Ole Miss names Chris Beard, Head Men’s Basketball Coach

OXFORD, Miss. – Four-time conference coach of the year and 2019 national coach of the year Chris Beard will continue his success in Oxford and the SEC, as he has been named Ole’s 23rd head men’s basketball coach. Miss by Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics Keith Carter on Friday.

The public opening will take place Tuesday at 5 p.m. CT at the Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. The event will be open to the public and shown live on The Paul Finebaum Show on SEC Network and televised in its entirety on SEC Network+. Doors open at 4:30pm

“We are very excited to welcome Coach Beard and his children, Avery, Ella and Margo, to the Ole Miss family,” Carter said. “We thoroughly evaluated several outstanding candidates, and there is no doubt that Coach Beard is one of the top coaches in the nation. After doing due diligence and speaking to several individuals on and off the court, it is evident that he is the right person to lead our team. to greatness.

“At every stop in his career, Coach Beard has proven to be a dynamic program builder and leader whose teams show relentless effort. He is a tireless recruiter and develops talent to reach their greatest potential. He has coached at many levels of basketball. college. and have competed for championships at every school. Simply put, Coach Beard is a champion, and the best years of Ole Miss Basketball are ahead of us under his leadership.”

Beard has led three different programs to the NCAA Tournament since 2016, including appearances in the 2019 National Championship game and the opening Elite Eight the year before at Texas Tech. As a head coach, he has a record of 237-98 for one of the top winning percentages among active coaches in the nation at 70.7 percent. Beard also has an 11-5 career mark in the NCAA Tournament, highlighted by a perfect 5-0 record in the opening round.

“I am honored to join the Ole Miss family and excited to begin at this great university,” Beard said. “I can’t thank Chancellor Boyce, Keith Carter and the rest of the search committee enough for their confidence in me to lead this program. I really look forward to being an active part of the Oxford community. I know we have one of the best places in the country.” at SJB Pavilion, and we will work tirelessly to build a championship-caliber program. I can’t wait to connect with players and recruits and start this journey together.”

Most recently, Beard was the head coach at his alma mater, the University of Texas, where he compiled a 29-13 record over two years, including a 22-12 record and a second-round finish in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. the first season. That year, all five of his starters earned all-conference honors, highlighted by his defensive prowess as Texas led the Big 12 and was ranked No. margin (+3.4).

Prior to his tenure at Texas, Beard spent five seasons at Texas Tech, where he took a program with five losing seasons in six years prior to his arrival and became a national powerhouse. Compiling a 112-55 (.671) record in five seasons, he took the program on a high note, making an Elite Eight appearance in just his second season before leading the Red Raiders to the national title game in his third year. Missing the postseason for the fourth year due to COVID-19, he closed his career at Texas Tech with 18 wins and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Prior to his leadership in the Big 12, Beard was the head coach for one season at Little Rock, where he went 30-5, won the Sun Belt Conference title, and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He previously spent two years as the head coach at Angelo State from 2013-2015, and one season as the head coach at McMurry.

Beard has coached three NBA draft picks since 2018, including first-round pick Zhaire Smith by the Phoenix Suns at No. 16 in 2018, and lottery pick Jarrett Culver at No. 6 by the Suns in 2019.

On the recruiting trail, Beard has been ranked among the best in the country, earning top 10 rankings in the classes of 2022, 2020, and 2018. Texas’ most recent class of 2022 was ranked No. 6 in the nation by 247Sports and No. 8 by Rivals, with Texas Tech’s final class of 2020 earning similar accolades at No. 7 by Rivals and No. 11 by 247Sports. Prior to Texas Tech’s national runner-up season in 2018-19, its recruiting class was ranked No. 8 by Rivals.

He spent 10 seasons on the staff at Texas Tech after he was hired as an assistant coach in 2001 under Hall-of-fame coach Bob Knight, and spent three years as an associate head coach from 2008 to 2011. Beard was the head coach at Seminole State. college in 2000-01, going 25-6. He spent the previous season as the head coach at Fort Scott Community College, and was on staff as an assistant previously at North Texas for two seasons (1997-99) and Abilene Christian for one (1996-97).

Beard graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology from Texas in 1995, where he also worked as a student assistant under head coach Tom Penders. He earned a master’s degree in education from Abilene Christian University in 1998 after spending the previous year as a graduate assistant at Incarnate Word.

BEARD CAREER COACHING

1995-96: Incarnation Word (Graduate Assistant), 20-9
1996-97: Abilene Christian (Assistant Coach), 15-12
1997-98: North Texas (Assistant Coach), 5-21
1998-99: North Texas (Assistant Coach), 4-12
1999-2000: Fort Scott CC (Head Coach), 19-12, NJCAA Regional
2000-01: Seminole State College (Head Coach), 25-6
2001-02: Texas Tech (Assistant Coach), 23-9, NCAA Round of 64
2002-03: Texas Tech (Assistant coach), 22-13, NIT 3rd Place
2003-04: Texas Tech (Assistant Coach), 23-11, NCAA Round of 32 2004-05: Texas Tech (Assistant Coach), 22-11, NCAA Sweet 16 2005-06: Texas Tech (Assistant Coach), 15-17
2006-07: Texas Tech (Assistant Coach), 21-13, NCAA Round of 64
2007-08: Texas Tech (Assistant Coach), 16-15
2008-09: Texas Tech (Associate Head Coach), 14-19
2009-10: Texas Tech (Associate Head Coach), 19-16, NIT Quarterfinals
2010-11: Texas Tech (Associate Head Coach), 13-19
2012-13: McMurry (Head Coach), 19-10, NCAA Central Regional
2013-14: Angelo State (Head Coach), 19-9
2014-15: Angelo State (Head Coach), 28-6, NCAA Division II Sweet 16
2015-16: Little Rock (Head Coach), 30-5, NCAA Round of 32
2016-17: Texas Tech (Head Coach), 18-14
2017-18: Texas Tech (Head Coach), 27-10, NCAA Elite Eight
2018-19: Texas Tech (Head Coach), 31-7, NCAA Runner-Up
2019-20: Texas Tech (Head Coach), 18-13 (no postseason, COVID-19)
2020-21: Texas Tech (Head Coach), 18-11, NCAA Round of 32
2021-22: Texas (Head Coach), 22-12, 2022-23 NCAA Round of 32: Texas (Head Coach), 7-1

FAST FACTS about beards

• Led three different programs to the NCAA Tournament since 2016
• AP National Coach 2019
• Texas Tech’s Guide to the 2019 National Championship Game
• Has a 70.7% winning percentage as a head coach
• 11-5 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including a 5-0 record in opening round games
• Four-time conference coach of the year award winner
• Top-10 recruiting classes nationally ranked by Rivals in 2022 (No. 8, Texas), 2020 (No. 7, Texas Tech), and 2018 (No. 8, Texas Tech).
• 2015-16 Sun Belt Regular Season and Tournament Champions in Little Rock
• Purdue is seeded No. 5 in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament in double overtime in Little Rock
• 2018-19 Big 12 Regular Season Co-Champion