Wren Baker and Ross Hodge crossed paths from 2017-2022 while at North Texas.
The two will do so again at West Virginia, with Baker set to announce Hodge as the Mountaineers’ 24th head men’s basketball coach.
BREAKING: West Virginia is hiring North Texas coach Ross Hodge on a five-year contract, sources tell CBS Sports. The deal will be officially announced soon. Hodge’s UNT team is still playing in the NIT. Hodge has ties to WVU AD Wren Baker, who was at UNT before getting to WVU.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 26, 2025
Hodge spent the last two seasons as head coach at North Texas, where Baker served as Director of Athletics from 2016 until assuming the same position at WVU in 2022.
Prior to becoming head coach of the Mean Green, Hodge was North Texas’ associate head coach for six seasons, working under Grant McCasland for that time.
McCasland is now in his second season as head coach at Texas Tech.
University officials confirm hiring of North Texas coach Ross Hodge. WVU AD Wren Baker was AD at UNT when Hodge was associate head coach with Grant McCasland at UNT.
— Hoppy Kercheval (@HoppyKercheval) March 26, 2025
Since replacing McCasland as head coach at North Texas, the 44-year-old Hodge is 46-23 and 24-12 within the American Athletic Conference.
Much of North Texas’ success stems from its defensive play, with the Mean Green ranking third nationally in scoring defense at 59.5 points — behind only Houston and Drake. North Texas, however, is 310th in scoring at 68 points.
By comparison, West Virginia was 308th in scoring this season at 68.2 points and 20th in scoring defense at 64.8.
North Texas is 362nd among 364 teams in adjusted tempo, a metric on kenpom.com indicating the amount of possessions a team has per 40 minutes that is adjusted based on opponents. WVU was 331st in the same category this season.
The Mean Green won Tuesday at Oklahoma State, 61-59, for a spot in a NIT semifinal to be played next Tuesday.
Hodge had followed McCasland to North Texas after the pair worked together for one season at Arkansas State.
Hodge was also previously an assistant at Colorado State and Southern Miss, which followed his time as head coach at a pair of junior colleges — Midland and Paris JC. He was 83-17 with an Elite Eight appearance in 2008 over three seasons at Paris, before compiling a 63-7 mark at Midland College, including a 31-win season that culminated with a national runner-up finish in 2011.
For his one season at Southern Miss and four at Colorado State, Hodge was an assistant to Larry Eustachy.
Hodge replaces Darian DeVries, who left after his first season in Morgantown to become head coach at Indiana. He is the Mountaineers’ fourth head coach over the last four seasons, joining a list that also includes Bob Huggins and Josh Eilert.
