Charleston hires Akron’s John Groce as men’s basketball coach

Charleston has hired Akron’s John Groce as its next men’s basketball coach, the school announced Monday.

“John Groce is one of the most decorated Head Coaches in the country. He and his staff made a tremendous impact on the Akron community during their nine seasons at the helm. The winning speaks for itself but his leadership of men and his passion for people is what impresses us the most,” athletic director Matt Roberts said in a statement. “We are excited to welcome John, his wife Allison and their three children Conner, Camden and Cate to the Charleston community. It’s a great day to be a Cougar!”

Groce, who informed his Akron team about his departure Monday, has been one of the most successful mid-major coaches over the past five years, leading the Zips to four NCAA tournament berths. He has won one Mid-American Conference regular-season title in those five years but is a remarkable 13-1 in conference tournament games with four championships.

Over that span, Groce went 127-45, including 57 wins and a 34-2 record against MAC opponents over the past two seasons. He has been at Akron for nine seasons, also winning a regular-season title in 2020 before the conference tournament was canceled because of the pandemic.

Before taking over for Keith Dambrot in 2017, Groce was the coach at Illinois for five seasons. He won 20 games three times, advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2013, his first season at the helm.

Groce also spent four seasons as coach at Ohio from 2008 to 2012, bringing the Bobcats to a pair of NCAA tournaments. He began his coaching career on staffs at NC State, Butler, Xavier and Ohio State, the latter three schools under Thad Matta.

At Charleston, Groce replaces Chris Mack, who left last week for the vacancy at South Florida. The school said Groce’s contract is for five years.