Akron Zips name Dustin Ford head coach, replacing John Groce

Shortly after College of Charleston announced John Groce as the Cougars' new head coach, the Akron Zips announced they promoted Dustin Ford, Groce's assistant since 2017, to become their head coach.

Ford, who played at Ohio, was an assistant at Western Carolina under Larry Hunter before returning to the Bobcats to become an assistant under Groce. He went with Groce from Ohio to Illinois, and then to Akron.

Ford's brother, Geno, the head coach at Stony Brook, is a former Ohio Mr. Basketball at Cambridge High School who starred at Ohio. Geno ranks sixth all-time among the Bobcats' all-time leading scorers, and trails only Jon Diebler, Franklin's Luke Kennard and Jay Burson among the top scorers in Ohio high school history.

Former Xavier Musketeers head coach and player Chris Mack, a former St. Xavier High School standout, left the Cougars March 25 to become South Florida's head coach. Longtime XU assistant Dante Jackson left the Muskies to join Mack's USF staff.

Groce, Akron's head coach since 2017, is the half-brother of Miami RedHawks head coach Travis Steele. Groce led the Zips to the Mid-American Conference's NCAA Tournament automatic bid, while the RedHawks earned an at-large bid and became the first MAC team to play in the First Four.

Groce was an assistant at Xavier from 2001 to 2004.

In the 2026 NCAA Tournament, Groce's 12th-seeded Zips kept it close with No. 5 Texas Tech for 35 minutes in the round of 64. College basketball analyst Charles Barkley said the RedHawks shouldn't have had to play in the First Four in Dayton, insisting that "it's not their fault everybody in their conference sucks."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Akron Zips name Dustin Ford head coach, replacing John Groce