity to win, win big, and win big immediately, especially if you can reel in talent like Drew can.

Also, 21 seasons at one place is a long time, and Drew might be ready for a change himself.

Nate Oats, Alabama (+300)

Winner? Check. Exciting style of basketball? Check.

Oats checks both of those boxes in a big way, but as with Hurley, he appears to have no interest in leaving a great situation.

Alabama just reached the Final Four for the first time in program history, and Oats’ five seasons have produced 117 wins, two SEC regular season titles, two SEC Tournament titles, two trips to the Sweet Sixteen, the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament in 2023, and this year’s Final Four trip.

With Oats recruiting well from the prep and portal ranks, Alabama’s not going anywhere while he is there.

Unless something changes, he is not leaving Tuscaloosa yet.

Billy Donovan, Chicago Bulls (+600)

As with Enfield, Musselman, and Calipari, timing could be everything for Donovan.

Donovan is scheduled to wrap up his tenth season as an NBA head coach, his fifth with the Chicago Bulls, in the coming weeks. Will it be his last?

It could cause a lot of upset among the fanbase at Florida, where he coached from 1996 to 2015 and won back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007.

But the Bulls don’t appear to be close to contending, a superior NBA job isn’t going his way, and this is one of the few college jobs that would make sense.

Would it be a gamble for Kentucky to hire someone who hasn’t coached in college for almost a decade? Certainly, but a Hall of Fame coach is worth that gamble.

Richard Pitino, New Mexico (+1000)

Which one of these is not like the others? That would be Pitino, whose father coached at Kentucky from 1989 to 1997.

Three years ago, the younger Pitino was fired at Minnesota after finishing his eight-season tenure with three losing seasons in four years.

He was quickly hired by New Mexico, and after a 13-19 finish in year one, the Lobos have gone 48-22 in the last two seasons. This season, UNM went 26-10 and won the Mountain West’s automatic bid to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014.

If he continues to win in Albuquerque—he has had a lot of success in the transfer portal—a return to a power conference will happen in due time. But as impressive as his and New Mexico’s turnaround have been, it seems a little soon for this Pitino to land in Lexington unless the search has to go past a few names.

Who will be Kentucky’s next head coach? Bet on how you think the search will play out at BetOnline, where you can also already bet on next season’s March Madness futures odds.