Randy Bennett trending to be hired as ASU's basketball's new head coach
Mesa-native Randy Bennett may be very well poised for a homecoming. Individuals with knowledge on this matter have informed Devils Digest that Bennett, 63, who has coached at St. Mary’s (Calif.) for nearly the entirety of this century, has been in advanced negotiations with ASU 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 the 11 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.
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.
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.
