Report: Ryan Odom Expected To Leave Utah State For VCU

Mar 29, 2023, 12:38 PM | Updated: Mar 30, 2023, 10:40 am

KSL Sports

LOGAN, Utah – After two seasons at Utah State, Ryan Odom will leave the Aggies to accept the same position with the VCU Rams.

The move was first reported by CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander

VCU will be hiring Utah State coach Ryan Odom, sources told CBS Sports. A deal is not yet done, but the transition is not expected to take long. VCU athletic director Ed McLaughlin has a longstanding relationship with Odom and, per sources, made overtures earlier this week.

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 29, 2023

Per Norlander: “VCU will be hiring Utah State coach Ryan Odom, sources told CBS Sports. A deal is not yet done, but the transition is not expected to take long.”

Odom was hired by Utah State in April 2021 after leading the UMBC Retrievers for the previous five seasons. In two years, Odom amassed a 44-25 record, leading ten-seed USU to a first-round loss to seven-seed Missouri in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

In his first year in Logan, Odom led Utah State to an 18-16 record. The Aggies lost to Oregon in the first round of the NIT in 2022.

Sources: Utah State's Ryan Odom is expected to be a primary target to replace Mike Rhoades at VCU. https://t.co/JTG3qqRdWu

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 29, 2023

Utah State finished the 2022-23 regular season with a 26-9 record including a 13-5 mark in Mountain West play. USU had been selected to finish eighth in the MW preseason media poll.

About Ryan Odom

With Virginia Commonwealth, Odom returns to the eastern US, where he has spent most of his coaching career.

The 48-year-old coach began climbing the coaching ladder as a graduate assistant with the South Florida Bulls during the 1996-97 season.

Not confirming anything, but if reports are true on a vacancy in Logan, there will be plenty of quality candidates willing to lead USU hoops

These things are always messy and it’s the players and fans who ultimately suffer. And that stinks.

As for administration…(1/2)

— Scott Garrard (@ScottyGZone) March 29, 2023

Odom then made stops at Furman (1997-99), UNC Asheville (1999-00), American (2000-03), Virginia Tech (2003-10) and Charlotte (2010-15). His first head coaching opportunity came in 2015 when Odom was named the interim head coach, leading the 49ers to an 8-11 record to end the season.

Odom accepted his first head coaching position when he took over the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears for the 2015-16 season. He led the Bears to a 21-10 finish and an appearance in the NCAA Division II Sweet 16.

Following his success with Lenoir-Rhyne, Odom took over as head coach of the UMBC Retrievers. He spent five season’s at UMBC, winning more than 61 percent of their games to finish with a 97-60 record with the Retrievers. In 2018, the Retrievers became the first 16-seed to advance, blowing out No. 1 overall seed Virginia, 74-54.

Odom takes over a VCU team that had been led for the past six seasons by Mike Rhoades. Rhoades has reportedly accepted the head coaching position at Penn State after leading the Rams to a 27-8 regular season record.

VCU lost to St. Mary’s, 63-51 in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.