Western Michigan nearing deal with new men's basketball coach

Western Michigan cast a wide net in its search for its next head men's basketball coach. And the school appears to have found its guy deep in the heart of Texas. Kahil Fennell, who has been head coach at University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley the past two seasons, is nearing an agreement to be the Broncos' next head coach, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because an announcement hasn't yet been made.

Fennell was expected to fly to Kalamazoo on Friday before signing a contract, and if all goes as planned, he is expected to be introduced during a press conference Monday ― probably at the construction site of Western Michigan's new $500-million-plus arena, which will house both the men's and women's basketball teams and the hockey team, and is set to open in 2027. Fennell, 43, is set to take over for DJ Stephens, who was fired after four losing seasons and a 42-84 record . Fennell's contract is expected to be a five-year deal that starts around $400,000 a year.

Stephen was making $420,000, and is owed a buyout of $420,000. He had two years left on his contract. Fennell is considered a rising star in the business, and what a fast rise it's been.

A little over 10 years ago, he was working in medical device sales, and living a prosperous life in California, before the coaching bug caught him. He's been a head coach the past two years ― Western Michigan athletic director Dan Bartholomae prioritized that trait, following Stephens, who hadn't been a head coach before taking the WMU job ― at UTRGV, where he had two winning seasons at a program that had only three winning seasons in the 21st century before he arrived. The team was 19-14 this season, and 14-8 in the Southland Conference.