Jeff Linder is leaving Wyoming to join the staff at Texas Tech

LARAMIE – Wyoming could be looking for a new men's basketball coach.

Jeff Linder He is reportedly leaving Laramie to become a top assistant Grant McCasland at Texas Tech, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel. The 46-year-old has been the Cowboys' bench boss for the past four seasons and has an overall record of 63-59.

Wyoming appeared in the NCAA Tournament once during Linder's short tenure and earned an at-large bid for the 2021-22 season.

Linder and McCasland were on the same team at Midland College from 2004 to 2006.

After a successful four-year tenure as head coach at Northern Colorado, Linder was hired away from Greeley following the 2019 season after leading the Bears to a total of 80 wins and a CIT championship.

He signed on the dotted line as COVID-19 spread across the globe. Still, Linder managed to secure the top recruiting class in the Mountain West, highlighted by future league rookie of the year honors Marcus Williams and preseason player of the year Graham Ike.

After a pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season in which the Cowboys finished 14-11, Hunter Maldonado and Ike took the program to its first trip to March Madness since 2015, winning 25 games and finishing fourth in the conference standings. Wyoming lost to Indiana 66-58 in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio.

That was the highlight of Linder's tenure.

Locker room turmoil and key injuries resulted in the following season's failure before it even began, as Ike suffered a foot injury in preseason that sidelined him for the entire season.

At the beginning of February three players – Max Agbonkpolo, Ethan Anderson And Jake Kyman – abruptly left the team during the week, claiming abuse on the way out the door. Numerous other players would eventually flood the transfer portal, including 13 in the last two seasons.

Linder and Co. have already signed five new players from the portal this spring, including the Portland striker Yuto Yamanouchi Williams, who announced his signing on Wednesday. Four freshmen are expected to join the team this summer.

An attempt to reach Linder was unsuccessful.

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