Sports

Jerrod Calhoun leaving Youngstown State to become Utah State head coach

By Chris Pugh

Updated March 30, 2024 7:07 PM

Youngstown State men’s basketball coach Jerrod Calhoun accepted a deal to become the next head coach of Utah State.

The story first broke Friday night with a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Thamel reported that Calhoun will receive a five-year contract at the school.

Utah State confirmed Thamel’s report with a tweet on Saturday.

“I want to thank Jerrod for the incredible impact he made on our men’s basketball program, on the lives of our student-athletes, and our Youngstown community,” Youngstown State Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Ron Strollo said in a statement. “He and his wife, Sarah, made Youngstown their home and invested in our Mahoning Valley. He brought Youngstown State its first basketball conference championship, and our program continues its upward trajectory. Coach Calhoun was a driving force in facilitating our upcoming Beeghly Center renovations, which are set to begin on May 6, 2024. We wish Jerrod, Sarah, and their family the best of luck at Utah State University.”

Calhoun won Youngstown State’s first Horizon League regular-season championship in 2023.

Calhoun has been the head coach at Youngstown State since 2017, winning the Penguins’ first-ever Horizon League regular-season championship in 2023 and posting back-to-back 20-plus win seasons for the first time in program history.

He’s recorded four of the 13 winning seasons in Penguin history in his seven years as coach of the team.

Utah State made the second round of the NCAA Tournament this season. They defeated TCU 88-72 in the first round before falling to Purdue 106-67 on March 24.

The team was looking for a new leader after former head coach Danny Sprinkle took the Washington head coaching job on Monday.

It’ll be a five-year deal for Jerrod Calhoun at Utah State, per ESPN sources. The school also stepped up its financial commitment to staff, as it aims to defend the Mountain West regular season title. https://t.co/E449nWSP32
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 30, 2024

Sign up for Mahoning Matters newsletters

Keep up with our daily Mahoning Matters news coverage of the Mahoning Valley, Ohio, Pennsylvania, the U.S. and world. Sign up here for our newsletters.

Donate to our Journalism Impact Fund

In collaboration with the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, we've created the Mahoning Matters Journalism Impact Fund – an innovative and community-centered approach to funding local journalism. To make a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation to the Mahoning Matters Journalism Impact Fund visit CFMV’s donation page.

This story was originally published March 30, 2024 at 8:29 AM.