CINCINNATI — The University of Cincinnati parted ways with men’s basketball coach Wes Miller on Friday, a source familiar with the decision said, ending his tenure with the Bearcats after five seasons and zero NCAA Tournament appearances.
Miller, 43, had three seasons remaining on a contract extension signed in 2022 with a current buyout of $9.9 million, according to a copy of Miller’s contract obtained by The Athletic. The buyout, offset by future employment, drops to $4.69 million on April 1. It is currently unclear if a settlement was reached or how the timeline of Miller’s departure might impact the final buyout amount, but sources familiar with the decision said it has been part of the university’s deliberation process.
Cincinnati failed to return to March Madness and national prominence under Miller. The Bearcats finished 18-15 this season and are expected to be on the wrong side of the bubble come Selection Sunday. This is their second straight season with fewer than 20 wins and third in five years under Miller, who departs with a record of 100-74 overall and just 23-33 in three seasons of Big 12 play. He was 1-4 against crosstown rival Xavier, with his lone win coming in 2025.
After 10 seasons and two NCAA Tournament berths at UNC Greensboro in the Southern Conference, Miller inherited a complete rebuild with the Bearcats in the wake of John Brannen’s dismissal, and two seasons removed from Mick Cronin’s streak of nine straight NCAA Tournament appearances. Miller also had to navigate the program’s jump from the American Athletic Conference to the Big 12 in his third season, as the Bearcats ramped up resources to a power conference level.
Cincinnati made significant investments in Miller and the program, including a contract extension and a pay raise after his first season, along with consistent staffing increases and competitive NIL budgets. An industry source familiar with the program but unauthorized to speak publicly told The Athletic that roughly $20 million was committed to the Bearcats’ roster over the past two seasons. Miller has recruited well, according to the scouting service rankings, but maximizing and developing that talent has been uneven. There was a similar push-and-pull on both ends of the court as well: The Bearcats have finished in the top 25 of KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency each of the past three seasons, but the offense has lagged well behind.
Cincinnati did seem to unlock some things offensively down the stretch this season, playing through bigs Baba Miller and Moustapha Thiam in the post while winning six of their final eight regular-season games before losing in the second round of the Big 12 tournament. But they had already dug too deep a hole to make a late at-large push into March Madness.
Despite being a school that went to the College Football Playoff in 2021 and joined the Big 12 soon after, much of Cincinnati’s identity is rooted in basketball. A good portion of the fan base still pines for the Bob Huggins era, and those who might have been frustrated with Cronin’s first weekend exits have a better appreciation for what it took to get there year after year. A program that was perennially in the Top 25 and March Madness has become largely irrelevant over the past six years.
There was hope that Miller could return the Bearcats to that level of relevance, and maybe more. He arrived as an outsider in 2021, a walk-on turned national champion at North Carolina and disciple of his former coach Roy Williams, having established a winning foundation and culture at UNCG. He quickly embraced the history and expectations of Cincinnati as well, revering it as an opportunity to coach “at a place where it matters.” But the results never quite followed.
The next Cincinnati coach will step into a more stable environment than Miller did when he took over, and in arguably the best conference in the country. But the expectations are still the same, and the new coach isn’t likely to get five seasons of runway, either.
6 candidates to replace Miller
(In alphabetical order)
Jerrod Calhoun, head coach, Utah State: Calhoun is the obvious choice and early fan favorite. He has Utah State headed to its second NCAA Tournament in his two years on the job, with the Aggies in the top 30 in offensive efficiency both seasons, according to KenPom. That’s after seven seasons spent rebuilding the Youngstown State program. Calhoun is also an Ohio native and Cincinnati graduate who worked as a student assistant under Huggins and again as an assistant at West Virginia. Those ties appeal to a portion of the fan base, but Calhoun deserves consideration regardless. The questions will be whether Cincinnati can afford Calhoun’s reported $4 million buyout on top of whatever it owes Miller, and what other schools with openings might target Calhoun as Utah State prepares for March Madness.
John Groce, head coach, Akron: If the Bearcats can’t land Calhoun, then Groce would be a strong fallback option. It’s been a few years since his failed stint at Illinois — he went 95-75 in five seasons, failing to make the NCAA Tournament his final four years — and Groce has demonstrated his growth as a coach since then. The 54-year-old has taken the Zips dancing in three of the last four seasons, and could make it four out of five with a run to the MAC tournament championship. Not only that, he’s pivoted from playing one of the slowest tempos in America to a run-and-gun, 3-point heavy offense, showcasing rare versatility stylistically. Groce has also spent the majority of his career in Ohio and Indiana.
Eric Olen, head coach, New Mexico: Olen has the Lobos on the NCAA Tournament bubble in his first season in Albuquerque, after leading UC San Diego, his alma mater, to the dance in 2025. Olen’s defensive approach over the past couple of seasons also aligns with what has historically been a strength and pillar of Cincinnati basketball. With some future conference unknowns — New Mexico is remaining in the Mountain West as others depart for the revived Pac-12 — any power-conference interest should be attractive to Olen.
Ryan Pedon, head coach, Illinois State: Pedon was the runner-up behind Miller the last time this job was open. An Ohio State assistant at the time, Pedon has gone 68-64 in four seasons at Illinois State, including 37-43 in Missouri Valley play. He’s likely not the top candidate, but the combination of previous interest and his deep Ohio roots has him on this list. A graduate of Wooster (Division III) and Miami (Ohio), Pedon had stints on staff at Miami, Toledo, Illinois, Butler and the Buckeyes before getting hired at Illinois State.
Josh Schertz, head coach, Saint Louis: He just signed an extension with the Billikens, but Schertz is still going to be one of the hottest names on the carousel. He has Saint Louis at 28-4, atop the Atlantic 10 and headed for an NCAA Tournament in his second season with the Billikens, after doing wonders in three seasons at Indiana State. Schertz can be picky and will be even more expensive with an extension, and it seems highly unlikely Cincinnati will get him to budge, or can even afford to. But the Bearcats would still be wise to check in.
Travis Steele, head coach, Miami (Ohio): Before Cincy fans riot: Yes, Steele was the head coach at rival Xavier, going 70-50 in four seasons with the Musketeers — and that absolutely may disqualify him from consideration. That aside, Steele checks most boxes from a resume and geographical perspective. The Rust Belt lifer knows the area as well as any candidate, and just led the RedHawks to the 21st undefeated regular-season in Division I men’s history. He’s also young enough, at 44, to have a long runway ahead. Does his previous employer make him a nonstarter? Possibly … or it could juice the Crosstown Shootout to the freaking moon. It would be a spectacle, even if not the most realistic.