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

Arizona State has hired Saint Mary’s Randy Bennett as its next head coach, the school announced Monday.

Bennett received a five-year contract, sources told ESPN.

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

“It took a special situation for us to leave Saint Mary’s, and I am energized, motivated and focused on taking over Sun Devil Basketball, a program I know very well and grew up watching,” Bennett said in a statement. “We are participating in the best basketball conference in the country and I look forward to this opportunity and am excited to meet everyone who wants to help this program achieve our goals in the new landscape. My team and I will be up for the challenge.”

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

Before Bennett arrived in 2001, Saint Mary’s had made just three NCAA tournaments and won four conference championships, and the Gaels were 2-27 the season before he was hired.

He has made Saint Mary’s one of the most consistent mid-major programs in the country under his leadership, 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 in just two seasons in program history, the Gaels have been ranked for at least one week in 12 different seasons under Bennett, including eight of the last 10. Bennett won the West Coast Conference Coach of the Year seven times, developing a healthy conference rivalry with Mark Few and mid-major power Gonzaga.

At Arizona State, Bennett replaces Bobby Hurley, whose contract was not renewed after last season. Hurley coached 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 sustained 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. Just as important, he brings true enthusiasm to lead the Sun Devils men’s basketball program.”

This hire is significant for ASU and another signal of the increased commitment to athletics at the school, which has always been in question.

Bennett’s hiring and first-year women’s coach Molly Miller’s first NCAA tournament appearance brought a renewed energy to ASU basketball. In football, ASU made a College Football Playoff appearance under coach Kenny Dillingham in 2024, then signed Dillingham to a five-year deal that included significant program commitments. Rossini, who was hired in May 2024, has moved ASU forward in the school’s flagship, non-profit sports.

ASU won the Big 12’s first Commissioner’s Cup, which is determined by graduation rate, conference titles in the regular season and playoffs and on-campus programs focused on community work, mental health and career development.