Belmont’s Casey Alexander is headed to Manhattan, Kansas.
Alexander reportedly signed a five-year deal worth $3.4 million to become the next head men’s basketball coach at Kansas State, per Jon Rothstein. Multiple sources reported the school had moved toward Alexander overnight, and the first inklings of his contract emerged on Friday morning.
Seven seasons deep at Belmont, Alexander and the Bruins produced a Missouri Valley regular-season title this season (his third) at 26-6 despite an upset loss to Drake in the quarterfinals at last week’s MVC tournament in St. Louis.
Casey Alexander Resume
Alexander, 303-180 all-time as a head coach, made stops at Lipscomb (six seasons) and Stetson (two seasons) in the Atlantic Sun. It’s Alexander’s first Power Four coaching gig, and it comes amid one of the worst seasons by Kansas State in recent memory, both on the court and in the media.
Kansas State fired Jerome Tang for cause last month in response to public comments deemed irreparable by the athletic department. Interim Matthew Driscoll, guiding the team through the remainder of its 12-20 finish, described the situation as “absolutely” miserable following a 105-91 loss to BYU in the opening round of the Big 12 tourney on Tuesday.
Tang was 71-57 in four seasons at Kansas State, including a 3-1 NCAA tournament record.
It’s not exactly a clean start for the Wildcats, which must address its ongoing dispute over Tang’s firing in the coming months. But it’s the first step forward in bringing its basketball program back up to speed with the conference.
Alexander’s contract is a five-year commitment, and he’s already proven his ability to win 20 or more games for 10 consecutive seasons between Belmont and Lipscomb, dating back to 2016. He’s also managed to win through the ever-changing vitriol of the transfer portal and the growing landscape of NIL – all while recruiting toward the Group of Six.
In 15 seasons as a coach, Alexander has produced four regular-season titles between Belmont and Lipscomb. He’d led Lipscomb to the NCAA Tournament in 2018 by winning the Atlantic Sun tournament; Belmont won its conference tournament during a pandemic-shortened 2020 season, as well.
