Longtime Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett set for move to Arizona State: Source

TEMPE, Ariz. — Randy Bennett, who has led one of the top mid-major programs for years, is set to become the next head coach at Arizona State, a source briefed on the situation confirmed to the Athletic.

Bennett has spent the previous 25 seasons at Saint Mary’s, where he’s led the Gaels to 12 NCAA Tournament bids as the school’s career leader in wins. This season, Saint Mary’s finished 27-6, completing the regular season as co-champions of the West Coast Conference before losing to Texas A&M in the NCAA Tournament’s first round.

Bennett, 63, replaces Bobby Hurley, who did not have his contract renewed after 11 seasons in the desert. Arizona State has made one NCAA Tournament in seven years and has not advanced beyond the first round in 13 years. It’s considered one of the country’s tougher power-conference jobs.

Jeff Goodman first reported the hire.

Bennett has been linked to Arizona State for years because of his roots. He was a popular candidate to replace Rob Evans in 2006, but the job ultimately went to North Carolina State’s Herb Sendek. Bennett told The Arizona Republic at the time that although the Sun Devils did not contact him, he had a strong interest in the school because it was home.

Six years later, as Saint Mary’s became a mid-major power, The San Francisco Chronicle reported that rumors of Bennett leaving for a bigger program had faded, but warned that they could always resurface if the Arizona State job opened.

Bennett grew up in Mesa, Ariz. His father, Tom Bennett, was a successful high school coach and worked for 19 seasons at Mesa Community College, where he is a part of the Mesa Thunderbird Athletics Hall of Fame. Bennett attended Mesa Westwood High School and played for his father at MCC before transferring and finishing his career at UC San Diego.

Bennett was an assistant coach at Idaho, San Diego, Pepperdine and Saint Louis before taking the lead job at Saint Mary’s in 2001. There, he inherited a program coming off a 2-27 season and steadily built it into a consistent winner by excelling at recruiting international talent. The Gaels posted 16 seasons of 25-plus wins under Bennett. Bennett won seven WCC Coach of the Year awards.

One misstep: In 2013, the NCAA placed Saint Mary’s on four years’ probation for failing to monitor the basketball program, a decision that stemmed from the recruiting actions of an assistant coach. In addition to scholarship reductions and other penalties, Bennett was suspended for five games. Then-athletic director Mark Orr said the incident did not alter his opinion of Bennett as a person or coach.

Bennett is known for strong defense and deliberate offense. Saint Mary’s ranked 298th in tempo this season but used its size to become one of the country’s top rebounding teams. The Gaels’ regular-season WCC championship, shared with Gonzaga, was the program’s fourth straight. Per KenPom, they entered the postseason as one of 26 teams ranked in the Top 50 in offensive and defensive efficiency.

The Sun Devils experienced highs under Hurley — one year reaching as high as No. 3 in the AP Top 25 — but failed to maintain them. Although their NIL support has improved, the Sun Devils struggled to retain top players after a season or two under Hurley.

Athletics director Graham Rossini recently said that the university is committed to winning and is making positive steps. A $100 million renovation project for Desert Financial Arena, a facility past its prime, is scheduled to begin this summer, with an approximate completion time of Dec. 2029.

Rossini, as he began his search for a new coach, said he wanted to hire not only someone qualified to coach in the competitive Big 12, but someone excited to build a winner at Arizona State.

Saint Mary’s is expected to promote associate head coach Mickey McConnell to head coach. McConnell, a former Gaels player, has been on the coaching staff since 2019.