Western Michigan on new basketball coach: 'Vision and leadership unmatched'
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Western Michigan officially announced Kahil Fennell as its new head men's basketball coach Saturday morning, following a search that took less than two weeks and ended with the Broncos getting a man that many in the business consider a rising star.
Fennell, 43, comes to Western Michigan from University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley, where he's been the head coach for two years at the Southland Conference school.
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A little over a decade ago, he wasn't even coaching, rather living a lucrative life working in medical-device sales.
“As we set out to find our next head coach, we sought a leader who not only had experience working with some of basketball’s finest programs and coaches, but one who had also led his own program to new heights at the Division I level,” Dan Bartholomae, athletic director at Western Michigan, said in a statement Saturday. "We also sought someone who would be a great community partner as we prepare for the most transformative event in the history of our athletics program. There is no question that Western Michigan University and the entire southwest Michigan community has found that leader in Kahil. His track record of recruiting, developing and connecting with student-athletes stood out, and his vision and leadership acumen was unmatched."
Fennell takes over the program ahead of next year's opening of a $500-million arena that will house both WMU basketball teams and its national-championship hockey team.
He takes over following the firing of DJ Stephens earlier this month. Stephens, a longtime assistant at Michigan State, was fired after four losing seasons in his first head-coaching stop, let go with two years left on his deal.
Fennell flew to Kalamazoo on Friday to see the campus, and on Saturday he signed a five-year contract that will pay him around $400,000 a year to start. The contract works its way up to around $500,000 by Year 5. The contract calls for a buyout of $300,000.
“I would like to thank president Russ Kavalhuna, athletic director Dan Bartholomae and deputy athletic director Elaine Russell for the honor of naming me head coach of the men's basketball program at Western Michigan,” Fennell said in a statement. “I am incredibly grateful for their support and excited to work alongside them towards our collective goal of building a championship program.
"The entire athletic department of WMU has achieved unprecedented success in recent years and I am extremely motivated to continue to drive their championship standards."
Fennell will be formally introduced at a press conference Monday, at the new arena's construction site, which Fennell was scheduled to tour for the first time Saturday morning.
Fennell was 35-29 in two seasons at UTRGV out of the Southland Conference. This season, the team was 19-14, earning a No. 3 seed in the conference tournament and losing to No. 2 McNeese in triple-overtime. McNeese went on to represent the conference in the NCAA Tournament. UTRGV had an eight-game winning season.
Fennell's UTRGV team won six games the year before he arrived ― and won 16 games in his first season. This past season, UTRGV recorded its most wins since 2018-19 and finished first in the conference in scoring and fourth in the conference in defense.
"I want to extend my personal thanks to Coach Fennell and his family for their efforts in creating a winner over the past two seasons," UTRGV athletic director Chasse Conque said in a statement Saturday. "After 35 wins in two years, including 19 this season, I am proud of what we accomplished together.
"The success we have built here at UTRGV is being recognized nationally. While we are disappointed to see him go, we are grateful for his many contributions and confident in the foundation we have established and the direction of our program."
Fennell arrived at UTRGV after one year as an assistant coach at Mark Pope at BYU, and before that, four years on staff under Chris Mack at Louisville, making the NCAA Tournament at both stops. Fennell also has coached on staffs at Portland State and UT Permian Basin.
A California native, Fennell played three seasons at the University of Redlands, and was captain as a senior, graduating in 2004. Wife, Sarah, also played college basketball, at the University of Dayton.
The couple has two sons, Ezra, 12, and Koa, 11.
"My family and I are also thrilled to be joining the Kalamazoo community and look forward to representing the people within it," said Fennell, who is a finalist for the Ben Jobe Award, given annually to the top minority head coach in Division I basketball.
"It's a tremendous time to be a part of this university and my staff and I cannot wait to get started."
Western Michigan hasn't made the NCAA Tournament since 2014, and hasn't had a winning season since 2017-18. The program was 10-21 this past season, has been one of few soft spots since Bartholomae took over more than four years ago, and has seen the hockey team win the Division I national championship in 2025, and the football team win a Mid-American Conference championship, also in 2025, among other department successes.
This is Bartholomae's second men's basketball hire, and he prioritized head-coaching experience, though it wasn't a requirement. Bartholomae interviewed at least a dozen candidates, some in person and some virtually. Among those candidates was Michigan State assistant Saddi Washington, a WMU alum who has had conversations with his alma mater during each of the last three coaching searches in the past six years.
Fennell is one of several new basketball coaches in the MAC, among them Billy Donlon. He was named Eastern Michigan's head coach this week and will be formally introduced at a press conference in Ypsilanti next week after Clemson, where Donlon was an assistant, was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Western Michigan on new basketball coach: 'Vision and leadership unmatched'