5 potential coaching candidates at Butler after Thad Matta retired

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Mar 16, 2026 - 22:00
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5 potential coaching candidates at Butler after Thad Matta retired

Another power conference men's basketball job has officially opened.

On Monday, Butler announced that coach Thad Matta has decided to retire following the season. Matta, who coached at Ohio State from 2004-17 and led the Buckeyes to a pair of Final Fours, was in his second stint with the Bulldogs, having been rehired in 2022.

Matta was 63-69 over the last four seasons at Butler with a 39-55 record in Big East play and no NCAA tournament appearances.

Butler has a long history of success, reaching back-to-back Final Fours in 2010 and 2011 and six total Sweet 16s (most recently in 2017). This Big East job is sure to draw some interest, so let's take a look at a few names that could be in the mix to replace Matta, who is remaining with his alma mater as a special assistant to the university president and athletics director.

Ronald Nored - Atlanta Hawks assistant

A former star player at Butler, Nored was a member of both Final Four teams and was a two-time Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year selection. The 36-year-old has spent most of his coaching career in the NBA, spending two seasons as the head coach of the Long Island Nets of the G League. He did spend one year in the college ranks as an assistant at Northern Kentucky, and he has been on the Hawks staff since 2023. Nored is a "name to keep in mind" at his alma mater, per basketball insider Adam Zagoria.

Travis Steele - Miami (Ohio) coach

Steele was just 70-50 in his previous Big East stint at Xavier, but he's become a hot name in the coaching carousel once again after leading the Redhawks to an unbeaten regular season. He's 83-47 in his four years in Oxford, and he led the Redhawks to their first NCAA tournament bid since 2007 this season.

John Groce - Akron coach

Another MAC coach with power conference experience, Groce only made the NCAA tournament once in five years at Illinois. However, he has led the Zips to four March Madness bids, including in each of the last three seasons. He's 197-93 in his time in Akron.

Ryan Pedon - Illinois State coach

A former Butler assistant under Chris Holtmann from 2015-17, Pedon is in his fourth season with the Redbirds. He's just 68-64, but he's turned in back-to-back winning campaigns. Illinois State won the CBI last season, and it secured an NIT bid this year.

Brad Stevens - Boston Celtics president of basketball operations

Let's have a little fun. Stevens has been a white whale in quite a few college basketball coaching searches since he left Butler to take over the Celtics in 2013. Those rumors have only ramped up since he left his head coaching job in 2021 to move into a front office role with Boston. It's certainly a long shot, but if Stevens has any desire to return to college coaching, Butler is a more appealing job than it was when he left, now that it's a member of the Big East.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Butler basketball candidates to replace Thad Matta

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