Rick Pitino made a significant impact this season in the Big East, leading the St. John’s Red Storm to both the regular season and conference championships in just his second year. Although the NCAA tournament ended prematurely for the Johnnies with a 75-66 defeat to the Arkansas Razorbacks in the second round, their impressive 31-5 record marked the program’s best performance in four decades.
As Pitino and the Red Storm look toward next season, they will face a new challenge, as the Xavier Musketeers are preparing to welcome a formidable opponent. Following the departure of head coach Sean Miller to the Texas Longhorns, Xavier is expected to hire Richard Pitino, the head coach of the New Mexico Lobos. This news was first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Pete Thamel.
NEWS: Xavier is expected to hire New Mexico’s Richard Pitino as its next head coach, sources confirmed to me and @PeteThamel. Led the Lobos to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances and a regular-season Mountain West title this season.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) March 26, 2025
Richard Pitino graduated from Providence College in 2005 and gained coaching experience as an assistant at Northeastern and Charleston before joining his father’s staff at Louisville in 2007. In 2009, he transitioned to Florida to work with Billy Donovan, only to return to Louisville after the 2011 season. Florida International hired him as head coach in 2012, where he finished with an 18-14 record in his single season.
He then took the helm at the Minnesota Golden Gophers, where his tenure was marked by ups and downs, including two NCAA Tournament appearances in 2017 and 2019, an NIT Championship in 2014, and a Big Ten Coach of the Year Award in 2017. After his departure from Minnesota in 2021, Pitino took over the New Mexico Lobos. Despite a challenging beginning with a 13-19 record in the 2021-22 season, he quickly turned the program around, achieving at least 22 wins in the following three seasons, including a commendable 26-10 record in 2023-24 and 27-8 in 2024-25.
Throughout his 13 seasons as a head coach, Pitino has accrued a record of 247-186 and four appearances in the NCAA tournament.
