COLUMBIA, S.C. — Former South Carolina head basketball coach Frank Martin has emerged as the priority target for the vacancy at UMass, that according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel who is reporting Martin met with UMass officials on Tuesday with another meeting set for Thursday.
Martin was let go a little more than week ago after 10 years as the head coach at South Carolina where he was 171-147, the third most wins in program history. This past season, the Gamecocks were 18-13 overall, 9-9 in the SEC.
He made the post-season twice in his tenure in Columbia, an NIT appearance in 2016 followed by a Final Four appearance the following season.
UMass is searching for a new head coach to replace Matt McCall who was fired after five seasons. The Minutemen were 61-82 under McCall and never made the postseason during his tenure in Amherst. This past season, UMass was 15-17 overall, 7-11 in the Atlantic 10.
While Martin had just two trips to the post-season at Carolina, he made the post-season during his entire five-year run as Kansas State’s head coach – four NCAA appearances and one NIT bid.