Indiana Finds Its New Leader: DeVries Takes Over Hoosiers Basketball

The Indiana Hoosiers are looking to reclaim their place among college basketball’s elite, and they’re putting the program in the hands of Darian DeVries. The former West Virginia and Drake head coach has been officially named Indiana’s new head basketball coach, bringing with him a track record of rapid program turnarounds and a hard-nosed coaching style.

DeVries arrives in Bloomington after leading West Virginia to a 19-13 record this past season, an impressive feat considering the Mountaineers had finished at the bottom of the Big 12 standings the year before. Before his one-year stint in Morgantown, he built a powerhouse at Drake, compiling a 150-55 record over six seasons while winning two Missouri Valley Conference tournament titles and leading the Bulldogs to multiple NCAA Tournament appearances.

DeVries has a reputation for getting the most out of his teams, developing gritty, fundamentally sound players, and building winning cultures from the ground up. His success at Drake was no fluke, as the Bulldogs had recorded just five 20-win seasons in the previous 112 years before he arrived—he delivered six straight.

For Indiana, this move signals a desire to restore the championship pedigree that made the program one of college basketball’s blue bloods. The Hoosiers have failed to reach the NCAA Tournament in the past two seasons, and their most recent deep run came in 2002 when they reached the National Championship game. Mike Woodson, a former IU great, was let go after struggling to maintain the program’s trajectory despite bringing Indiana back to the tournament in 2022 and 2023.

Indiana Athletic Director Scott Dolson made it clear that the program wanted a coach who could build sustainable success, and DeVries checked every box. The 49-year-old coach will be officially introduced Wednesday morning, and Hoosier Nation will be eager to hear how he plans to bring Indiana basketball back to national prominence.