John Calipari leaving: 5 Kentucky MBB head coach candidates

Mick Cronin

Cronin is a native of nearby Cincinnati and knows how to win in the region with stops as an assistant coach at Louisville and head coach at in-state Murray State and Cincinnati. His resume speaks for itself with a 479-224 career record, 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, three Sweet 16 finishes and a Final Four finish over 21 seasons as a head coach leading the Racers, Bearcats and most recently the UCLA Bruins. He received some attention for the Louisville job when it opened up earlier this year, but nothing materialized.

Cronin has been successful in his recent stint with the Bruins, going 115-53 with a 2022 Pac-12 regular season conference title, two Sweet 16 finishes and a Final Four run in five seasons. The biggest drawback to Cronin is likely this past year when UCLA went only 16-17 and missed out on the NCAA Tournament altogether. Is this a big enough black mark on his resume to keep him out of the Wildcats’ running? That remains to be seen.