Three former WSU assistant coaches leading teams into NCAA Tournament

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — No, Wichita State University did not make it into the NCAA Tournament, but there are still some Shocker connections for fans to follow during the dance.

Three former Wichita State assistant coaches, who are now head coaches at different schools, are set to lead their teams this week, as early as Wednesday night.

Chris Jans, now the head coach at Mississippi State, Tad Boyle, now the head coach at Colorado, and Donnie Jones, now the head coach at Stetson, are former assistant coaches at Wichita State.

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Chris Jans

Jans was first on staff with Gregg Marshall from 2007 to 2014, helping the Shockers to the NIT Championship in 2011. He rejoined the program for the 2016-2017 season before he left to become the head coach at New Mexico State.

While at New Mexico State, Jans led the Aggies to a 122-32 overall record and reached the NCAA Tournament three times.

Following five seasons with the Aggies, he took over the program at Mississippi State. He’s in his second season with the Bulldogs and has an overall record of 42-26.

Tad Boyle

The Colorado Buffaloes are actually set to tip off their NCAA Tournament hopes on Wednesday night as they play in the First Four, the play-in round of the tournament. Boyle has been at the helm in Boulder since 2010.

Boyle actually played his college basketball at Kansas under both Ted Owens from 1981 to 1983 and Larry Brown from 1983 to 1985.

He was an assistant coach for the Shockers from 2000 to 2006 before taking the head coaching job at Northern Colorado, where he was until 2010 when he headed to Boulder to coach the Buffaloes.

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Donnie Jones

Jones is leading his Stetson squad into the NCAA Tournament with an opening-round matchup with the defending national champions UConn (Connecticut).

Jones only had a brief stop at Wichita State from 2017 to 2018. He was the head coach at Marshall from 2007 to 2010, then went to Central Florida from 2010 to 2016 prior to joining Wichita State’s staff.

After leaving Wichita State, Jones was at Dayton for one season before assuming the head coaching job at Stetson in 2019, where he is in his fifth season.

Jones’ overall record at Stetson is 78-77, and the team finished this last season 22-12. They’ve appeared in postseason play three times, playing in the CBI Invitational during the 2020-2021 season and 2022-20223 season.

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