Arizona State basketball hires Randy Bennett, longtime Saint Mary's coach
Randy Bennett is leaving Saint Mary's after 25 seasons to take over at Arizona State. What to know of the hire:
A significant college basketball coaching shift is happening on the West Coast. Randy Bennett will be the new Arizona State coach, according to multiple reports, leaving Saint Mary's after spending 25 seasons turning the Gaels into a respectable mid-major program. His final game was a 63-50 loss to No.
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The Saint Mary's job was Bennett's first head coaching role when he took it in 2001, taking over a program that had had little success. After just three NCAA Tournaments prior to his arrival, Bennett took the Gaels to the Big Dance 12 times during his tenure, including each of the past five seasons with at least 26 wins in each campaign during the run. The most successful run of Bennett's tenure was the trip to the Sweet 16 in 2010 as a 10th seed.
During his time, Saint Mary's elevated itself as one of the most successful mid-majors, competing with fellow West Coast Conference member Gonzaga and often taking down the powerful Bulldogs. By putting out quality teams for most of his tenure, the conference was able to send two teams to March Madness consistently, a rarity for mid-majors. Bennett's overall record is 589-228 and he won more than 75% of his conference games.