Report: WSU Cougars offer men’s basketball coach job
Apr 1, 2024, 2:43 PM | Updated: Apr 2, 2024, 12:20 pm
(Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Update 12:20 p.m. Tuesday: Montana State coach Matt Logie has reportedly turned down the WSU Cougars men’s basketball job, per Matt Norlander of CBS Sports. For more, read the story at this link.
The WSU Cougars have reportedly zeroed in on a candidate to fill their men’s basketball head coach vacancy.
According to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, Washington State University has made an offer to Montana State head coach Matt Logie to be the successor to Kyle Smith, who left the school last week to become Stanford’s head coach.
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Logie has deep ties in Washington. A Mercer Island native, he played high school ball under his grandfather, legendary Mercer Island High School coach Ed Pepple, who won four state championships and was inducted into multiple halls of fame. Logie himself had a long tenure coaching in the state, served as head coach at Whitworth University in Spokane from 2011-19.
The 2023-24 season was Logie’s first at Montana State, where he took over after Danny Sprinkle moved on from the Bobcats to coach at Utah State. Sprinkle was named the new UW Huskies coach last week, meaning the two most recent Montana State coaches could be in-state rivals next season.
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Norlander’s report Monday does not say Logie to Pullman is a done deal, however. Norlander writes: “Logie is mulling the offer and is undecided/torn because Montana State has put an extension on the table—with a big pay bump.”
Another report on Monday by Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 identified Eastern Washington’s David Riley as the other top candidate for WSU alongside Logie.
Logie led Montana State to its third straight NCAA Tournament appearance this season after the Bobcats knocked off rival Montana 85-70 for the Big Sky Tournament championship. Montana State, which had a 17-18 overall record in 2023-24, lost to Grambling State in the First Four round of the NCAA Tournament.
Prior to coming to Montana State, Logie coached at Point Loma in California for four seasons.
The WSU Cougars went 25-10 this season to finish second in the Pac-12 and make their first NCAA Tournament since 2008, where they beat Drake before falling in the Round of 32 to Iowa State.
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