Texas A&M men’s basketball program must find a new coach this offseason, as Buzz Williams was officially hired as Kevin Willard’s replacement at Maryland on Tuesday.
Williams, who coached the Aggies from 2019-25, led Texas A&M to the NCAA Tournament the last three seasons, along with first-round wins in 2024 and 2025. The 52-year-old coach previously coached at Marquette and Virginia Tech, bringing him back East with his move to Maryland.
Texas A&M will likely look to move fast in its coaching search, especially with the transfer portal already opening on March 22. The transfer portal closes on Tuesday, April 22.
Here are the top potential candidates to be Texas A&M basketball’s next head coach:
Texas A&M basketball coaching candidates
Chris Beard, Mississippi head coach
Ole Miss coach Chris Beard is an obvious choice for the Aggies. Beard, who recently coached at in-state programs Texas Tech and Texas, led the Rebels to their first-ever Sweet 16 appearance in 2025, and is most known for taking the Red Raiders to the national championship game in 2019.
The 52-year-old coach is considered one of the best coaches in college basketball, albeit he doesn’t come without controversy. Beard was fired from his role at Texas after being arrested on a third-degree felony charge for choking his then-fiancée. Charges were later dropped.
Beard has left a team for another in the same conference before in leaving Texas Tech for Texas. Could he do the same by leaving Ole Miss for Texas A&M?
Grant McCasland, Texas Tech
Grant McCasland is likely not inclined to leave Texas Tech after nearly leading the Red Raiders to the Final Four this season, but he’s certainly worth a call.
McCasland has deep Texas roots, as he coached at North Texas for six seasons before leading Texas Tech the past two seasons. The former Baylor point guard was born in Irving, Texas, and also coached junior college and Division II basketball at Midland College and Midwestern State, respectively.
McCasland would be quite the hire by Texas A&M athletic director Trev Alberts.
Scott Cross, Troy head coach
Another Texas native, Scott Cross was born in Garland, Texas, and led Troy to its third-ever NCAA Tournament berth in 2025 after winning the Sun Belt Conference.
Cross has had quite the impressive career, coaching at Texas-Arlington from 2006-18, leading the Mavericks to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2007-08. Cross won 20 or more games in his final three seasons at Texas-Arlington before being surprisingly fired after the 2017-18 season.
Cross played college basketball at Texas-Arlington from 1995-98, which coincided with Williams’ stint as an assistant coach there. Cross was also an assistant at TCU from 2018-19.
Chris Jans, Mississippi State head coach
Chris Jans has seen recent success in the SEC, and could be worth the call for Texas A&M.
Jans has led Mississippi State to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first three seasons. Before Mississippi State, he was at New Mexico State, where he went to the NCAA Tournament three of his five seasons. He would’ve also likely made the field in 2020-21 if it weren’t for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jans has mostly won at all his stops, with a 206-84 Division I record at Bowling Green, New Mexico State and Mississippi State.
Fred Hoiberg, Nebraska head coach
Fred Hoiberg has led Nebraska to only one NCAA Tournament berth in six seasons as head coach, but Alberts could be inclined to hiring the coach he hired during his time at Nebraska.
Alberts didn’t hire Williams, as Williams was hired by former Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork, who’s now at Ohio State.
Hoiberg took over a program with only seven NCAA Tournament appearances. Nebraska won 24 combined games in Hoiberg’s first three seasons but have since started to pick things up and are competitive in the Big Ten.
The former Chicago Bulls coach is best known for leading his alma mater, Iowa State, to four consecutive NCAA Tournament berths and a Sweet 16 in 2014.