Utah State AD Diana Sabau Speaks On Basketball Coaching Search

LOGAN, Utah – Utah State athletics director Diana Sabau joined the KSL Sports Zone to talk about the coaching search for the men’s and women’s basketball teams.

USU basketball fans recently went through some highs and lows after head coach Danny Sprinkle left for Washington following the Aggie’s best season in over a decade.

Sabau On The Coaching Search And Why It Isn’t A Straightforward Process

There are a lot of moving parts and things to consider when bringing in a new coach.

First, they have to have the ability to lead and relate to the roster that is currently in place. But, they also have to align with the university and fans so there’s a chance that they will stick around in Logan for the foreseeable future.

Sabau said that the biggest priority is the student-athletes.

“It’s been a very busy week,” Sabau said. “Our first priority is trying to preserve our locker room. Right now, we’re at an unheard-of position. I’m really thankful for the opportunity to be able to see our team through this process.”

Aggie Nation and @usuHURD … YOU are amazing🤘🏻💙‼️ pic.twitter.com/pkUCBk76s2

— Diana Sabau (@UtahState_AD) March 25, 2024

After rumors came out earlier this week that Utah State had already selected a coach, people close to the situation said that is not the case.

Sabau reinforced this, saying that the candidate pool has been dwindling but there isn’t a finalized decision yet.

“We narrowed down our candidate pool,” Sabau said. “We’ve had quite a lot of outreach from across the country. Head coaches, associate coaches who just want to be the next head coach at Utah State University.”

When Will The Announcement Come?

However, Sabau went on to say that Aggie fans can expect an announcement as soon as next week.

“I’m hoping that early next week, we can have some great announcements,” Sabau said.

New standard for @USUBasketball!

Gratitude for all the hard work and goals achieved. Special group of student-athletes, thank you🤘🏻💙‼️ pic.twitter.com/8YLgH8sUVg

— Diana Sabau (@UtahState_AD) March 25, 2024

Following a very successful season that saw Utah State make the NCAA Tournament, it only makes sense that the pool of head coach candidates would be stacked.

Sabau said that this is exactly the case for both the men’s and women’s head coach positions.

“We are going to be great and we are going to continue to elevate our standards,” Sabau said. “I’m not going to bring someone here who is just going to check a box and be good. The pool of candidates is very, very strong for both.”

Even though there are a lot of great candidates, Sabau explained that the coach will have to check a lot of boxes.

“(We) started the process by looking for some pillars that we needed,” Sabau said. “We need someone who plays a Mountain West style of offense and defense. A lot of times we focus on offense but we need some really great defense. We have to figure out how to get to the tournament and not be an 8-seed because you go through the meat grinder every time.”

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Chandler Holt is a co-host for the Jazz Notes podcast and a Digital Sports Producer for KSLSports.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter @ChandlerHoltKSL or on Threads @chandlerho1t.

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