BREAKING: Randy Bennett will be hired as ASU's new basketball head coach
Mesa-native Randy Bennett has made his long-awaited homecoming. Individuals with knowledge of ASU’s hiring process informed Devils Digest that Bennett, 63, who has coached at St. Mary’s (Calif.) for nearly the entirety of this century, has accepted ASU’s offer to assume the head coaching position after Arizona State declined to extend the contract of Bobby Hurley.
In 2001, Bennett assumed his first-ever head coaching job, hired by Gaels, and ever since, he has been extremely successful, establishing himself as the winningest coach in school history. His record with the program is 589–228 (.721), including a mark of 304–99 (.754) in the West Coast Conference, a league where he was named Coach of the Year seven times, the last coming in 2025. Additionally, he captured seven regular-season titles in that league, including the last four consecutive years (two shared championships in two of those years), and registered four conference tournament crowns.
Bennett led St. Mary’s to 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, including the last five campaigns reaching the Round of 32 on three occasions during that period. Last Thursday, ranked as a No. 7 seed, they lost to 10th-seeded Texas A&M 63-50.
“It was a very tough decision for him,” San Francisco Chronicle Basketball writer Ron Kroichick. “He feels loyalty to both St. Mary’s and me; he obviously has an affection for Arizona, because he grew up there. Personally, it’s (ASU) one of the few jobs, if not the only job, he would consider, because of his ties, the conference they play in, and the resources Arizona State has. The timing of Gonzaga leaving the WCC (for the new Pac-12) severely impacts St. Mary’s going forward. I think you could argue it’s become the best rivalry on the West Coast. It’s a significant rivalry for St. Mary’s. It helps St. Mary’s in terms of prestige, in terms of visibility, and in terms of getting into the NCCA Tournament every year.
“So, it’s a little different than it was 10 years ago, when Cal and other schools were going after him.”
Bennett has nearly 40 years of coaching experience at the NCAA Division I level. After serving as an assistant coach for 16 years at San Diego (1985-96), Pepperdine (1996-99), and Saint Louis (1999-01). Coming into the 2025-26 season, Bennett has coached 28 different players who earned All-WCC recognition, with a total of 39 First team and nine Honorable Mention selections. He also guided six players to WCC Defensive Player of the Year awards.
“He’s a great coach,” Kroichick commented. “He gets a lot out of his talent. He’s obviously recruited well in Australia, as you know. I’ve written about this a couple of times, that he’s really good at developing players who get better under his leadership. There are many examples of that, particularly guards, who don’t necessarily wow you their freshman year, or they don’t even play their freshman year. But by the end of their careers, they’re productive players. That’s obviously a key to coaching, and it’s been a key to his success at St. Mary’s.
“He’s adaptable. I don’t think you’re going to see him turn over his roster every year in the transfer portal. I think his philosophy is certainly old school in the sense that he’d prefer to recruit high school kids and develop them. That’s been his pattern at St. Mary’s, and my guess is he would try to do the same at Arizona State if he takes the job. He might have to change his approach in the Big 12, and you’d think he’s going to change it somewhat. I guess it just matters how dramatic, how drastically.”
Bennett attended Mesa (Ariz.) Community College, where he played basketball for his father, Tom, from 1980 82. At MCC, Randy Bennett helped his team to a 31-4 record and an Arizona Junior College championship and a No. 10 national ranking in the 1980-81 season. In the 1981-82 season, Bennett was the team captain and led the team to a 25-6 record and a second-straight Arizona Junior College championship. After his two years at MCC, Bennett went on to play for the University of California at San Diego in from 1983-85.
The appeal for Bennett to be closer to his parents and his family, and Arizona State’s desire to land an accomplished coach with strong ties to the Valley of the Sun and established recruiting relationships throughout the West region and internationally, could ultimately fill the vacancy in Tempe in the next few days.
