Arkansas State- Sun Belt
Departed coach/record: Brian Boyer, 20 seasons (333-287 overall, 193-145 in the Sun Belt)
Reason for departure: Boyer’s contract was not renewed after the program’s performance dropped off in recent seasons. The team won 20+ games and made the WNIT each season from 2013-16, but haven’t finished above .500 in the three seasons since.
New coach/previous position: Matt Daniel, out of coaching: Perhaps a surprising hire without all of the context, Daniel is named head coach after sitting out the past two seasons from coaching. A Jonesboro, Arkansas native, Daniel stepped down from his head coaching position at Marshal in 2017 when his wife, a dentist, received a great job offer back in Arkansas.
While at Marshall, he recorded a 71-85 record. While those numbers don’t jump off the page, it must be noted that 41 of those losses came in his first two seasons while the team was still in rebuild mode. He went on to take the Thundering Herd to births in the WBI and the WNIT.