Kim English is leaving George Mason after only two seasons to take the men’s basketball head coaching job at Providence, the Rhode Island school announced Thursday.
English is replacing Ed Cooley, who left after 12 seasons to take the head coaching job at Big East rival Georgetown.
The 34-year-old English has made a quick ascent up the college basketball coaching ladder, having started as an assistant in 2015 at Tulsa before moving on to other assistant jobs at Colorado and Tennessee. George Mason hired him as head coach in March 2021, and he led the Patriots to a 34-29 record over two seasons. George Mason went 20-13 this season, winning its final six regular season games and its Atlantic 10 tournament opener against Richmond before a 28-point loss to Saint Louis in the quarterfinals.
“I am beyond excited to be named head men’s basketball coach at Providence College,” English said in the school’s statement announcing he was hired. “I want to be clear to everyone in Friartown, we are going to do great things at Providence College for a long time. I know that this is a special place with amazing fans, a great tradition and support throughout the community. We look forward to establishing new relationships with the players, the alums and the fans. The work begins now!”
Providence has become a top-half Big East team under Cooley, winning one conference tournament and one regular season title during his tenure while advancing to seven NCAA tournaments. The Friars lost to Kentucky last week in the first round of the NCAA tournament, and Cooley left soon after to take the Georgetown job.
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George Mason President Gregory Washington said in a statement that English “did not accept our offer to retain him,” and the school now must search for its fourth head coach since 2011.
The Patriots have struggled after leaving the Colonial Athletic Association for the Atlantic 10 in 2013, with a lone trip to the third-tier College Basketball Invitational their only postseason berth over that span. In 14 seasons under former coach Jim Larrañaga, the Fairfax, Va., school qualified for the NCAA tournament five times, most memorably in 2006 when the Patriots advanced to the Final Four.
“Coach English and his team brought the excitement back to George Mason basketball. They reminded Mason Nation and the college sports world of our basketball program’s heritage and massive potential,” Washington said.
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George Mason also is looking for a new athletic director after Brad Edwards stepped down in October to take a job with the NFL. In its statement, the school said the search for a new AD “will be accelerated and will be completed in the coming weeks.”
English is following the coaching path of Rick Barnes, his former boss at Tennessee who reportedly lobbied Providence officials to hire English. Barnes coached George Mason for one season in 1987-88 before leaving to take the Friars head coaching job.
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