Arizona St. hires Bennett as HC; Saint Mary’s promotes McConnell

arizona state hired St. Mary’s The school announced the hiring of Randy Bennett as its next head coach on Monday.

Sources told ESPN that Bennett is getting a five-year contract.

Saint Mary’s promoted associate head coach Mickey McConnell has been hired to replace Bennett, the school announced. McConnell played for Bennett from 2007 to 2011 and has been on the Gaels’ coaching staff since 2019.

“Leaving Saint Mary’s was a special situation for us and I am energized, motivated and focused to take over Sun Devil basketball, a program I am very familiar with and grew up watching,” Bennett said in a statement. “We are in the best basketball conference in the country and I look forward to the opportunity and am excited to meet everyone who wants to help this program reach our goals in this new landscape. I and my staff will be ready for the challenge.”

Bennett, 63, an Arizona native, has guided Saint Mary’s to 12 NCAA Tournament appearances since taking over in 2001. Under Bennett, Saint Mary’s has won at least four straight WCC regular-season championships and has gone to each of the last five NCAA tournaments. The Gaels made a Sweet 16 appearance in 2010 as a 10-seed, defeating 2-seed Villanova in the second round.

Prior to Bennett’s arrival in 2001, Saint Mary’s had only appeared in three NCAA tournaments and won four conference championships, and were 2–27 the season before Gaels was hired.

He built Saint Mary’s into one of the most consistent mid-major programs in the country under his watch, winning at least 20 games in 18 of the last 19 seasons, including a 30-win season in 2017–18. After being ranked in the AP Top 25 only two seasons in program history, the Gaels were ranked for at least one week in 12 different seasons under Bennett, including eight of the last 10. Bennett won West Coast Conference Coach of the Year seven times, developing a healthy conference rivalry with Mark Few and mid-major powerhouse Gonzaga.

At Arizona State, Bennett replaced Bobby Hurley, whose contract was not renewed after this past season. Hurley was at the helm in Tempe for 11 seasons, guiding the Sun Devils to three NCAA Tournament appearances.

“Coach Bennett is one of the most accomplished and respected coaches in college basketball,” Arizona State athletic director Graham Rossini said in a statement. “We were attracted by his continued success over several decades, his strong recruiting relationships across the country, particularly on the West Coast, and his proven ability to identify and develop international talent. Equally important, he brings a genuine enthusiasm to lead the Sun Devil men’s basketball program.”

This appointment is significant for ASU and is another sign of the school’s growing commitment to athletics, which has always been in question.

The hiring of Bennett and the early NCAA Tournament appearance of first-year women’s coach Molly Miller have provided a boost of energy for ASU basketball. In football, ASU made a College Football Playoff appearance in 2024 under Kenny Dillingham and then signed Dillingham to a five-year deal that included significant program commitments. Rossini, who was hired in May 2024, has led ASU in both the school’s marquee and non-revenue sports.

ASU won the inaugural Big 12’s Commissioner’s Cup, which is determined by graduation success rates, conference regular-season and postseason titles, and on-campus programs that focus on work in the community, mental health, and career development.