by: R.J. Rice
Ross Hodge was recently named West Virginia University’s 24th head basketball coach. Hodge has head coaching experience from multiple schools and has shown that he can win in different situations.
Hodge’s first head coaching stop was at Paris Junior College, where he was a former player. He coached in Paris, TX, from 2006 to 2009 and had an overall record of 83-17 for the Dragons while setting multiple school records, including most wins in school history (30), and had his team ranked No. 4 in the rankings.
Midland was Hodge’s next stop, where he led the Chaparrals to a record of 63-7 in his two seasons as head coach. From 2009 to 2011, the Midland Chaparrals won a Western Junior College Athletic Conference title and a Region Five Tournament title under his leadership.
Hodge had a couple of associate head coaching jobs before he landed in Denton, TX, to be the associate head coach for North Texas. This stop was different for him, as he was coaching under Grant McCasland, but that changed once McCasland took the Texas Tech head coaching job in 2023. Starting in 2023, Hodge instilled a defensive-minded team. The Mean Green won 46 games under his two seasons as head coach, and his team appeared in the NIT semifinals this past season.
Hodge’s new challenge begins now in Morgantown. This chapter will be his biggest test yet, as he has to use the transfer portal and manage West Virginia’s NIL money to build a competitive roster in the Big 12.
To hear more about Ross Hodge, check out this episode of Hoops from the Hills.
Photo Credit: WVU Athletics
