Penn State men’s basketball head coach Micah Shrewsberry to leave program after 2 years
Penn State will have to replace its men’s basketball coach after only two years.
Notre Dame will hire Micah Shrewsberry as its new head coach after parting ways with longtime head coach Mike Brey. The news was first reported in a Twitter post by ESPN’s Pete Thamel Wednesday afternoon and Pat Kraft, Penn State’s athletic director, later confirmed Shrewsberry’s departure.
“We thank Micah for his contributions to the Penn State community and wish him the very best,” Kraft said in a statement released around 8 p.m. Wednesday. “We are already moving forward in a search for a new head coach and will identify and appoint a tremendous coach, teacher and person who will take us to unprecedented heights.”
Shrewsberry spent two years at the helm went 37-31 in that span, including having one of the best seasons in program history this year.
The Nittany Lions went 23-14 overall, including 10-10 in conference play and 5-1 to close out the regular season. They went on to play in the Big Ten Tournament title game and make the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011, and won their first game in the tournament since 2001.
The most important contributors from that team are all moving on with only Seth Lundy having eligibility left among the team’s five leading scorers — and he announced earlier Wednesday that he will not return.
Despite losing those contributors, the program was positioned to build off the success of 2022-2023. The last two recruiting classes are the two best in program history and include three players who have already contributed from the 2022 group, while the incoming class was set to feature Braeden Shrewsberry, Micah’s son, and Carey Booth, son of Penn State legend Calvin Booth.
It remains to be seen how much of the class will stick with the program as it searches for a new head coach, and how much of the roster will stick around rather than entering the transfer portal.
The program will need to move quickly to attempt to keep the roster together while also filling the many holes left behind by the departing seniors.
This story was originally published March 22, 2023 at 5:49 PM.
