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OREM — Utah Valley's best season in program history has led to a coaching change, with head men's basketball coach (and former Stanford star) Mark Madsen assuming the same role in the Pac-12 with California.
Madsen leaves behind an extensive legacy on University Parkway, a 70-51 record that includes two Western Athletic Conference regular season championships and a WAC Coach of the Year honor in 2023 en route to the Wolverines' first-ever berth to the NIT semifinals.
While the transfer portal could (and will likely) significantly affect next year's roster, the former Los Angeles Lakers big, who was affectionately given the nickname "Mad Dog" by Shaquille O'Neal and the late Kobe Bryant, hardly leaves the cupboard bare, either.
Justin Harmon, a junior college transfer from Chicago, will be a senior next year, as will fellow double-digit scorer Le'Tre Darthard. Breakout 7-foot shot blocker Aziz Bandaogo, the WAC Defensive Player of the Year, has two seasons of eligibility left after the center from Senegal played two years at Akron before transferring to Utah Valley a year ago.
If they stay, the Wolverines have the nucleus of another NCAA Tournament contender.
That decision may rest on who ascends to the next head coaching job on the Orem campus. Expect the Wolverines to move quickly to fill the vacancy left by Madsen. Here are a few names that may be considered.
Todd Phillips, associate head coach, Utah Valley
Sometimes the best answer is the safest.
After winning a junior college national championship at Salt Lake Community College, Phillips made the short drive down I-15 in Taylorsville to join Madsen's staff and was promoted to associate head coach in 2021. He's stood in for Madsen on several occasions, both in coaching and in front of the media microphone, and has everything necessary to be a successful head coach, though he's never led a program at the Division I level.
In nine years at Salt Lake, Phillips led the Bruins to a 205-58 record, including four appearances in the NJCAA national tournament, with a national title in 2016. And he's currently the Wolverines' interim head coach, so he's easy for athletic director Jared Sumsion to find.
Barret Peery, assistant coach, UNLV
If coaching experience is a premium, Utah Valley should look no further than the Payson native who played at Snow College and Southern Utah.
Peery began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at SUU in 1995 before moving on to assistant jobs that included Snow, Portland State, and then-Utah Valley State College. He rose to prominence as head coach at Southern Idaho, leading the Golden Eagles to an 85-19 record in three seasons with two NJCAA national tournament bids.
Peery worked similar wonders at Indian Hills in Iowa, a 96-10 record in three seasons that include an NJCAA national runner-up finish in 2013-14. From there, he moved to Division I, first as an assistant at Arizona State and Santa Clara before accepting his first Division I head coaching job at Portland State in 2017.
Following a 63-57 record with the Vikings, Peery was named associate head coach at Texas Tech from 2021-22 before taking on his current role at UNLV.
The 51-year-old coach, who was part of two American West Conference championships at Southern Utah, was thought to be a candidate for the Texas Tech opening, but the Red Raiders are expected to name North Texas coach Grant McCasland to the job, as reported by CBS Sports' Matt Norlander (among others), after leading the Mean Green to an NIT championship on Thursday.
Chris Burgess, assistant coach, Utah
Former UVU coach Mark Pope's right-hand man during his tenure in Orem, Burgess migrated with Pope to BYU before moving up to the Hill as Craig Smith's assistant coach in 2022 and helped the Runnin' Utes make a dramatic turnaround from 11-20 to 17-15 that included a 10-10 mark in Pac-12 play. It also had Utah on the edge of an at-large selection to the NCAA Tournament for part of the 2022-23 season.
Burgess lived in Utah County during his career at both schools, but he currently works at the same school where his daughter KJ is a standout freshman on the women's volleyball team. He's also making $265,000 annually on Craig Smiths' staff, according to Utah public records, which is more than Madsen's base salary (without bonuses, incentives, benefits and similar compensation).
Would the opportunity to run his own program be worth a return to Orem and potential pay cut?
Jon Judkins, head coach, Utah Tech
The all-time winningest men's basketball coach in the state of Utah, the younger brother of former BYU women's basketball coach (and Utah forward) Jeff Judkins has been on the bench at Utah Tech for 18 seasons and recently signed an extension with the school through the 2026-27 campaign.
Judkins has overseen the former-Dixie State program in its transition first to Division II and then Division I, where he led the Trailblazers to their first-ever Division I postseason win with a victory over Tarleton State in the WAC Tournament and a 320-183 record. Add in his 12-year start at Snow College, and Judkins has more than 600 total career victories — more than any basketball coach in the state, men's or women's.
He's also put down roots in St. George and has been content with the community's reception of his family. Would improved resources, the largest university in the state, and an immediate WAC title contender bring the 59-year-old Salt Lake City native back to the Wasatch Front?
Quincy Lewis, head coach, Lehi High
A move to Utah Valley wouldn't be the first Division I coaching job for the longtime high school legend on the Wasatch Front, but it would be his top head coaching role after joining Dave Rose's staff at BYU in 2015 for four seasons.
Lewis led Lone Peak from 2003 through 2015, guiding the Knights to seven state titles in just over 10 years and earning the mythical MaxPreps national championship in 2013 after finishing with a 26-1 record.
After parting ways with BYU following Rose's retirement, Lewis spent a year as athletic director at his alma mater, Timpview High, before being named the head coach of the Pioneers in 2020. He's gone 45-26 at Lehi, including a 5A state championship in 2021.
The former Wagner star and Seahawks Athletics hall of famer would be making a return to Utah Valley, where he was an assistant from 1997-2002.
Norm Parrish, head coach, Westminster
Parrish became the third coach since the Griffins reinstated their men's basketball program in 1999 a decade ago, and he quickly stabilized a team in transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II.
The 2022-23 season was just Westminster's second losing season under Parrish, moving the former Utah assistant and Salt Lake Community College national champion to 101-79 in Sugarhouse.
Parrish's most successful season came in 2017-18, when the Viewmont High graduate was named RMAC coach of the year and UVU transfer Dayon Goodman RMAC player of the year following a 21-5 campaign that included a 17-5 mark in conference play for a second-place finish in the league.
Paul Peterson, head coach, Wasatch Academy
A former BYU-Hawaii standout, Peterson played professionally in England, Germany and Serbia before returning to his alma mater as an assistant coach in 2010–11 and following former Wasatch Academy head coach David Evans to Sanpete County to lead a top-25 prep program, where he's been since 2018.
Each of the past two UVU coaching hires have been first-time head coaches. Could Peterson be the third?
