West Virginia is working toward a deal to hire North Texas' Ross Hodge as its next head coach, and an agreement is expected to be reached in the near-future, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.
Hodge is still coaching in the NIT, as the Mean Green won at Oklahoma State on Tuesday night to advance to the event's Final Four. They will play the winner of UC Irvine vs. UAB next Tuesday.
West Virginia athletic director Wren Baker knows Hodge from his time as UNT's AD from 2016 to 2022. Hodge was an assistant coach with the Mean Green under Grant McCasland from 2017 to 2023 before taking over as the head coach when McCasland left for Texas Tech two years ago.
Hodge led North Texas to a 19-15 record in his first season as head coach, but he made major strides this season as the Mean Green (27-8) finished second in the AAC.
If hired, Hodge would replace Darian DeVries, who left the Mountaineers last week to take over at Indiana. DeVries was only in Morgantown for one season, leading the Mountaineers to a 19-13 record.
Over the past five years, North Texas has had the second-best scoring defense in the country, behind only Houston. The Mean Green ranked third nationally this season in that category, allowing fewer than 60 points per game.
Prior to joining McCasland's staff at Arkansas State and then North Texas, Hodge had experience as an assistant coach at Colorado State and Southern Miss and spent time as a head coach at Midland College and Paris Junior College.
