Breaking: Ryan Odom leaving Utah State for VCU

After two seasons at Utah State, Ryan Odom has left to be the next head coach for VCU.

Odom’s name has been circulating around the rumor mill before this, with his name coming up for the South Florida opening earlier this week. However, once Mike Rhoades officially took the job at Penn State, Odom quickly became the top target to replace him.

While it may seem like a lateral move, he is an east coast guy and will now return there. He has coached at UNC-Asheville, and Charlotte, ending as the interim coach there before getting his first head-coaching gig at Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) in 2016. He stayed there for a season and then spent the next four at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

From there, Odom ventured to Utah State in 2021. His first year had uneven results, with the team going 18-16 and 8-10 in conference play. This past season, the Aggies saw a great season under his leadership. They went 26-9, including 13-5 in the Mountain West. They scored 78.2 ppg behind their strong three-point shooting, 38.7%, which was good for 10th in the nation. They lost in the Mountain West championship to San Diego State, but qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, they lost their first game.

Utah State released a statement thanking Odom for the past two seasons and announced they will begin a search for their next coach immediately.

Due to the rumors, it is very likely they knew he was looking at other schools and probably already a list of candidates to interview.