photo courtesy goblueraiders.com

The search for the new face of Blue Raider basketball is over.

The position was left vacant when Ole Miss swooped in and made longtime MTSU coach Kermit Davis a offer he finally could not refuse. Davis has had been a hot name in coaching searches over the last two years, but no team could ever give him a good enough reason to leave. Ole Miss, however, gave him 2.5 million reasons to leave. That’s right, Davis cashed in his incredible success over the last few seasons in Murfreesboro to the tune of $2.5 million per year.

Davis’ seat on the bench hardly had time to get cold before Nick McDevitt was named his successor less than a week after MT’s season had come to an end. McDevitt was one of 12 coaches interviewed for the position.

McDevitt comes to Murfreesboro by way of Asheville, North Carolina, where he headed up the program at UNC-Asheville. McDevitt inherited a 16–16 Bulldogs squad, but by his third season he had turned them into a 20-win team. The Bulldogs have broken the 20-win plateau each of the last three seasons, winning the Big South regular season championship the last two years and winning the Big South tournament in 2016.

McDevitt describes his style as “tough” and “gritty” on defense, and as “up-tempo” offensively.

Unfortunately, as often happens during coaching transitions, the 2018 recruiting may turn out to be a total loss. Tye Fagan, K.J. Buffen and Carlos Curry, all out of Georgia, all committed to Davis before his departure. They had been lauded as the best recruiting class for Middle in over 20 years, but all three have asked for their release from MTSU. However, all three have also stated that Middle is still on their short list.

McDevitt would like to keep these players at MTSU, and described the three as “guys who can help you win in this league.”

McDevitt has yet to compile a staff, but it appears there will be no holdovers from Davis’ staff.